WEBVTT 00:00:00.330 --> 00:00:02.509 Lord God, Heavenly Father, Lord, we pray that 00:00:02.509 --> 00:00:05.410 you would seal our heart, that you would help 00:00:05.410 --> 00:00:08.109 us to be prone not to wander, that we would be 00:00:08.109 --> 00:00:10.689 drawn evermore towards you. Lord, we thank you 00:00:10.689 --> 00:00:14.369 for seeking us though we were a stranger. We 00:00:14.369 --> 00:00:17.129 thank you for that gift of grace, of faith that 00:00:17.129 --> 00:00:19.969 you give us every single day. Remind us, Lord, 00:00:20.289 --> 00:00:22.589 the fount of the blessing that we have. It comes 00:00:22.589 --> 00:00:25.949 from you. Everything we have comes from you. 00:00:26.289 --> 00:00:29.510 We thank you. We praise you. In your name, amen. 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:35.079 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:37.500 our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and from the 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:43.880 Holy Spirit. Amen. I love food. Anybody else 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:46.079 love food? Show of hands? Yeah, a couple double 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:50.299 hands up, alright. Like, there is nothing better 00:00:50.299 --> 00:00:53.939 in this world than sitting down to a good meal, 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:56.840 alright? Like that moment when you're in a restaurant 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:58.539 and you see the server come out and you're like, 00:00:58.539 --> 00:01:01.640 recognize that's our food. and your heart's just 00:01:01.640 --> 00:01:05.640 like so overjoyed. Sitting down, and it could 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:07.420 be any kind of meal. Maybe it's like a Thanksgiving 00:01:07.420 --> 00:01:09.400 meal that you've been working on all day and 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:11.879 you finally get to sit down and like survey the 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:14.200 table. But even down to like, I don't know about 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:17.799 you, when I order Uber Eats and my little phone 00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:20.920 dings and says that it's there, I just get so 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:24.200 happy. There's just such this joy that comes 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:26.659 about me. My buddies and I, we went on a vacation 00:01:26.659 --> 00:01:29.900 together one time to Vermont. of all places. 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:31.739 And while we were there, we actually had two 00:01:31.739 --> 00:01:34.540 absolutely amazing meals. One of them, what I'm 00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:36.560 about to say is sacrilege. We went to a barbecue 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:41.519 place in Vermont. I know. But when we were there, 00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:44.239 there were six of us, right? There was like a 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:46.239 family platter that was supposed to serve eight 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:49.359 to ten. Yeah. Yeah, we went for it. They brought 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:53.000 it out, this huge tray of smoked meats. I think 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:54.920 there was an angelic choir that opened up in 00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:58.140 the heavens as it came out. But then also we 00:01:58.140 --> 00:02:00.659 got together, the last day we were there was 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:03.579 a Sunday, and we made just like a Sunday feast. 00:02:03.959 --> 00:02:06.180 We did a Sunday roast and we had the potatoes 00:02:06.180 --> 00:02:09.560 and all, it was so good. A fresh baked pie. I 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:10.919 remember sitting down and just thinking like, 00:02:11.060 --> 00:02:14.000 we made this, this is great. There's something 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:18.500 so joyful. About eating and God knows this right 00:02:18.500 --> 00:02:20.680 so many of his miracles so many of his experiences 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:23.240 were around food now for me This has gotten me 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:25.919 in a little bit of trouble I have had to watch 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:28.379 what I eat lately and I actually since November 00:02:28.379 --> 00:02:30.639 Watching what I've eaten going on walks. Nothing 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:33.500 special. I've lost like 40 pounds, right? Yeah, 00:02:33.580 --> 00:02:36.080 and like but that means oh, thank you. Thank 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:39.759 you That means you know that I got to be a little 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:42.000 more careful about what I ain't kind of watching 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.879 stuff But did you catch in our readings today? 00:02:45.480 --> 00:02:48.699 apparently diets aren't biblical. Did you catch 00:02:48.699 --> 00:02:54.000 this? Isaiah chapter or chapter 55 verse 2 it 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:57.340 says this maybe you caught it listen diligently 00:02:57.340 --> 00:03:00.759 to me pay attention that's what it says listen 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:04.319 diligently to me and eat what is good and delight 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:07.080 yourselves in rich food it's right there in the 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:11.360 Bible so if you go to brunch later and you say 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.259 you know should I have the egg white omelet and 00:03:13.259 --> 00:03:16.650 side salad Go with like the crab cake eggs Benedict. 00:03:17.650 --> 00:03:19.849 It's in the Bible. You got to listen to God, 00:03:19.889 --> 00:03:23.509 right? Well today for our main text we're going 00:03:23.509 --> 00:03:25.490 to be looking at that gospel reading. Looking 00:03:25.490 --> 00:03:29.629 at food and God providing abundantly. Before 00:03:29.629 --> 00:03:31.110 we go into that though, let's go to our God in 00:03:31.110 --> 00:03:34.490 prayer. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you 00:03:34.490 --> 00:03:37.349 so much for today. For this chance that you've 00:03:37.349 --> 00:03:40.069 given us to come together in worship. Here in 00:03:40.069 --> 00:03:42.430 person, online, wherever and whenever that may 00:03:42.430 --> 00:03:45.449 be. Well we thank you. I thank you for the chance 00:03:45.449 --> 00:03:48.250 to share your words, your message, your truth. 00:03:48.330 --> 00:03:52.409 Lord, let it be your message. Move me out of 00:03:52.409 --> 00:03:54.909 the way. This is not about me. This is about 00:03:54.909 --> 00:03:58.449 you. I submit myself to you and I trust that 00:03:58.449 --> 00:04:00.729 your truth will be proclaimed. We thank you and 00:04:00.729 --> 00:04:04.330 we praise you. In your name, amen. Special welcome 00:04:04.330 --> 00:04:06.770 to those of you joining online for the sermon. 00:04:06.830 --> 00:04:08.110 That's right, we have a slightly different angle, 00:04:08.129 --> 00:04:10.430 hopefully a little more high -res. Great to have 00:04:10.430 --> 00:04:14.069 you with us today. As I mentioned, that main 00:04:14.069 --> 00:04:16.290 text is going to be our gospel reading, which 00:04:16.290 --> 00:04:18.310 if you just are watching the sermon online, you 00:04:18.310 --> 00:04:20.029 didn't get to hear it. So I'm going to share 00:04:20.029 --> 00:04:22.129 it real quick, just so we have it fresh in our 00:04:22.129 --> 00:04:25.709 mind. This is from Matthew chapter 14. Now when 00:04:25.709 --> 00:04:28.329 Jesus heard about the death of John, and that's 00:04:28.329 --> 00:04:30.189 an insert, it just said we heard about the news, 00:04:30.689 --> 00:04:33.529 he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate 00:04:33.529 --> 00:04:36.660 place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, 00:04:36.660 --> 00:04:39.079 they followed him on foot from the towns. When 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:41.360 he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.839 had compassion on them and healed their sick. 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:47.480 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:49.660 him and said, This is a desolate place, and the 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:52.259 day is now over. Send the crowds away to go into 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:55.240 the villages and buy food for themselves. And 00:04:55.240 --> 00:04:57.860 Jesus said, They need not go away. You give them 00:04:57.860 --> 00:05:00.660 something to eat. They said to him, We have only 00:05:00.660 --> 00:05:03.939 five loaves here and two fish. And he said, well, 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:06.720 bring them to me. Then he ordered the crowds 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:08.959 to sit down on the grass, and taking the five 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:11.319 loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven 00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:14.439 and said, a blessing. What a great note, by the 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:16.060 way. As they're thinking about how there wasn't 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:19.459 enough food, still Jesus gave thanks. Are you 00:05:19.459 --> 00:05:23.519 able to give thanks for a little? Then he broke 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:25.800 the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:28.360 the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:30.860 all ate and were satisfied, and they took up 00:05:30.860 --> 00:05:33.720 twelve baskets. full of the broken pieces left 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:37.259 over. And those who ate were about 5 ,000 men, 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:43.040 besides women and children." This is a tremendously 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:46.779 famous passage of Scripture, a famous miracle 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:50.740 that Jesus performed. In fact, it is almost the 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:53.279 only miracle that appears in all four Gospels. 00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:57.000 I say almost because His resurrection also is 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:59.247 in all four, and that's clearly miraculous, so... 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:02.420 Other than those two, they aren't all represented. 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:05.600 Even like healing of a blind man or helping somebody 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:08.300 who couldn't walk, helping them to walk. Even 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:11.120 Lazarus isn't mentioned in all four Gospels, 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:15.019 but the feeding of the 5 ,000 is there. And it's 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:17.480 actually not just 5 ,000 because it says that 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:19.339 there were women and children present as well. 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:23.259 And so it could have been up to 15 -20 ,000. 00:06:23.540 --> 00:06:28.730 Right? And so this story, this... miracle was 00:06:28.730 --> 00:06:31.269 so significant in the lives of the disciples 00:06:31.269 --> 00:06:33.290 of the apostles that they said you know this 00:06:33.290 --> 00:06:36.629 needs to be included in this story of Jesus. 00:06:36.649 --> 00:06:40.029 I think it's because it shows so well not only 00:06:40.029 --> 00:06:44.009 the character of Jesus but also responsibility 00:06:44.009 --> 00:06:48.290 of the church of the disciples and that which 00:06:48.290 --> 00:06:51.860 came from the disciples. So this miracle is so 00:06:51.860 --> 00:06:53.680 incredibly important, but I also recognize that 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:56.620 you've probably heard the feeding of the 5 ,000 00:06:56.620 --> 00:06:59.420 dozens of times when it comes to hearing sermons 00:06:59.420 --> 00:07:00.779 about it. So I wanted to figure out what was 00:07:00.779 --> 00:07:03.839 going on, but we'll get into that. I want to 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:07.180 set the scene. So Jesus is traveling around. 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:09.860 This is kind of the height of his ministry, and 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:14.420 he finds out about John the Baptist, his cousin, 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:17.740 his partner in ministry, the one who was preparing 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:22.329 the way for him. was just murdered by Herod while 00:07:22.329 --> 00:07:24.689 he was imprisoned in Herod's kingdom. And what 00:07:24.689 --> 00:07:28.209 an interesting contrast to see the feast of the 00:07:28.209 --> 00:07:30.290 feeding of the 5 ,000. All these people gathered 00:07:30.290 --> 00:07:33.870 together and sharing in this meal compared with 00:07:33.870 --> 00:07:38.230 earlier in Matthew 14 we see another feast in 00:07:38.230 --> 00:07:41.189 Herod's kingdom, in his castle, in his court 00:07:41.189 --> 00:07:44.949 where he has the elite gathered together eating 00:07:44.949 --> 00:07:48.810 probably the finest of foods and his daughter 00:07:48.810 --> 00:07:51.930 -in -law is there dancing for him and pleases 00:07:51.930 --> 00:07:54.410 him so much that he tells her I will do anything 00:07:54.410 --> 00:07:57.709 for you and that anything that she asked for 00:07:57.709 --> 00:08:00.470 is the head of John the Baptist on a platter. 00:08:01.329 --> 00:08:04.370 To see the anger and the hatred and the elitism 00:08:04.370 --> 00:08:07.829 that comes from this King Herod's feast and the 00:08:07.829 --> 00:08:10.949 compassion and welcoming that comes with Jesus' 00:08:11.230 --> 00:08:16.120 feast contrasted is noteworthy. So we see Jesus, 00:08:16.259 --> 00:08:18.920 he's kind of coming together, disciples, they're 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:20.740 watching him heal. And it's worth noting, by 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:25.139 the way, as Jesus heals this, or as Jesus experiences 00:08:25.139 --> 00:08:29.100 this, he's gone off on his own. After hearing 00:08:29.100 --> 00:08:32.779 the news of John the Baptist, he's hurt. Remember, 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:37.360 Jesus is fully man, fully human, and just received 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:40.659 traumatic news. And so what does Jesus do? He 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:43.059 takes time for himself, or at least he tries 00:08:43.059 --> 00:08:46.389 to. Which is an aside if you encounter something 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:48.429 in your life and you think no I just had to power 00:08:48.429 --> 00:08:52.009 through it if Jesus God Himself had to take time 00:08:52.009 --> 00:08:54.190 to process the trauma. Why would you think that 00:08:54.190 --> 00:08:56.490 you don't have to? Why would you think that you 00:08:56.490 --> 00:08:58.830 don't have to take some time for self -care if 00:08:58.830 --> 00:09:03.029 Jesus did? But Jesus goes off on his own and 00:09:03.029 --> 00:09:04.870 of course being Jesus at the height of his ministry 00:09:04.870 --> 00:09:07.509 the people follow him and it doesn't say that 00:09:07.509 --> 00:09:10.470 he's like People all the time with the people 00:09:10.470 --> 00:09:15.080 no instead it says he had what? And he began 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:18.179 healing them. Well, this must go on for a period 00:09:18.179 --> 00:09:20.580 of time. Again, you've got 15, 20 ,000 people. 00:09:20.620 --> 00:09:23.559 That's like an entire stadium for the Houston 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:25.620 Rockets, right, if it was full. Or the Astros, 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:27.960 if it was half full. Like, just to get a picture 00:09:27.960 --> 00:09:31.159 of the scale of how big this crowd is, if there 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:34.279 are 15, 20 ,000 people there. We call it the 00:09:34.279 --> 00:09:36.820 feeding of the 5 ,000, but probably significantly 00:09:36.820 --> 00:09:40.529 more. So the disciples suddenly have a very real, 00:09:40.590 --> 00:09:42.970 very legitimate concern. They're looking around 00:09:42.970 --> 00:09:45.309 saying, we are in the middle of nowhere. There 00:09:45.309 --> 00:09:47.210 are no restaurants around. We checked. There's 00:09:47.210 --> 00:09:49.610 no Uber Eats here. They will not deliver here. 00:09:49.710 --> 00:09:51.509 Grubhub, Dawardash, none of them are coming here, 00:09:51.509 --> 00:09:54.450 Jesus. You got to send these people away so they 00:09:54.450 --> 00:09:56.529 can go back into the town, go to the inns, go 00:09:56.529 --> 00:09:58.870 to their houses, and they can provide for their 00:09:58.870 --> 00:10:01.230 own meal. They're getting hungry. And reality 00:10:01.230 --> 00:10:02.769 is, if we're being honest, probably the disciples 00:10:02.769 --> 00:10:05.070 were getting hungry, right? They're getting a 00:10:05.070 --> 00:10:07.429 little angry. They're like, ah, Jesus, come on. 00:10:07.610 --> 00:10:10.450 Can you wrap it up? We thought that this was 00:10:10.450 --> 00:10:12.029 going to be a short thing and now we've been 00:10:12.029 --> 00:10:16.649 here all day and I am starving. Right? Basically, 00:10:16.649 --> 00:10:18.509 they're saying that these people have a need. 00:10:18.509 --> 00:10:21.029 This is the very legitimate thing that they are 00:10:21.029 --> 00:10:24.529 reacting to. But Jesus responds in a very interesting 00:10:24.529 --> 00:10:28.809 way. He looks at his disciples and he says, you 00:10:28.809 --> 00:10:31.889 feed them. And even in the Greek, there is an 00:10:31.889 --> 00:10:37.570 emphasis on the you. You feed them. Remember, 00:10:37.570 --> 00:10:39.649 he's talking to the disciples, the apostles, 00:10:40.149 --> 00:10:45.690 those from which the church happened. He's talking 00:10:45.690 --> 00:10:49.529 to the church. And so when it comes to those 00:10:49.529 --> 00:10:51.830 who are hungry in our midst, when it comes to 00:10:51.830 --> 00:10:55.330 those who have need, Jesus is looking us in the 00:10:55.330 --> 00:10:58.610 eye, breaking the fourth wall and saying, you 00:10:58.610 --> 00:11:04.019 feed them. Do something about it. Unfortunately, 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:06.179 throughout history we have taken, especially 00:11:06.179 --> 00:11:08.940 here in America, we've taken the church's responsibility 00:11:08.940 --> 00:11:11.860 to literally feed, but also even in some sense 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:14.120 spiritually, emotionally, deal with some of the 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:17.740 mental health things. We've outsourced it to 00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:20.679 the government. We say, oh you know, they deal 00:11:20.679 --> 00:11:22.600 with the homeless population. They deal with 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:24.759 the people in need. There are government assistance 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:26.700 programs that you can be on. That's why here 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:29.519 at Christ Memorial, we donate to memorial assistance 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:32.960 ministries. because they truly are a ministry. 00:11:33.659 --> 00:11:36.399 They keep the focus on God. We work through them. 00:11:36.419 --> 00:11:39.539 We want to make sure that here in this area the 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:42.539 people who have actual physical worldly needs 00:11:42.539 --> 00:11:45.259 are met. And when you donate to Christ Memorial, 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:48.139 that is part of where your money goes to, is 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:52.659 supporting ma 'am so that people will be literally 00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:56.350 fed. Through our school, we are feeding school 00:11:56.350 --> 00:11:58.190 children who don't have meals that don't know 00:11:58.190 --> 00:12:00.190 where their next meal is going to come from. 00:12:00.350 --> 00:12:04.669 Because we take this call, this challenge from 00:12:04.669 --> 00:12:09.370 Jesus seriously. You feed them. But there's also 00:12:09.370 --> 00:12:13.149 a spiritual component here. Because this whole 00:12:13.149 --> 00:12:15.570 feeding of the 5 ,000, there are a lot of elements 00:12:15.570 --> 00:12:20.570 that remind us of communion, of the Eucharist, 00:12:20.710 --> 00:12:22.070 the sacrament of the altar, whatever you want 00:12:22.070 --> 00:12:24.299 to call it, the last... supper that became the 00:12:24.299 --> 00:12:27.779 Lord's supper. It was evening. He has bread. 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:29.960 He breaks it. He tells them to go and pass it 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:31.340 out right there. There are a lot of parallels, 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:33.720 not only to that, but also to the manna in the 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:38.379 desert for the Israelites, right? This challenge 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:41.700 that Jesus has to go and feed, it's not just 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:44.120 about caring for the physical needs. It's also 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:47.700 about reaching the spiritual needs of the community. 00:12:49.100 --> 00:12:51.179 Take note, by the way, what Jesus doesn't do. 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:53.139 He doesn't say, all right, well, let's see, we've 00:12:53.139 --> 00:12:56.740 got like 15, 20 ,000 people here. Well, obviously 00:12:56.740 --> 00:12:58.500 not everybody's going to understand what I've 00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:00.179 been saying, so I want to make sure that we're 00:13:00.179 --> 00:13:02.220 only feeding those who are part of what we talk 00:13:02.220 --> 00:13:05.279 about. Those who buy into the vision, those who 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:07.100 buy into this, we're only going to feed them. 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:10.559 No, that is not what Jesus says. In fact, in 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:12.539 other gospels it says divide them up into groups 00:13:12.539 --> 00:13:15.720 of 50, logistical reasons, but he doesn't say 00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:19.649 like, hey, Find the ones that support me. Find 00:13:19.649 --> 00:13:21.789 the ones that buy into this. Find the ones that 00:13:21.789 --> 00:13:23.570 they don't use the word Christian yet, but they'll 00:13:23.570 --> 00:13:25.090 eventually be called Christian. Those are the 00:13:25.090 --> 00:13:29.070 ones we want to focus on. No, all are welcome 00:13:29.070 --> 00:13:33.009 at this feast. And if you think about it, probably 00:13:33.009 --> 00:13:35.590 there were some Pharisees there. Probably there 00:13:35.590 --> 00:13:36.730 were some religious leaders that seemed like 00:13:36.730 --> 00:13:39.129 they were following him around. He didn't delineate. 00:13:40.049 --> 00:13:42.370 He just said all are welcome and that should 00:13:42.370 --> 00:13:50.240 be a message for us as well the church. May we 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:54.860 recognize that all are welcome at the Feast of 00:13:54.860 --> 00:13:58.679 God. It's worth noting, by the way, that the 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:02.639 disciples, their reaction was to send people 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:06.000 away. To say, hey, Jesus, we can't handle this 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:07.360 number of people. We can't handle what's going 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:09.299 on. You should send them away. And Jesus says, 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:13.250 no, no, no, I'm not done with them. There's still 00:14:13.250 --> 00:14:15.830 something coming here. There's still a moment 00:14:15.830 --> 00:14:18.190 that they are supposed to be a part of. So for 00:14:18.190 --> 00:14:22.110 us, the church, may we not be the ones to send 00:14:22.110 --> 00:14:26.210 people away from God. May you as an individual 00:14:26.210 --> 00:14:29.970 not be the one to send people away from God. 00:14:30.870 --> 00:14:33.070 I can't control what other churches do, what 00:14:33.070 --> 00:14:35.289 other pastors do, and unfortunately there are 00:14:35.289 --> 00:14:38.370 a lot of pastors who have sent people away from 00:14:38.370 --> 00:14:41.029 God. There's one that's going around viral right 00:14:41.029 --> 00:14:43.830 now of a mega church preacher who is chastising 00:14:43.830 --> 00:14:48.429 his community, his congregation, his flock. Chastising 00:14:48.429 --> 00:14:50.450 them saying, you guys show up late and you leave 00:14:50.450 --> 00:14:52.409 early and you're just treating this like it's 00:14:52.409 --> 00:14:54.409 a consumer thing. This is terrible and you should 00:14:54.409 --> 00:14:56.970 all examine your hearts. And it's like, where's 00:14:56.970 --> 00:14:59.600 the gospel in that? Where's the love and the 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:01.639 compassion for the young mother who's trying 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:04.340 to organize and get her kids together on a Sunday 00:15:04.340 --> 00:15:06.539 morning? Where's the compassion for the shift 00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:08.860 worker who barely was able to wake up in time 00:15:08.860 --> 00:15:10.879 to make it here? Where's the compassion for the 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:13.539 person with the social anxiety that sitting and 00:15:13.539 --> 00:15:15.500 milling about and talking to people is terrifying, 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:19.419 but they still want a part of church? We can't 00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:21.320 control what other churches, what other pastors, 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:23.799 what other people do in terms of sending people 00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:25.539 away from God, but we can control ourselves. 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:32.480 May we never send somebody away from God I'm 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:33.840 gonna be honest with you guys a little vulnerable 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:36.360 right now. I I've always struggled with this 00:15:36.360 --> 00:15:40.820 miracle Like the physics of it, right? Because 00:15:40.820 --> 00:15:43.460 you picture like the the the man born blind right 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:45.720 Jesus rubbed some mud on his eyes He says go 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:47.940 and wash and when he washes suddenly he can see 00:15:47.940 --> 00:15:49.440 okay that makes sense his eyes are closed He 00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:51.279 opens them up something's happened and now he 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:53.779 can see even the water into wine, right? There's 00:15:53.779 --> 00:15:56.820 this these tubs of water that they can't really 00:15:56.820 --> 00:15:58.919 see into because they're probably Stone basins 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:01.000 and suddenly they scoop it out and like oh, it's 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:04.159 wine. I don't know how or why that But the bread 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:08.139 I have always struggled with this How did that 00:16:08.139 --> 00:16:10.440 work? Was it like a basket with like a cloth 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:11.899 over it and every time they reached in there 00:16:11.899 --> 00:16:14.539 was more bread? Were they holding the loaves 00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:16.500 that were suddenly growing in their hands? I 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:19.460 don't understand how physically like what were 00:16:19.460 --> 00:16:22.519 the senses that they could see of these five 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:24.519 loaves being able to feed some 20 ,000 people. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:27.419 I still wrestle with this to be completely honest. 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:33.720 I did see and a couple of commentaries and I'm 00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:36.620 not sure This is me being open. I'm not sure 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:38.879 that I buy into this because it does change things 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:41.480 slightly, but it's interesting. It's worth thinking 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:45.039 about at least. As it recorded, and I believe 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:47.399 it's John's gospel, it says that the five loaves 00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:50.919 and two fish came from a kid. Basically he brought 00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:53.179 his own snack. He was smart enough to like, I'm 00:16:53.179 --> 00:16:56.000 bringing my own stuff. And so the disciples, 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.860 shall we say, appropriate this kid's snack. And 00:16:59.860 --> 00:17:03.460 that's what Jesus uses to feed the 5 ,000. These 00:17:03.460 --> 00:17:07.180 commentaries suggested, what if the generosity 00:17:07.180 --> 00:17:11.079 of the kid was actually just inspirational for 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:13.779 the other people who were there? That surely 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:15.759 this kid wasn't the only one who thought to bring 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:18.559 a meal. Surely this kid wasn't the only one who 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:21.099 thought, you know, he likes to talk for a long 00:17:21.099 --> 00:17:23.299 time, I should bring a snack along with me, right? 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:25.880 Surely he wasn't the only, there had to be a 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:27.440 mom in the crowd that had a bag of goldfish, 00:17:27.460 --> 00:17:32.130 right? Cheerios, whatever it is, surely somebody 00:17:32.130 --> 00:17:35.309 else had it. So what if, and this is the speculation 00:17:35.309 --> 00:17:38.089 of the commentary again, it's interesting to 00:17:38.089 --> 00:17:40.910 think about. What if this kid giving over his 00:17:40.910 --> 00:17:44.210 meal inspired others to also share their meal? 00:17:45.289 --> 00:17:47.329 And this whole dividing up into groups of 50 00:17:47.329 --> 00:17:49.849 was, hey, you now have a small community feed 00:17:49.849 --> 00:17:52.009 each other. There are those who didn't bring 00:17:52.009 --> 00:17:53.769 a meal and those who brought more than enough. 00:17:54.190 --> 00:17:58.180 There's an abundance here to share. In between 00:17:58.180 --> 00:17:59.700 services somebody said, so it's like the first 00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:04.599 potluck, right? But that miracle of community, 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:06.220 because that's the concern, right? That it's 00:18:06.220 --> 00:18:08.599 removing some of the supernatural from the miracle. 00:18:08.619 --> 00:18:10.420 And that's probably true. That's probably why 00:18:10.420 --> 00:18:12.559 it probably wasn't the case. But it's worth thinking 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:16.299 about, isn't it? That God brought this community 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:19.599 together. God brought this group of people together 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:22.859 and they're able to care for each other's needs. 00:18:23.420 --> 00:18:26.230 That there is an abundance. because of what God 00:18:26.230 --> 00:18:31.829 had provided, because of His blessings. That 00:18:31.829 --> 00:18:33.730 certainly changes the way that we interact with 00:18:33.730 --> 00:18:36.490 this miracle, doesn't it? The recognition of 00:18:36.490 --> 00:18:38.609 the abundance that we have in our lives and those 00:18:38.609 --> 00:18:40.369 who are in need and being able to share with 00:18:40.369 --> 00:18:44.609 them, whatever that blessing looks like. But 00:18:44.609 --> 00:18:46.450 there's an even bigger message that I want to 00:18:46.450 --> 00:18:52.150 make sure you hear from this miracle. And that 00:18:52.150 --> 00:18:55.039 is that... The disciples looked at these five 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:58.079 loaves and these two fish, and they said, Jesus, 00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:01.539 this isn't enough. There's a lot of people here. 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:03.759 This isn't even enough to feed us, the disciples, 00:19:04.180 --> 00:19:06.160 let alone the other thousands upon thousands 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:09.799 of people that are here. It's not enough. The 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:13.140 author Brené Brown says that we live in a never 00:19:13.140 --> 00:19:17.160 enough society. That when we wake up in the morning, 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.079 we're still tired because we never get enough 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:22.190 sleep. We go to work and we can't get all the 00:19:22.190 --> 00:19:23.490 things on our to -do list done because there's 00:19:23.490 --> 00:19:27.190 never enough time. We come home, we don't have 00:19:27.190 --> 00:19:30.250 the energy to play with the kids and cook dinner 00:19:30.250 --> 00:19:32.990 and clean the dishes and clean the house. We 00:19:32.990 --> 00:19:35.450 lay in bed and stay awake and toss and turn because 00:19:35.450 --> 00:19:37.470 there's never enough money to pay for all the 00:19:37.470 --> 00:19:39.269 bills and all the fees at school and the back 00:19:39.269 --> 00:19:42.069 to school supplies and oh and my car has a flat 00:19:42.069 --> 00:19:44.509 tire and all these different things. It's never 00:19:44.509 --> 00:19:52.019 enough. But what this miracle is saying, is with 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:56.259 God, you always have enough for God to do something 00:19:56.259 --> 00:20:01.200 incredible. You always have enough for God to 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:05.299 do something incredible. You may listen to the 00:20:05.299 --> 00:20:07.680 lies of the world that says, I'm not smart enough, 00:20:07.700 --> 00:20:10.039 I'm not strong enough, I'm not successful enough, 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:12.220 I don't have enough influence, I'm not good enough 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:14.319 of a leader, I'm not good enough of a parent, 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:20.730 I'm not lovable enough. That's a lie of the world. 00:20:20.750 --> 00:20:22.609 That's a lie you're telling yourself, saying, 00:20:22.630 --> 00:20:28.130 I'm not good enough. Pastor Stephen Furtick says 00:20:28.130 --> 00:20:32.730 it this way, with God, it's never not enough. 00:20:34.089 --> 00:20:38.789 Never not enough. Because God gives us enough. 00:20:38.910 --> 00:20:43.349 God makes us enough. Never not enough. In fact, 00:20:43.490 --> 00:20:45.329 right now, turn to your neighbor. Turn to the 00:20:45.329 --> 00:20:46.670 person sitting next to you. A little interactive. 00:20:46.930 --> 00:20:48.710 Lutrons don't usually do this, but it's okay. 00:20:49.049 --> 00:20:51.650 Turn to your neighbor and say, never not enough. 00:20:53.190 --> 00:20:58.269 Because that is what you need to hear. You are 00:20:58.269 --> 00:21:02.369 enough. Through God who loves you, through God 00:21:02.369 --> 00:21:04.789 who gives you grace, who gives you righteousness. 00:21:05.750 --> 00:21:07.869 In scripture we see if all have fallen short 00:21:07.869 --> 00:21:10.289 of the glory of God, all have fallen short of 00:21:10.289 --> 00:21:12.690 what God expected of us, but that's okay because 00:21:12.690 --> 00:21:15.390 God picks us up when we fall short and places 00:21:15.390 --> 00:21:18.869 us on His firm foundation. God gives us grace 00:21:18.869 --> 00:21:22.230 and mercy so that we are enough, not by anything 00:21:22.230 --> 00:21:25.769 that we ever do, thank God for that, but by what 00:21:25.769 --> 00:21:30.349 He did for us. He multiplies the blessings in 00:21:30.349 --> 00:21:34.089 our lives. You are enough through Jesus Christ. 00:21:34.359 --> 00:21:37.339 Through the love of God, you are enough. So when 00:21:37.339 --> 00:21:39.779 you go out into the world, don't believe the 00:21:39.779 --> 00:21:42.039 lie. I'm not good enough. I can't do this. I 00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:43.460 don't have the talent. I don't have the time. 00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:45.259 I don't have the interest. I don't have whatever 00:21:45.259 --> 00:21:48.519 it takes. God says no. I'm going to do incredible 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:54.220 things through you. You are enough because of 00:21:54.220 --> 00:22:00.400 Christ. So my friends, my brothers and sisters, 00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:06.980 united in faith to God. I pray that you can find 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:11.920 the strength to know that you are enough. I pray 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:14.819 that you can recognize that God is at work in 00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:17.500 this place, that God is at work in your life, 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:22.319 in our lives. That through Him we can reach out 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:25.380 and reach so many people. We can reach out people 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:29.339 and help them to have food, physically perhaps, 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:31.839 emotionally. We can help people to know what 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.640 it means to have food. And maybe you're thinking, 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:36.700 no, no, no, not me, preacher, that's your job. 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:43.180 You are enough. God will do incredible things 00:22:43.180 --> 00:22:47.460 through you. You're enough with God.