Jesus Provides:
- ... REST for the Weary. (Mk 6:30-32)
- ... COMPASSION for the Weak. (Mk 6:33-34)
- ... SATISFACTION for the Hungry. (Mk 6:35-42)
- ... PERFECTLY for the Workers. (Mk 6:43-44)
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:00-00:06
Open up your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark and chapter 6.
00:07-00:09
We are going on tour with Jesus.
00:11-00:14
Mark has been teaching us that Jesus is the Son of God.
00:14-00:25
And that's the purpose for which the Gospels were written, so that we may know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and believing upon Him have eternal life in Him.
00:26-00:28
Mark 6. Verse 30.
00:29-00:31
While you're turning there, I'm going to ask you a question.
00:33-00:38
I'm going to give you a minute to think about it, and then we're going to give you the opportunity to respond by show of hands.
00:39-00:39
Okay?
00:42-00:43
Are you a needy person?
00:44-00:47
Are you a needy person?
00:49-01:14
Okay, by show of hands, people today would say I am a needy person. There are a lot of definites there and there were a lot of definite no's and I saw Levi Keller was like on the fence there. Are you a needy person? Sometimes? Incorrect. Ryan Strube, are you Are you not a needy person?
01:14-01:15
Are you a needy person?
01:18-01:19
No? Incorrect.
01:20-01:20
You are.
01:22-01:23
I know you're going to challenge me on that.
01:23-01:24
That's okay.
01:25-01:26
You are loved.
01:28-01:28
Did you eat today?
01:30-01:34
Are you going to need to eat any time again for the rest of your life?
01:36-01:37
Okay, you're a needy person.
01:37-01:41
Levi, did you eat any sleep last night?
01:42-01:45
Are you going to need to sleep again sometime before you die?
01:46-01:47
Ok, you're a needy person.
01:48-01:48
Alright?
01:50-01:53
Recreation - have you done something fun in the past week, Levi?
01:54-01:58
Are you probably going to need to do something fun sometime in the rest of your life before you die?
01:59-02:01
It sounds like you're a really needy person.
02:03-02:04
Here's the point.
02:04-02:07
We're all needy people.
02:08-02:09
We're all needy people.
02:10-02:11
Every single one of us are needy.
02:12-02:13
Not just Ryan and Levi.
02:15-02:16
We're all needy.
02:18-02:28
Because the things that we need - think about this with me - the things that we need are things that we are constantly needing.
02:30-02:30
Right?
02:32-02:34
Like the examples I just gave you.
02:34-02:36
You are going to need to eat again.
02:39-02:40
you will die.
02:41-02:44
You're going to need to drink, or you will die.
02:44-02:47
You are going to need to rest, or you will die.
02:50-02:56
You're like, "But I rested last week." You're going to need to rest this week.
02:56-02:59
Your entire life is about needing things.
02:59-03:02
I need a nap.
03:02-03:04
I need recreation.
03:04-03:05
I need a friend.
03:05-03:07
I need. Your whole life is about needing.
03:10-03:12
Why are we so needy? Don't miss this.
03:14-03:18
God created us to be needy.
03:19-03:20
Think about this.
03:22-03:26
This idea of eating - whose idea was that?
03:28-03:30
That was God's idea, wasn't it?
03:32-03:34
Remember when God created Adam and Eve?
03:36-03:38
One of the first things He said to them was what?
03:38-03:39
"Freely you may..." what?
03:39-03:47
"...eat off of any tree except the one in the garden." God created us with this need to eat.
03:48-03:49
Now why did He create us that way?
03:51-03:56
Because there is only one self-sustaining person.
03:58-03:59
And that is God Himself.
04:01-04:04
God created us with the need to sleep.
04:05-04:06
Have you ever wondered why you have to sleep?
04:07-04:09
That seems like such a waste of time, doesn't it?
04:10-04:18
Wouldn't you get so much more done if you didn't need to spend eight hours laying there doing nothing?
04:20-04:25
For some of you, that might be like 15 minutes or a half hour laying there doing nothing.
04:25-04:31
But however much sleep you get, wouldn't you get so much more done you didn't need to sleep.
04:34-04:39
So why did God create us with this need for rest?
04:41-04:47
Because the Bible tells us that there is only One who never grows weary.
04:48-04:50
There's only One who doesn't get tired.
04:51-04:51
And who is that?
04:53-04:53
That is God.
04:55-05:04
Every time you go to bed, That is your daily reminder that He is God and you are not.
05:06-05:07
He is the tireless One.
05:08-05:10
I am the tired One.
05:12-05:17
So God created us to be needy, but it even goes deeper than those things.
05:17-05:27
He created us in order that we would find all of our hungers, all of our needs, everything that we could possibly need satisfied by Him.
05:28-05:32
our deepest spiritual needs fulfilled by Him.
05:33-05:34
But here's the problem.
05:36-05:40
Sin has convinced us to fill up on things that don't satisfy.
05:42-05:49
And we all at times need called back to the place where we find our true provision, our true satisfaction in Jesus Christ.
05:50-05:58
The title of this message is "Provision Jesus Supplies." I'm following your outline.
05:58-06:00
What does Jesus provide for us?
06:00-06:01
Or what does Jesus supply for us?
06:01-06:02
Write this down first of all.
06:03-06:05
Jesus provides rest for the weary.
06:07-06:09
Jesus provides rest for the weary.
06:11-06:16
If you were here last week, we talked about how Jesus sent out the twelve on their first internship.
06:17-06:21
You're going to preach, and you're going to have authority over unclean spirits, and you're going to heal.
06:25-06:28
We talked about seven marks Jesus' authentic ministry.
06:28-06:29
Do you remember them?
06:29-06:34
Teamwork, authority, dependence, determination, boldness, glory, perseverance.
06:34-06:50
And they went out and did their internship and verse 30 says, "The apostles returned to Jesus and told Him all that they had done and taught." Okay, so back to Jesus.
06:50-06:52
Back to report in.
06:53-06:55
Look at what Jesus' response is.
06:56-07:06
"And He said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a desolate place.'" And what does your Bible say?
07:07-07:10
Rest a while. Rest a while.
07:12-07:27
"For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat." people sit down to eat dinner and the phone rings as soon as you sit down.
07:27-07:28
That ever happen to you?
07:29-07:30
It happens to me a lot.
07:31-07:33
That's why I try to call people around supper time.
07:35-07:37
Like, "Yeah, that was when that happened, Pastor Jeff.
07:37-07:39
That was you that called me." Yeah, that wasn't an accident.
07:42-07:44
I'm trying to teach you the Bible here.
07:46-07:53
Because you see, even Jesus' disciples, they couldn't even find time to sit back and have a meal together.
07:55-07:57
Jesus said you need to rest for a while.
07:57-08:07
It says, "And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves." Jesus provides rest for the weary.
08:07-08:10
Warning here about a danger in ministry.
08:13-08:14
You can burn yourself out.
08:17-08:25
Pride and peer pressure make us think that we have to redline in ministry 24/7 just as the disciples were doing.
08:28-08:29
It's pride and it's peer pressure.
08:31-08:34
The person that's like, "I'm good, Pastor Jeff.
08:34-08:36
I'm in no danger of burnout, man.
08:36-08:37
I'm going strong.
08:38-08:40
I don't need to take a Sunday off.
08:40-08:45
In fact, I wish every week had five Sundays because I would be there five Sundays.
08:45-08:46
I don't need a break.
08:48-08:49
That's pride.
08:50-08:51
Or peer pressure.
08:53-09:04
I'm starting to feel a little burnt out, but around so many other people that are working so hard, I'm afraid to speak up and say that I'm feeling a little burnt out.
09:05-09:07
And negative peer pressure that way.
09:10-09:16
You do not have a gauge on you like your car has a gauge that tells you when you're running out of gas.
09:17-09:19
You don't have that.
09:19-09:20
You don't have a little dial on your arm.
09:21-09:30
Like, "I better take a rest here because I'm about to burn out." You go from serving very hard to being burned out.
09:33-09:36
Many times quitting ministry, leaving the church.
09:38-09:45
I've seen that happen so many times for 18 or 19 years, you see these people just serving Christ so faithful.
09:45-09:48
They're there every Sunday morning and smile on their face.
09:49-09:51
You'd never imagine.
09:52-09:54
Like, wow, these guys never get tired.
09:56-09:58
And then one Sunday, they're like gone.
09:59-10:03
And you're like on the phone, "Hey, where have you been?" I'm burnt out, man.
10:04-10:10
I've been there every Sunday for the last seven years You've never gotten a break from burnout.
10:12-10:15
You didn't look burnout last Sunday, but that's how it goes.
10:17-10:22
So if you don't have a gauge on your arm, what are the signs of being burnout?
10:22-10:24
I want you to jot these down.
10:25-10:38
Because being part of a young church plant - a young, small church plant - our people who serve here so faithfully every week of being burnt out.
10:41-10:42
These are signs of burnout.
10:42-10:43
I want you to write these down.
10:45-10:46
Signs of burnout.
10:46-10:51
Number one, when you start disliking people in the church.
10:54-11:01
When you start disliking people in the church, that's a sign that you're burning out.
11:03-11:06
First Sunday at church, "These people are so nice!
11:07-11:07
These people are so nice.
11:08-11:10
I was greeted by 15 people before I made it to my seat.
11:10-11:11
They're so nice.
11:11-11:12
These people are so nice.
11:12-11:13
These people are so nice.
11:13-11:14
And week two.
11:14-11:15
These people are so nice.
11:16-11:18
And month three, these people are pretty nice.
11:21-11:22
Month six.
11:23-11:24
These people are really on my nerves.
11:26-11:32
Pastor Jeff, can we open up the door in the back so that I can sneak in so I can avoid certain people?
11:33-11:36
Because I'm sick to death of...
11:36-11:37
That's a sign that you're burning out.
11:39-11:41
You start looking at people with disdain.
11:41-11:42
You start disliking people.
11:44-11:46
I don't know who he thinks he is.
11:46-11:48
I don't know why she was wearing that.
11:48-11:49
I don't know.
11:50-11:51
That's a sign that you're burning out.
11:53-11:53
Okay?
11:53-11:58
Here's another sign that you're burning out in a similar vein.
11:58-11:59
Critical spirit.
12:00-12:02
You have a critical spirit.
12:04-12:08
and you come to church, "Oh, I love Harvest Bible Chapel's great commission.
12:08-12:12
We're fulfilling the great commission in the spirit of the great commandment.
12:12-12:13
We're glorifying God.
12:13-12:15
We're making disciples worship walk work.
12:15-12:29
I get it, I get it, I get it, I get it." And, "Wow, this is the perfect church." And you know that you're starting to burn out when you start thinking less positive things about the church.
12:30-12:33
And all you can think about is all the little negative things.
12:34-12:36
Our auditorium's too big.
12:36-12:38
I don't like that the chairs are red.
12:39-12:41
I don't like that Darren's guitar is red.
12:41-12:43
The screen is too small.
12:45-12:47
And that's a sign that you're burning out.
12:48-12:54
Instead of the joy and the fervency in serving the Lord, now it's just nitpicking every little thing.
12:55-12:56
Everything gets on your nerves.
12:58-13:05
I don't like the decisions the leadership's making Day one, "Oh, I trust the leadership.
13:05-13:13
It seems like the leaders here are really following Christ and really praying through making hard decisions." And then you question every decision that's made.
13:13-13:15
"I don't agree with that. I don't like that.
13:15-13:16
I'm not on board with that.
13:16-13:20
I'm going to make my opinion known." And critical spirit is a sign of burning out.
13:22-13:26
Number three, another sign that you're burning out.
13:26-13:32
Decisions are made by asking easiest way.
13:34-13:37
Decisions are made by asking what's the easiest way?
13:37-13:38
That's a sign that you're burning out.
13:39-13:43
Instead of, hey, let's get really creative.
13:43-13:49
I've got some really creative ideas how we can love people and how we can include people and how we can get people involved.
13:49-13:51
I'm really excited about that.
13:51-13:54
And when you start burning out, do you know what you start doing?
13:54-13:55
You start phoning it in.
13:57-14:00
Like, hey, we're going to have a party with the pastor.
14:00-14:04
The first one was like balloons and pizza, and it was fantastic.
14:04-14:13
Like, "Hey, you're in charge of setting up a party for the pastor." It's like, "I'm just going to stop at Giant Eagle and get some Lunchables.
14:15-14:16
How many Lunchables do we need?
14:18-14:20
And we need you to pay.
14:20-14:29
We need 30 Lunchables for a party with the pastor." Like, "What are you getting him to drink?" The school has a water fountain.
14:32-14:36
That's not going to cut it. Give me a piece of paper.
14:36-14:43
I'll draw a sign that says "Water Fountain This Way." Or they can drink out of the bathroom sink.
14:44-14:47
Path of least resistance. Let's just do it the easy way.
14:48-14:50
Can we just do it the easy way?
14:51-14:54
It sounds like so much work to do stuff.
14:56-14:58
Just do it the easy way.
14:58-14:59
You're burning out, man.
15:02-15:07
Also in a similar vein, number four, church is a chore.
15:08-15:10
Church is a chore.
15:12-15:14
Serving Jesus Christ should be a delight.
15:17-15:24
But when serving Jesus Christ turns into obligation - listen, don't mishear me.
15:24-15:31
There are times in our Christian walks that we have to do things maybe we don't necessarily feel like doing at that moment.
15:31-15:32
We've all been there, right?
15:34-15:41
But when that becomes the norm instead of the exception, that's a sign of burnout.
15:42-15:42
Church is a chore.
15:45-15:53
Instead of, "I'm so excited to come and worship Christ and to get into His Word and to pray and be with those incredible people Harvest Bible Chapel, Pittsburgh North.
15:54-15:58
You look at going to church the same way you look at going to your job.
15:59-16:00
It's just a chore.
16:01-16:02
I have to be there.
16:02-16:05
I have to. I have to. I have to.
16:06-16:07
Those are signs of burnout.
16:09-16:10
People get very discouraged.
16:10-16:12
And as I said, they walk away from the church.
16:12-16:15
They go from trying to do everything to doing nothing.
16:16-16:18
And both of those are a bad plan.
16:19-16:32
I want to speak very specifically here People that serve Jesus Christ at Harvest Bible Chapel, Pittsburgh, North, the last thing that we want for you, the last thing that I want for you, is to be burning out.
16:34-16:38
Because you matter more to me than the work that you accomplish.
16:39-16:44
Mike Gates, so faithful every week helping turn this school into a church.
16:44-16:46
How many times have we had that conversation, Mike?
16:46-16:47
I'm like, "Mike, are you doing okay?
16:47-16:49
I don't want you burning out.
16:49-16:50
Mike, how's your family?
16:50-16:58
How many times have we said, "You care more to me than the work that you do." It goes for everyone that serves here.
17:00-17:04
So if you need a rest, you're like, "Man, I just need a couple weeks off.
17:05-17:15
I just need some time to focus on my own walk with Christ because the work isn't flowing out of love and adoration and gratitude for Christ.
17:15-17:19
It's coming out of this place of obligation." If you need to rest, we will make that happen.
17:21-17:23
And there is absolutely no shame in that.
17:24-17:25
There's no shame.
17:26-17:37
Because look, even the people that directly accomplished ministry with Jesus Christ Himself, what did Jesus do?
17:38-17:39
He's like, "You need to rest.
17:39-17:39
You need a break.
17:40-17:41
You need a break.
17:42-17:43
Go rest." Ok?
17:45-17:46
Put yourself above the apostles.
17:47-17:49
We all need a break at times.
17:51-17:53
Jesus provides rest.
17:54-18:01
He considered that important for His disciples just as we consider that important for His disciples in this church.
18:02-18:05
Secondly, Jesus provides compassion for the weak.
18:05-18:06
He provides rest for the weary.
18:07-18:08
He also provides compassion for the weak.
18:08-18:09
Look at verse 33.
18:10-18:27
"Now many saw them going and recognized them, And they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them." So Jesus and the disciples crossed over in the boat, right?
18:27-18:34
And there were people that saw them crossing over in the boat, and they're like, "We'll just run." I don't get that, I'll be honest with you.
18:35-18:38
I don't run unless I'm being chased by something.
18:38-18:51
And even then, I'm weighing out my options I was like, "Can I take this thing that's chasing me?" Because, look, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you people that run.
18:53-18:55
I just can't do it. I can't do it.
18:56-18:57
I can't do it.
18:59-19:00
Well, these people could do it.
19:01-19:04
They ran there on foot to get ahead.
19:06-19:07
Wow.
19:08-19:10
They were in much better shape than me.
19:11-19:23
Matthew 24 says, "When He went ashore, He saw a great crowd." Jesus was like, "Man, I thought we were going to get some rest, and here's all these stupid people bothering Me." No.
19:24-19:25
What does your Bible say?
19:26-19:27
It's so awesome.
19:28-19:38
"He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
19:39-19:45
"He began to teach them many things." Jesus seeing the crowd.
19:45-19:47
The Bible says He had compassion on them.
19:48-19:49
Why?
19:50-19:52
Because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
19:53-19:54
So what does that mean?
19:55-19:57
What is a sheep without a shepherd?
19:58-19:59
Go ahead, shout it out.
20:00-20:02
Lost? I heard a couple people say lost.
20:02-20:03
True.
20:03-20:05
What is a sheep without a shepherd?
20:06-20:08
How about in danger?
20:09-20:10
Dead, pathetic.
20:12-20:13
Sheep are really pathetic animals.
20:14-20:15
They just are.
20:16-20:22
Name another animal that requires a person to make it their full-time job to babysit them.
20:23-20:23
Okay?
20:24-20:26
What do you call the guy that watches the cows?
20:27-20:29
There really isn't a guy that watches cows.
20:29-20:31
What do you call the guy that has to watch the horses?
20:31-20:33
We really don't have a guy that watches the horses.
20:33-20:35
What do you call the guy that has to watch the sheep?
20:35-20:36
Oh, that's a shepherd.
20:37-20:38
Sheep are stupid.
20:39-20:40
You know how stupid sheep are.
20:40-20:41
Do you know?
20:42-20:48
Sheep are so dumb, they train dogs to take care of sheep.
20:49-20:50
How stupid of an animal are you?
20:52-20:54
If a dog is babysitting you!
20:55-21:00
So the best word there is "pathetic." It's actually an Old Testament concept.
21:00-21:05
You see that it's in Numbers, it's in 1 Kings, it's in Ezekiel.
21:05-21:09
I like that phrase, like sheep without a shepherd.
21:10-21:10
Pathetic.
21:11-21:11
Lost.
21:12-21:12
Dead.
21:14-21:15
Sheep need everything.
21:16-21:16
They need fed.
21:16-21:17
They need protected.
21:18-21:19
They need cleaned.
21:19-21:20
They need...
21:21-21:29
What I want you to see here is that we have a God who moves toward us with compassion.
21:30-21:37
And even though you're a dumb sheep and I'm a dumb sheep, Even though we made our own mess because of our sin.
21:38-21:40
Here's a word for somebody today.
21:41-21:42
God loves you.
21:44-21:47
And in some people's ears, that phrase sounds so cliche.
21:47-21:48
God loves you.
21:50-21:54
Maybe you feel as if it's an indifferent kind of love.
21:54-21:56
Like, I guess He kind of has to.
21:58-21:59
God is love.
22:00-22:03
What I want you to see is the kind of love that He has for you.
22:05-22:09
The kind of love that He has for you is compassion.
22:10-22:15
This is for somebody here who might feel like God's mad at me.
22:15-22:23
I feel like if I went before God in prayer asking Him to straighten my life out, I feel like God's mad at me.
22:25-22:27
God is moving towards you in compassion.
22:28-22:29
God loves you.
22:31-22:35
He sees you as a sheep without a shepherd.
22:37-22:42
And He's moving towards you in compassion because Jesus said that He is the Good Shepherd.
22:44-22:50
Church, this is what needs to motivate us to be in the Word and to be in prayer.
22:51-22:59
We talk about your spiritual disciplines, your personal walk with the Lord, your devotions, your quiet time, whatever you want to call it.
23:00-23:02
I could guilt you into that every Sunday.
23:03-23:09
"You didn't read your Bible? Shame on you." "How much Bible did you read this weekend?" "None, shame on you." I could try to guilt you.
23:12-23:18
But there again, if you're reading your Bible just because it's a religious habit, is it really profiting you?
23:19-23:22
I'll tell you what's going to motivate you to be in your Bible.
23:23-23:24
Is to know that God loves you.
23:27-23:31
This book is an expression of His love for you.
23:31-23:34
This book tells you the compassion that He has for you.
23:36-23:39
That's why when Jesus saw the people and had compassion, what did He do?
23:41-23:46
The Bible doesn't say He had compassion for them, so He just gave them all hugs.
23:46-23:48
Maybe He did give some hugs, I don't know.
23:49-23:50
Here's what I do know.
23:50-23:54
His compassion moved Him to teach them.
23:55-23:55
Right?
23:56-23:58
That's why God's Word is so important.
24:00-24:01
That should be your motivator.
24:02-24:02
Oh, and prayer?
24:04-24:06
Here's your motivator for prayer.
24:06-24:11
The Bible says to cast all of your cares upon Him because He cares for you.
24:11-24:13
That's your motivator to prayer.
24:15-24:18
I'm a little ashamed of myself that my prayer life hasn't been on track.
24:19-24:29
It is getting on your knees to say, God, Your Word says that You move with compassion towards people who are lost like me.
24:31-24:33
Jesus provides compassion for the weak.
24:35-24:36
That's pathetic sheep.
24:37-24:41
Thirdly, He provides satisfaction for the hungry.
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This is really the main event of this passage.
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Did you know there are two miracles are listed in every gospel. Every gospel writer covers different things that Jesus said and did but there are two events that every gospel writer covered. Two miracles that every gospel writer said, "This miracle is so awesome, I've got to make sure that this is in my biography of Jesus." One is obviously like the resurrection, right? That's the big one. Here's the other Feeding the multitude.
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Jesus provides satisfaction for the hungry.
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Look at verse 35.
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So you have the picture of Jesus, disciples in the boat, all these crazy marathon runners.
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I'll beat them there.
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He shows up.
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He teaches them.
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Verse 35 says, "And when it grew late, His disciples came to Him and said, 'This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late.
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Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.
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Who do you think was really hungry?
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Is there anybody here like me that thinks maybe the disciples were the hungry ones?
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You know why I think that?
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You're like, "Are you reading things into the Bible, Pastor Jeff?" No, actually, verse 31 says that they had no leisure even to eat.
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Right? We already covered that.
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I think it's very specific.
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I think that's why Mark included that.
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The disciples hadn't been eating and all these people came and Jesus fires up the sermons and is loving on people.
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I think the disciples were the hungry ones here.
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You know how it is, right?
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We do this all the time.
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When I'm hungry, what do I do?
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You're laughing. You know what I do.
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I say, "Aaron, are you hungry?" Right?
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She does that to me.
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And I was like, "I'm thirsty, do you want a drink?" Because you guys know I'm mean and I'm a smart aleck, I say, "Why would I want a drink if you're the thirsty one?" But we always do that, right?
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I think that's what the disciples were doing here.
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Like, "Jesus, dinner time, it's getting kind of late, and these people are hungry." "You're hungry." And I also like this.
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"It's time to eat, and every man for himself." Jesus, send these people away.
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Tell them to go to these other villages, find a Wendy's, find an Arby's, whatever.
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Get these people out of here.
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Every man for himself.
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As usual, Jesus says something completely shocking.
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Verse 37, "But He answered them, 'You give them something to eat.'" What?
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I'm sorry.
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What was that?" He answered them, "You give them something to eat." How big was this crowd?
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We find out later, but I'm not going to spoil it for you.
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It was big.
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And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?" 200 denarii was about eight months' wages.
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Here's the question, why did Jesus tell them to give them something to eat?
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Let's reevaluate the roles here.
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God in the flesh - that would be you, Jesus.
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Not God in the flesh - that would be me.
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Which one of us is more qualified to feed these people?
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Jesus says you give them something to eat.
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Why would He say that?
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Whatever it is.
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We know Jesus said that because of the response that they made.
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Notice their answer.
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Jesus says, "Feed them." And they get out the calculator.
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Should we get eight months' wages?
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If we had eight months' worth of wages, would we be able to buy enough food for these people?
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Here's what Jesus was pointing out by saying, "You give them something to eat." He was pointing out that they were looking for a human answer to a divine problem.
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Right?
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You're looking for a human answer to a divine problem.
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You have this crowd of thousands and thousands and thousands of people, and Jesus is performing all these miracles.
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And He gives them authority, and they go out and do ministry, and they perform all these miracles, and they come back from doing this ministry, and here's another opportunity for God to showcase His awesomeness, and they're like, are we going to have enough money for that?
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In the little church we used to laugh.
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Rest her soul.
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On our board was Mary Phillips.
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And she was a widow of one of the Phillips brothers who founded T.W. Phillips Gas.
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That family was in the gas business.
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And Mary has gone home to be with the Lord several years ago.
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We used to laugh in board meetings.
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business items would come up.
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Like the junior high basketball team needs new jerseys.
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Mary would pull her checkbook out.
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She'd be like, "How much?" People would be like, "Not only that, but the worship team needs new mic stands." Mary would be like, "How much are the mic stands?" "Oh, you know what?
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Something else the church needs, we really need to bring somebody in to fix that door." "How much?" to laugh. Like Mary's got her checkbook out, so everybody speak up and let her know what you need. Here's the point. Sometimes you can't solve the problem by pulling your checkbook out. Sometimes you can't solve - not sometimes - you can never solve a divine problem with a human answer. That's what Jesus was pointing out to them. Verse 38, He said to them, "I How many loaves do you have?
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Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five.
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And two fish." We know from the other Gospels, this was like a little boy's lunch.
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Now when you hear loaves, you're like me, you think, "I'm not the world's greatest parent.
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I am not.
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I am learning so much." Here's something I would never do.
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I would never send my kids out and pack in their lunch five loaves of bread and two fish.
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Like, what kid is going to eat five loaves of bread?
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Because when I read loaves, I was thinking, do they still make the Town Talk Big Loaf?
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Do they still make Town Talk?
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Am I showing my age?
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Do they still make Town Talk?
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They do?
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Deb says they do.
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I just remember as a kid, when my parents would send me to the store, they were like, "Get the Town Talk Big Loaf." It was this enormous loaf of bread.
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Those weren't the kind of loaves that the Bible's talking about.
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These would have been like little biscuits.
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These little hard - it would have been enough for a little kid's lunch.
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They're like five little crackers and when it says "fish," it wasn't like a tuna.
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It was like a little sardine.
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That had to have looked awfully pathetic.
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You've got thousands of people and Jesus said, "See how much food we have." The disciples are like, "Okay, Jesus, here's what we got." Enough to feed a seven-year-old.
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Verse 39 says, "Then He commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass." He commanded them.
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This wasn't like, "If you'll please take a seat." They bring this tiny lunch, and Jesus says, "Everybody sit down." and sat down in groups by hundreds and by fifties.
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And taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing.
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And broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people.
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And He divided the two fish among them all.
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Jesus had His disciples passing out the food.
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And I think this was a humility reminder.
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You know, when you consider the magnitude of the ministry that they were just involved in, the disciples were out healing people.
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I've never healed anyone.
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I've never touched somebody.
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That's what they were just doing.
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They were casting out demons.
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I, to my knowledge, don't think I've ever cast out a demon.
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But you know, sometimes when you have some success in ministry, and start to think that you're something.
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That's why I would add here parenthetically to our sermon, ministry really boils down to this.
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Just do what Jesus says knowing that you're in over your head.
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Do what Jesus says knowing that you're in over your head.
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The disciples were like, "We got this little lunch." And Jesus is like, "Alright, everybody sit down.
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We're going to pass it out." And the disciples were distributing what Jesus provided.
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There's another lesson there.
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Verse 42 says, "And they all ate and were satisfied." Bible students, how many people went home hungry?
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Of these thousands and thousands of people that came from everywhere to this desolate place, how many people went home hungry?
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Hold up the sign. How many people?
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Zero.
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Zero.
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Jesus Christ wants to be the source of satisfaction in you.
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And this goes way beyond fish and crackers.
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Because the point of this miracle was so much deeper than a meal.
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You read about this in John 6.
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Jesus used this occasion to teach a lesson.
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And the lesson was this.
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He says in John 6, He says it in verse 35, and He says it in verse 48.
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thousands of people this bread, and as their bellies are full, He says to them what?
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"I am the bread of life." Church, your soul is hungry.
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Your very soul is hungry.
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And deep down, you know that there's more than this.
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There's more to what I see.
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There's more than what I experience.
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These miracles that Jesus performed were never a show.
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They always pointed to something.
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Certainly, they pointed to the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh as we've been learning going through Mark.
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But you have to see that when Jesus performed a miracle, it was more than just showing His divinity Because He could have done a lot of different things to do that, right?
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These miracles all pointed to a spiritual reality that Jesus Christ is going to fulfill in about 15 minutes.
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Like, what do you mean by that?
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Think of some of the miracles that Jesus performed.
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When Jesus healed someone, not only did it prove He was God in the flesh, but it also looks forward to the day when there is no sickness.
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When Jesus was driving out demons, He was pointing to the day that's coming that there is going to be no evil.
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When Jesus resurrected people, He pointed to the day that there would be no more death.
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And Jesus feeding this multitude, this was to point to the day that is coming where there will be no more hunger.
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In all of these miracles, it points to this truth of the supremacy of Jesus Christ.
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The feeding this multitude points specifically to the truth that satisfaction is found only in Him.
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Satisfaction for the hungry.
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This was more than a free meal.
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This was pointing to a reality.
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I ate this morning.
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I'm going to be hungry by this afternoon.
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I'm actually a little hungry right now.
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That's how it is with all food.
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Jesus says He's the bread of life and you consume Him, He satisfies you at your very deepest level.
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He's the only One who can.
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Finally, Jesus provides perfectly for the workers.
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He provides perfectly for the workers.
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Look at verses 43 and 44.
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It says, "And they took up twelve baskets of broken pieces and of the fish.
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And those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men." Mark includes that fact at the end.
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Here's why I believe he did that.
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I believe that's the exclamation point.
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I don't think it was like a byline.
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Oh yeah, by the way, I forgot to mention, there were like 5,000 people.
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I think Mark, if he was here today telling the story, he'd go through all this not mentioning how many people, and then he'd close the sermon going, And get this, "There were 5,000 men! Isn't that awesome?" He puts that at the end as like his exclamation point.
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We also know that there are more than that, right?
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Because when you read the other Gospels, compare the accounts, there were about 5,000 men.
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I believe it's Matthew, includes the phrase "besides women and children." Let's do some math.
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I need your help here because I am not a math guy at all.
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OK?
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So there's 5,000 men.
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A lot of those men-- I think it's reasonable that they were single, right?
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A lot of the men.
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But is it also reasonable that a lot of those men had wives?
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About how many women do you think there were in addition to the men?
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OK, is it reasonable to say there might have been like 5,000 women?
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Because there are probably some single women too, right?
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It just talks about the men, but the Bible says there are women and children, alright?
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So we're going to work on this!
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I would guess about an equal number of women, okay?
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And there were children there, the Bible says.
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Okay, you could say 5,000 children. I don't know. We're just guessing here.
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I know families have like 9 kids, 10 kids.
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What if there were like some of those present?
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Do you know it's reasonable that there were up to 20 or 25,000 people here?
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if you take into account all the women and children?
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Incredible.
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And here we see with these two verses, another food provision, but what I want to focus on here as we close is how He provided, and the answer is perfectly.
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Because it says after 15,000 to 25,000 people, like how many is that?
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The console arena holds how many people?
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18,000, thank you.
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Yeah, console holds 18,000 people.
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So imagine - build the capacity.
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And Jesus fed that many people with one little boy's lunch.
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That's incredible.
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But I want to show you something else incredible.
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Imagine the cleaning crew comes through console they pick up the leftover pieces.
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And how much was left over?
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What does your Bible say?
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How much was left over?
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Twelve baskets.
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Now, if you look up the word "basket" in the Greek, it actually literally means a little basket.
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It's a diminutive word.
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It means twelve little baskets were picked up.
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It wasn't like a clothes basket, okay?
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These little baskets were actually - would use them to carry their lunch in.
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They were like lunch boxes.
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Your Bible says that all these people ate, and when they cleaned up, they had 12 lunch boxes full left.
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And how many disciples were there again?
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Who didn't have time to eat?
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Who were serving other people?
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Not eating themselves, serving other people?
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Jesus, when's it my turn?
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Jesus, when do I get to eat?
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I'm serving thousands and thousands and thousands and when am I going to be able to?" And they clean up and there sits twelve lunch boxes.
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Those of you who - I want to speak again.
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I thought about you so much this week and some of the people that have been so faithful every week in serving in this church plant.
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There are some people - you know what?
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I've been serving in ministry.
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You know what, Pastor Jeff?
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I give and I give and I give, and it seems like I'm always giving.
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Who's going to take care of my needs?" You see in this passage that Jesus had His disciples take care of others first, only to find out that they'd been provided for too.
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In the same way, you can come to church, Or if this isn't your home church, you can go to Harvest Naperville or wherever I just threw that one out randomly.
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You can go to church to be served, and you can go home-filled, or you can go be involved in serving only to find out that God had your needs in mind and provided for them too.
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that people at this church have sacrificed.
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You've given so much money and time and energy and effort and burning the midnight oil, working late and working hard and giving and giving.
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Those of you that have done that, let me ask you, have you found that God has neglected to take care of you?
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Let me ask you, have you sacrificed Have you found anything that you have regretted?
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Have you found that you have been so busy serving others that God has not been meeting your own needs?
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The Lord sure taught us this lesson so many times.
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I could keep you here until football season giving you illustrations.
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I do want to share the one.
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This was just a quick one, It's a very good reminder for me.
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There was a time - our children are 15 months apart, and there was a day way back when when they were both in diapers.
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We were out of diapers and involved in ministry.
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I remember Aaron saying, "I don't have any choice.
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charge diapers. And I'm not like one of those like, dictates what Aaron can and can't spend, monitoring every penny. I'm not, I'm, you know, she's very wise and she's a good steward. She's very thrifty. For some reason, I don't know why, it must have been of the Lord. She's like, I'm going to, I'm just going to have to charge some diapers. I said, don't.
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Don't charge diapers. And she's like, we got two babies and we have no diapers and you're telling me and not to charge them.
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At the time that I said that, I don't know why I said that.
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But I do know that there was some frustration on my part because you know what?
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We gave and we gave and we gave and we gave and we were constantly trying to meet other people's needs.
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We were the people that were trying so hard to make sure other kids had diapers.
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Well, Aaron, understandably, was a little taken aback.
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Don't charge your money.
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Okay, what's your plan?
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I didn't have one.
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But it was that same afternoon that we get a random call from an acquaintance who said, "I just bought all these diapers and they do not fit my kids." They bought them at a box store.
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It was like this pack of - they come in a pack of 12,000 diapers.
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He goes, "I bought them and opened them, and they just don't fit my kids.
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Could you use them?" of dozens of stories where God has taught us, when you're busy serving others, you don't need to keep your eyes on your own needs because God has His eyes on your needs.
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Just as 12 lunchboxes were picked up for these 12 faithful servants, God's going to make sure that your needs are provided as you serve Him.
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Let me ask you, are you a needy person?
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that people would say, "I'm a needy person." There are times that we need rest and Jesus provides it.
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We need to know that we are loved and we have a God who loves us.
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We are people who hunger.
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We have a God who feeds us physically and spiritually.
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In this passage, we see that Jesus performed the largest scale miracle in history to prove that He has the power to satisfy hunger that you have.
Small Group Questions (Whole Group):
Read Mark 6:30-44
The miracle of feeding the 5,000 men is in all 4 Gospels. Why do you think all 4 writers included it? What does this miracle tell you about Jesus?
Share with the group a time that the Lord provided for you in an amazing way.
What was your biggest “take-a-way” from the message?
Breakout Questions:
Fill in the blank: “I need Jesus to provide _________ for me.”
Pray for one another.
