06/23/24 Pastor Cody - Mark

That was when everyone from the church and we care brought in kids clothes Gear toys Etc and we had everything set up in the gym like a garage sale and then Saturday all day we had it open for the community to come in and Shop but everything was free it was a great event we had probably over a hundred people come through yesterday most of the stuff was taken and we had lamb house and Max Creek First Baptist is doing a similar event this fall they took all the left over so overall just a great event we're excited to do it again next year make it an annual thing next up is NN so National Night Out that is our Community like liaison event with First Responders so we'll have a big police presence here kind of like a carnival food trucks bounce houses but that's on August 1st if you are in any way shape or form interested in helping with that event please reach out it'll be kind of an all hands- on Deck type of thing but we're really excited about it's a great event it happens Across the Nation but just really important for having good Community interaction with First Responders and our last thing Trunk or Treat is our last big event obviously that's on Halloween we really want to get some feedback on that before we jump in on planning it we kind of have two stories there of there's a group of people that feel really strongly that trun or treat is one of the most important ways that we love on the community yes Halloween is kind of a depraved holiday in many ways but we don't highlight that here we welcome people into our facility onto our property we give them candy we invite them to church we don't allow gory costumes you know the whole nine yards there and just really it being a safe place for families to bring their kids to experience trick-or-treating without having to worry about crowds and

Neighborhoods that they don't know but on the other hand people feel strongly that we shouldn't support Halloween in any way shape or form and people have said we you know we don't want to support trun or treat but it's an expensive event it's a big event we need a lot of help so as a church I would like to make sure we move forward UNIF unified on this that we all are on the same page about yes we're doing Trunk or Treat or no we're not we've we've kind of TOs like a fall festival but you know you pick any weekend in September or October you can choose from five fall festivals so you know not really a need there and no one else does a trunk oret treat so if you have any thoughts on that strong opinions please find U me talk to Cody Megan Suzanne Miller Jamie rugan like all of us are on loving our community we would love to get your feedback like I said we really want to make sure this is something the church wants to continue to do it's a long-standing tradition but we don't have to keep doing things just because we've done things so thank you guys hope you guys have a great [Applause] week yep and thank you so much Katherine for your leadership on the love and our community team and also a couple of things just to highlight next week we got our new members class at starting that's going to be up in room 401 and so it's a four-week class we talk about everything from our testimonies because we want to make sure that people are believers before they join our church we talk about what we believe as a church walking through the Baptist faith and message of 2000 and then we talk about the history mission and vision of our church and how we accomplish that along with you know things like Constitution and things like that so really great hope that you guys will join us also I've got a little note here in this is in

Your bulletin the wigets are going to be back here soon and they're going to be supporting their family but we want to host a pounding okay for that family and so there is a registry to help fill their pantry you can find it by going to going to Walmart and checking out their says the wgs are coming back to the US soon as a sending church we want to help ease their transition by filling their Pantry Etc by purchasing from a Walmart registry search for wamit is that on the Walmart website I'm assuming or going to customer service so you can do it that way also B Porter's 90th birthday is tomorrow so be sure to wish her a happy birthday hey why don't you just take a moment find a friend or a neighbor that you haven't been able to hug this morning say welcome to First Baptist Church love ch you to [Music] that light [Music] well good morning church it's good to be with you this morning it's good that we are gathered together to worship our Lord and Savior today at this time we just I'd invite you to just take a moment to prepare your heart in your minds for worship so I'd ask you to Bow your heads and close your eyes and ask the Lord to prepare you for worship this morning amid the many trials and distractions of Our Lives it's easy to forget just how worthy you are oh Lord God you are so good you are so great You Are unimaginably Holy God I pray that you would remind us of who you are I pray that you would remind us over and over of the victory story story of the Gospel that while we

Were still Sinners you made a way for us to dwell with you Lord I pray that as we remember these things as we turn our minds and our hearts to focus on you Lord you would enable us to worship you together today putting aside the distractions and singing with one another and learning with one another and declaring your Praises together it's in Jesus name we pray amen I invite you now to stand and join us as we sing praise to the Lord Romans 8:28 says and we know that those who love God for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose [Music] praise to the Lord be Almighty the king of creation oh my soul praise him for he is thy health and [Music] salvation all ye who hear now to his Temple draw near Praise Him in Glad [Music] Ador praise to the Lord who all things so wondrously R shelters the under his wings so gently sustain hast thou not seen how thy desires there have granted in what he [Music] orain praise to the Lord who do Prosper thy Work and defend thee surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend the Ponder a new what the Almighty might can do if with his love he be friend [Music] the praise to the Lord let all that is in me adore him all that had life and breath come now with praises before him let amen sound from his people again gladly for all we adore

Him let the amen sound from his people again gladly for all we adore him he is so worthy of our Praises we may have lost our keys but you know what we're going to keep on worshiping together anyway amen you know today has been a particular challenge in just getting these things rolling and I think we need days like this to remind us that this isn't what it's about right we're we're not here for a concert if you're here for a concert you're going to be sorely disappointed I'm just letting you know that now we're here to declare his Praises together amen we're here to hear his word preached because that's what he has ordained for us to do that's what he Delights in when his people gather together to praise His name so whether we have a guitar or keys or drums or Bass we're going to do that today you with me yes sir all right what can wash away our sins nothing but the blood of Jesus what can wash away my sin nothing but the blood of Jesus what can make me whole again nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow no other found I know nothing but the blood of [Music] Jesus for my paron this I see nothing but the blood of Jesus for my cleansing this might be nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is the flow that makes me white as no other found I know nothing but the blood of [Music] Jesus nothing can for sin atone nothing but the blood of Jesus not of good that I have done nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow no other found I know nothing the blood of [Music]

Jesus this is All My Hope and peace nothing but the blood of Jesus this is all my rightousness nothing but the blood of Jes oh precious is the that makes me white as SN no other found I know nothing but the blood of [Music] Jes you can be seated as our ushers come forward to collect the offering let's pray together heavenly father I thank you today for this opportunity we're reminded again that you gave everything for us for our salvation and we are reminded of how it's really difficult possible to pay back and so but we do come this morning in our service to take up this offering to remind us that you gave and we should do the same we ask these things in Jesus name Amen in the book of Philippians in the third chapter we read indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which comes through faith in Christ the righteousness from God that depends on faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share in his sufferings becoming like in his death that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead it is our faith alone in Christ alone and in his atoning sacrifice that get makes a way for us to come before the throne I invite you to stand as your able again as we sing my worth is not in what I own [Music] my is not in what I own not in the strength ofh and but in the cly wounds of

Love At The [Music] Cross my worth is not in skill or [Music] name win or lose in Pride or shame but in the blood of Christ the at the [Music] cross I rejoice in my Redeemer greatest treasure Well Spring of my [Music] I will trust in other my soul is fighting him [Music] alone asmer fls we fade and die Youth and Beauty hurry by but life eternal calls to us at the [Music] cross I will not boast in wealth or might or human wisdom beding but I will boast in knowing Christ at the cross I Rejoice I rejoice in my Redeemer great is Tre Welling of my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is saisi in [Music] alone wers here that I [Music] confess my worth and my [Music] unth my value fixed my [Music] Ransom at the [Music] cross I reice My Redeemer greatest Tre Welling of my soul I will trust in him [Music] sisf alone let's sing that chorus one more time I rejoice in my Redeemer greatest treasure Wellspring of my soul I will trust in him no

Other my soul is satisfied in him alone [Music] m In Christ Alone My Hope Is found he is my life my strength my song This Cornerstone this Solid Ground fir through the fiercest Dr and storm what Heights of love what depths of Peace when fears are still when striving Seas my comfor My All In All here in the love of Christ I [Music] Stand in Christ alone who took on flesh fullness of God in this GI of love and rightous scorned by the ones he came to save till on that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied for every sin on him was laid here in the death of Christ [Music] I there in the ground his body lay Light of the World by Darkness bursting forth in Glorious Day up from the grave he Roose again and as he stands in victory since curse has lost it grip on me for I am his and he is mine B with the precious blood of [Music] Christ no guilt in life no fear in death this is the power of Christ in me from [Music] life to final breath Jesus command and by Destiny no power of hell no SCH of can ever me from his hand till he return or calls me

Home in the power of Christ I Stand [Music] no power of h no [Music] of his till he returns or calls me home the power of Christ I'll till he returns calls me home here in the power of Christ I [Music] Stand Lord we pray this morning that you would help us to rely on you to rely on the saving work of Jesus that it gives us a relationship with you that starts now lasts through eternity Lord so we have no fear of death we know what's coming we should have no fear of life because we know that you are in control God I pray that you would remind us of these truths and I pray Lord that you would help us to learn from you to learn from your word as Cody brings us the preaching of your word it's in Jesus name we pray amen well if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please turn with me to Mark chap 6: 30-44 Mark chap 6: 30-44 we are looking at Christ feeding the 5000 today it is the only Miracle except for the resurrection that appears in all of the Gospels the only one and the feeding of the 5000 displays the goodness and the provision of God it proves that God cares for Humanity and that he proves his love in this miracle in a very tangible way it's a display of what we would call God's common Grace God's common Grace is different than his effectual Grace common Grace is the grace that God has for All Humans for all time and God he demonstrates his grace to All Humans for all time by

Doing things like bringing the rain praise the Lord for rain amen you know he does it by giving us good gifts to humanity like people that think about technological advances in medicine praise the Lord for that kind of stuff thank the Lord for developments and techn and Technology thank the Lord for his common Grace gift of things like marriage in government Anarchy is counter to God's plan and of course God he displays his provision through creation if you've ever looked outside I don't know when this happens but there's sometime you know those of you that are like 4:30 okay listen to me it comes a time when you're going to look out your window one day and you're just going to be like that's a tough to TI Mouse right there you know you're just going to be all of a sudden into Birds you're going to be bird watching I don't know what it is but it's going to bring joy to your heart and it's just going to happen you're not even going to know where that's come from right but that's a part of God's common Grace when you look out and you see the beautiful wild flowers right that's a part of God's common Grace that he has to us and thank the Lord for that but he also shows his common Grace by restraining sin in the world right I mean aren't you glad that we aren't all as sinful as we could possibly be that would be really bad for us if we just were constantly giving ourselves over to our thoughts and our wants in the moment but this miracle it displays a wonderful example of God's power in his grace for people and yet this isn't just a display for the crowd to just you know be filled this is a display of the Good Shepherd calling the lost sheep of Israel to

Himself and we're going to see that this morning if you would stand with me in honor of God's word as we read Mark 6: 30-44 God's word says this the apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and talked and he said to them come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while for many were coming and going and they had no leisure even to eat and they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves now many saw them going and recognized them and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them when he went ashore he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd and he began to teach them many things when it grew late his deciples came to him and said this is a desolate place and the hour is now late send them away to go into the surrounding Countryside and Villages and buy themselves something to eat but he answered them you give them something to eat they said to him shall we go and buy 200 deneri worth of bread and give it to them to eat and he said to them how many loaves do you have go and see when they had found out they said five and two fish and he commanded them all to sit down in groups of the grass of the on the green grass so they sat down in groups by hundreds and by 50s and taking the Five Loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the Loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people and he divided the two fish among them all and they all ate and were satisfied they took up 12 baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish and those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men let's pray so Lord we do thank you for this miracle of multiplication we thank you that you are a God that does so much more than we could ever think or imagine God that you are as we were talking about in my

Community group this morning all powerful and we thank you for that God and we just pray that as we as we really to dive into this passage Lord that we would see your multiplying power Lord we want to pray for Vern and Denny Johnson we want to pray and lift them up to you especially Denny and her treatment we want to continue to pray for Kathy and her back surgery we want pray for those that are sick among us and those that are traveling Lord grant them mercy and Lord I just pray that for those of us that are here under your word today Lord that you would speak speak to us and that you would help us to walk out of here feeling full and satisfied with what we've learned about you today we love you God help us to understand your word this morning and to live our lives in light of it in Jesus name amen well our passage today is a contrast from last week's Feast right I really want to thank Thomas for dealing with all the dancing and all that kind of stuff but if you remember remember last week in verses 12- 29 it showed the depravity of the so-called King and his very limited Authority you have herod's Feast it was filled with sin it was filled with seduction and drunkenness and erotic dancing and all sorts of different stuff that was the highlight the crowds were all of the Elites from northern Israel you know you had Mayors and leaders of cities you had those that were movers and Shak the influential and of course the Highlight or the low light of that was the Monstrous beheading of John the Baptist now Christ's Feast it stands in stark contrast to that Christ's Feast is filled with the preaching of the word of God you have the crowds that came from all over the towns that were there in and around Galilee at that time and anyone could come you could come just as you were and I thank the Lord for that

And the highlight of the feast was this miracle of feeding roughly 15 to 20,000 people and we'll get into that in a bit with just a few Loaves and some fish and this is an impossible act there's no way that you can get around this miracle that Christ performed and so the question must be asked we've asked this all the way through the Book of Mark what will you do with Jesus Christ he's not just some sort of popular rabbi From Galilee these Miracles can't just be explained away Jesus he was not constrained to Simply doing what was possible but he was regularly doing the impossible the things that only God Almighty could do and Jesus he had commissioned his disciples to go and do the same thing and they returned to Jesus and they share with him everything that they had accomplished and what they had taught and that Ministry that they had performed for the last weeks or maybe even months was exhausting they had traveled for months they had taught they had healed they had ministered all over Israel amplifying Christ's message and Ministry sixfold and now the disciples they are worn out they are completely exhausted and the Crowds Are swelling again in capernium they're hearing about these disciples they're hearing about Jesus and they want more they want to see all of these signs they want to have all of these Miracles and the disciples are just worn out it is so busy for these guys that they can't even get a snack in and so Jesus he encourages the disciples to tear away to come away let's go across the lake where it's not so busy and every Minister missionary and member is compelled by the word of God to serve the Lord somehow I want to take a moment here and remind you that you were saved to serve you're not saved to sit okay No

One retires from Ministry it's one of the things I love about Dr Marshall you know y'all know Dr Marshall I love Dr Marshall he's still out there and he's still ministering and when he's not at a church he's helping and serving with the North American Mission board and if he's not doing that then he's meeting with young pastors trying to remind them not to be too stupid their first few years of ministry and I love that guy but we saved to serve and I want to encourage you to look at that example set forth in Scripture and you might have to take a break for a season I know many of my brothers and sisters here they serve and they serve and they serve and they might have to take a break for a season and I get that let it be for a season only because once you get out of that serving role sometimes it's hard to get back in Jesus he sets the example and his disciples he invites them to come away to a desolate place and rest that word desolate in the Greek it literally means a desert area deserted area describing the Wilderness and what this is Christ he is going to display himself as the greater Moses In this passage he is going to call his People Into the Wilderness and in John chapter 6 and we're going to read almost the entirety of John chapter 6 today but after the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus he talks to the crowds and he declares himself to be the Bread of Heaven pointing to himself as the true Mana from the father that satisfies and so the disciples they go across the lake with Jesus and they're worn out they're worn down they go across the Sea of Galilee to this place in the wilderness and verse 32 you don't want to miss this the reason for the rest is not so that way they can get away it's so that way they can find rest with Jesus and that's one of the points

I want you to write down is that Jesus he invites us to find our rest with him he invites us to find our rest with him those in Ministry have practiced this withdrawal from public Ministry for centuries to go into desolate places to be with the Lord in today's world it's called a sabatical missionaries they may call it furo although it's not designed to be a vacation right it's designed to change up ministry to refuel you for greater Ministry later but it's done that way in order to be refreshed Christ he instructed the apostles in Matthew 10: 6-8 go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel that's that's a key term there that lost sheep we're going to see that again and Proclaim as you go saying the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and then heal the sick raise the Dead cleanse lepers and cast out demons that's very specific right but you know Jesus has given to each and every single one of us a commission as well which we find at the end of Matthew chapter 28 go therefore and Make Disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you that is what we as Believers are called and instructed to do for the sake of the glory of God and so they go to this desolate place in this site it's understood as tabha which is actually in a wouldn't you know it kind of a deserted place but there's a church there now this is the church this is called The Church of the multiplication now obviously the church didn't look this nice when it was originally built in 200 that's because it was destroyed it was destroyed around 600 and no one knew that it was in existence until they found a mosaic from the original church that was there and there you go you got two fish and a basket full of bread there that

Dates from 200 that's pretty cool isn't it to see you know these stories they're not just stories they are testimonies from actual eyewitnesses in this desolate place it's miles away from villages in Christ he is offering to provide rest for his people rest for his people in the wilderness do you see the parallel of Christ in The Exodus here and yet Jesus he has a good plan that demonstrates his divinity because just as God supplied Mana to Israel in the desolate places Jesus is going to feed Israel in this desolate place as well and so the crowds they move all together in mass and they are going to meet up with Jesus and I want you to understand that this was a massive crowd in the ancient world the Roman Coliseum would fit 50,000 people all right that was a huge crowd back in the ancient world and yet this was 15 20,000 people that's absolutely massive thousands upon thousands of men and women and children seeking Jesus in Mark he says that he saw the crowd and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd and this goes back to numbers 27 where Moses he spoke to the Lord and he said let the Lord the God of the spirits of All Flesh appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them who shall lead them out and bring them in that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no Shepherd that man right there was Joshua but Jesus is the greater Joshua he is the one that doesn't allow for his sheep to wander too far he's the one that calls us back often times grabbing Us by the Ruff of our neck and dragging us back thank the Lord for it and you need to take note of this as well as that Jesus he is the Good Shepherd that cares for people whether you're a Christian or not I want you to know that Jesus he cares about you he has tender compassion for

You most of the people in this crowd were not followers of his they weren't Believers but he still had compassion passion that word in verse 34 it means to feel with all of your emotions in the depth of who you are as a person and so Jesus he is moved with compassion because they are lost because they are shepherdess they have no direction whatsoever and if a sheep doesn't have a Shepherd you know what's going to happen they're going to get scattered they're going to get lost they're going to get stuck in rocks and hard places they're going to get caught in brambles they're going to die is what's going to happen and why was Israel harassed and helpless like sheep without a Shepherd well it's because Israel didn't want to have God like I'm just going to put a fine point on it they didn't want God in Zechariah Chapter 10 verse two it says for the household Gods is a violation of one of The Commandments two of The Commandments actually utter nonsense and the divers see lies they tell false dreams and give empty consolation therefore the people wander like sheep they are afflicted for lack of a Shepherd I mean when we talk about shepherds in the Bible the very first person that we should think of is King David King David was the Good Shepherd and why was he good it is because he led with an upright heart and he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand Jesus Christ he is the promised Messiah that would come from David's line to be the shepherd over Israel Jesus is the Good Shepherd who has merciful compassion toward you and every single needy person and his love is a selfless Ministry that prompts him to continue teaching and serving even in the midst of exhaustion and the Mark of that good shepherd is firstly teaching the preaching and Teaching

Ministry of a church is its most vital and important Ministry pastors they're Shepherds they are primarily tasked not to be great administrators although that's helpful or organizers or Visionaries or whatever you say a Shepherd is called primarily to feed the sheep and God has given that and delegated that to Shepherds to pastors and Jesus he does this well he does this better than any other person who has ever lived or ever will live and people don't like what Jesus feeds them the true word of God they want a political Savior don't they want a Savior from Rome not a Savior from their sins they don't want a Lord over their lives and Jesus knows that will happen and yet he still feeds them he still has compassion for them and he cares for them look at what it says in the parallel passage in Luke 9:1 he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those that needed healing Jesus he never stopped preaching the truth about the kingdom of God the message of the kingdom of God was ultimately all about Jesus and he never stopped and so if you're taking notes I want you to understand this that Jesus he invites us to learn more about him he invites us to come and dine with him to know him to share communion with him and fellowship with him he invites us to do that and the day after Christ he performs his Miracle he continues teaching the people they are ready to overthrow Rome they are ready to set up Jesus as the king of Israel they are willing to overthrow Herod they are willing to fight against pontious pilate they're ready to do all of that type of stuff they want the rewards of having Jesus be their political leader and look at what happens in John chapter 6 verses 25- 58 it says truly truly I say to you were seeking me not because you saw

Signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures to eternal life which the son of man will give you give to you for on him God the father has set his seal then they said to him what must we do to be doing the works of God Jesus answered them this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent conversation should be over there right oh okay now so they said to him well then what sign do you do that we may see and believe in you don't forget that the day before this what were they doing they were taking part in a miracle five loaves of bread two fish fed everyone they still want more signs never underestimate the blindness of a heart that's not turned towards God what work do you perform Our Father our fathers ate the Mana in the wilderness as it is written he gave them bread from Heaven to eat then Jesus said to them truly truly I say to you it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven but my father father gives you the true bread from heaven for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world they said to him sir give us this bread always Jesus said to them I am the bread of life whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst but I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe all that the father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never cast out for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me and this is the will of him who sent me that I should that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the last day for this is the will of my father that everyone who looks on the son and believes in Him should have

Eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day and so the Jews grumbled about him because he said I am the bread that came down from heaven they're not mistaking what Jesus is laying down they are understanding it they said is not this Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and mother we know how does he now say I have come down from heaven Jesus answered themo not Grumble among yourselves no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day it is written in the prophets and they will all be taught by God everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes to me not that everyone has seen the father except he who is from God he has seen the father truly truly I say to you whoever believes has eternal life I am the bread of life your fathers ate the Mana in the wilderness and they died this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat of it and not die I am the living bread that came down from heaven if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My Flesh then the Jews the Jews then disputed among themselves saying how can this man give us his flesh to eat so Jesus said to them truly truly I said to you unless you eat the Flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day for my flesh is True Food and my blood is true drink whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him as the living father sent me and I live because of the father so whoever feeds on me he also will live because of me this is the bread that came down from heaven not like the bread the fathers ate died whoever feeds on this bread will live forever and you know what happened after that Jesus became really unpopular

So much so that he turned to his disciples and said you guys going to leave too he weren't satisfied with that message the Jews weren't they wanted a political Savior the purpose behind Jesus's teachings and even this miracle was not for the crowds to be filled and it wasn't for them just to be taught it was for them to be changed and for them to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God that's the purpose behind this miracle he said it but their hearts are hardened and in the passage in John it says that they Grumble and they dispute and they ask for more signs and we should take a lesson from that L we be like those crowds because Christians are given over to grumbling and discontentment too why because we don't find satisfaction Jesus we dispute over things we argue we Grumble we ask for more signs why do we do those things it's because our hearts are not right with the Lord it's because we're not seeking the face of God through prayer and fasting it's much easier to pray a prayer God give me a sign as opposed to seeking the face of God in fasting let's not be like the crowds let's resolve res olved to be close to Jesus knowing him and him alone and let's look at verses 35 through 37 it says and when it C grew late his disciples came to him and said this is a desolate place and the hour is now late send them away to go into the surrounding Countryside and Villages and buy themselves something to eat but he answered them you give them something to eat can you imagine that 15,2,000 people showing up at your you know even here at our church with all of our resources okay and being told you give them something to eat we'd just go home right that's just

Impossible that's a lot of bread from saal lot right they even ask that shall we go and buy 200 daeri worth of bread and give it to them to eat now the disciples they're being reasonable they're being kind of compassionate they're looking out these people are probably getting very hungry Jesus we don't have any food that's accessible let's send them away so that way they can eat they can return tomorrow right but Jesus he tell gives them a command an imperative in the Greek you give them something to eat and to us that may not sound very reasonable or sensible we do not have the resources for that Jesus but remember the context TT that the apostles had just spent weeks or months traveling healing people teaching people healing leprosy raising the dead and so this is the greater challenge that Jesus is giving to them to step up and understand what God is calling them to but Jesus he sees they're not there yet and so he responds practically what do you have available what kind of inventory do you have in John 6 we learned that a little boy he hadn't eaten his lunch that day surprise surprise and he had five loaves of barle bread and two fish now Jesus he didn't need the bread he didn't need the fish to work this miracle he could have made it out of stones and yet God he chooses to use our faithfulness to be a blessing to others what if the kid said you can't have my lunch Jesus Well we'd have a very different story but many Christians they lose sight of God multiplying their simple gifts who is impressed with five loves of bread to fish no one that is just a very standard lunch in the ancient world very standard and you may not have impressive gifts you may not have impressive talents or resources or anything

Like that but God he takes those very basic and ordinary things and he does amazing things through our faithfulness I am not a great guitar player amen but God he uses that don't ask me to sing all right but whatever your gift is use it for the glory of God he could have caused Mana to rain down from the sky like in ex Exodus he just could have caused it to just come down and show up he could have caused a storm to rise up on Galilee and bring up a whole bunch of fish and cause it to rain down that would have been miraculous he didn't didn't do that though he could have had chicken legs flying down on Polkka dotted parachutes if he wanted to on the people he could have done that but he didn't because God he chooses to include us in the work of ministry he uses our gifts our ordinary selves our weaknesses for his glory look at what it says in 2 Corinthians 4:7 but we have as treasure in Char Jars of Clay to show that his all surpassing power is from God and not from us God he uses Comming clay jars just like you and I to do wonderful amazing Ministry he uses our ordinariness to do that and we like to think that God he wants our strengths like it's easy for us to say I am eloquent in speech therefore I'm going to submit my eloquence to God I am talented in this area I'm I'm a good businessman I'm really good with numbers therefore I'm going to submit that part to God but you know it's really hard to submit to God is the things that we're not strong in the things that we are weak in that is really hard for us to submit to the Lord Elizabeth Elliot she expresses the idea this way she says if the only thing that you have to offer is a broken heart well then you offer a

Broken heart so in a time of grief the recognition that this is material for sacrifice has been a very great strength for me realizing that nothing I have nothing I am will be refused on the part of Christ I simply give it to him as the little boy gave Jesus his Five Loaves and two fishes with the same feeling that the disciples have when they said whatat good is this for such a crowd naturally in almost anything I offer to Christ my reaction would be what is the good of that the point is the use he makes of it is his Blessing Jesus he sets about that work of the miracle and he makes everyone sit down in the grass and they do so almost like dinner parties back in that ancient world that word sit down is anaco it's where we kind of get that kleino comes it's where we get our word reclined from and people would recline at a dinner table and so Jesus he takes that bread and the fish He blesses it he breaks it and he gives it to the apostles and they distribute it and this is the first instance that we have of Christ beginning to show that New Covenant in Christ okay this is an example of the Lord's Supper hasn't happened yet but he's preparing his disciples to understand it the miracle is that near establishment of the New Covenant that ordinance of communion is where everyone that is in Christ has tasted and seen that the Lord is good and so we come to him and we are satisfied that word satisfied in the Greek here is the Greek word chazo which has its roots and animal husbandry it means that when we are satisfied that just as a sheep eat the field and they eat it all the way down to just the bar Nubs they eat until they're full and as those sheep we satisfied we are satisfied in Christ This is why Christ

Taught in Matthew chap 5:6 blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied and when we come to Christ we come seeking Christ not seeking His blessings not seeking the things that he can do for us as opposed to seeking out the Christ who has done everything for us and we find our satisfaction with him it's complete and it's total and we become a part of the church which is his body the fullness of him who fills everything in every way in Colossians chapter 2: 9 and 10 it says for in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form and you have been given fullness in Christ and the miracle was done and everyone ate their fill and they took up these 12 baskets full of bread and fish in the Gospel authors note how many they were and in Matthew it says those who ate were 5,000 men besides women and children thousands and thousands and thousands of people and the last point for you is this is that Jesus he invites us to be satisfied with him the people said in John 6:14 this is indeed the prophet who has come to the world right after that Miracle this is the prophet and so they understood the miracle but they didn't believe that Jesus was the son of God they thought that Jesus was there to bless them with Earthly blessings like freedom and abundance and health and prosperity and that sounds a lot like an American Gospel not a Biblical Gospel one day Christ he will return at his second Advent and he will give us things like freedom and abundance in this in our existence and he will give us Health that never ends and prosperity That Never Ends but his kingdom is not of this world right now that'll happen in the future in his first Advent Jesus he came to seek and save the lost to give his

Life as a ransom for many and try as people might to try to make Jesus into something that he's not Jesus is not willing to be their King on their terms and that hasn't changed the reason for the miracle wasn't for people to just get a great dinner but to prove his power in his care and draw them into knowing him as Lord and Savior and master and those that come to Christ they never go away disappointed we will be eternally satisfied in him head heart hand had God wants you to know that he can multiply whatever your humble gifts may be whatever they are you might not feel like the most talented person you may not be the most talented person but God does more in our faithful willingness than our fearful hiding heart God wants you to believe that he does his greatest work through our humble gifts and he multiplies them for his glory this should give Christians greater hope that when we serve the Lord and give to the work of the ministry and join in that work of the ministry we can expect to see God do those amazing works first Corinthians 15:58 says therefore my beloved brothers be steadfast immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in [Music] vain in hand God he wants you to trust his multiplying power today what do you need to give to the Lord is it your service maybe it's your submission finances maybe it's faithfulness in an area of your life whatever it is you entrust that to him and you won't be disappointed with Jesus and so God we do thank you so much for this day that you've given to us we thank you for this

Time that we get to have to respond and worship and if there's anyone here that maybe they just need to say Pastor I want you to pray for me I pray that today would be that day that Lord that they just start having those spiritual conversations maybe they just know that they need to get their walk right with you I pray that before they leave this place today that's what would happen God help them to reach out to a friend or someone that invited them or even just walk up to me and just start that conversation father thank you for your word we pray that we would live our lives in the light of it knowing that you multiply greater and above anything that we could ever think or imagine because you are God and you are good we thank you for it all in Jesus name amen let's stand and let's worship together my worth is not in what I own not in the strength of Flesh and Bone but in the costly wounds of Love At The Cross my worth is not in skill or name in win or lose in Pride or shame but in the blood of Christ that flow at the cross I rejoice in my Redeemer greatest treasure Well Spring of my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is satisfied in him alone as summer flowers we fade and die Fame Youth and Beauty hurry by but life eternal calls to us at the cross I will not boast in wealth or might or human wisdom's fleeing light but I will boast in knowing Christ at the cross I rejoice in my Redeemer greatest treasure Wellspring of my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is satisfied in him alone to wonders here that I

Confess my worth and my unworthiness my value fixed my Ransom PID at the cross [Music] I rejoice in my Redeemer greatest treasure Wellspring of my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is satisfied in him alone my soul is satisfied in him [Music] alone you all can be seated so there's just one more thing for our service today and it's kind of a Bittersweet thing but Deborah and I have been just trying to walk Faithfully recently and just seeing what the Lord would have us do and it's with kind of mixed emotions that we are announcing that we'll be resigning effective August 5th so just about six weeks away but it's not a totally negative thing we're resigning for good reasons the Lord is calling us on to a seminary so I'll be attending Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City starting in late August and so we just wanted to let you all know because you're our family and we love you also as we try to make plans for this transition you all are going to hear about it so we wanted you to hear about it from us so yeah we are it's hard for us to leave the people that we love and honestly especially the youth group we're going to miss you all a lot but we are confident that this is where the Lord would have us he's just opened door after door after door that should have been closed and so that's that's kind of where we're at so I don't know if Cody has something to add to us here oh yeah I got something to add but seriously we do appreciate and love this family here and I

Want to encourage you guys you know just come up shake their hand hug their necks of course we're going to do a big well to-do for them as they go because we love them and so you know maybe after Seminary or something like that we'll see him again or something like that so we'll see but anyways why don't we pray for the Lord's blessing over them and if anyone wants to come up and join us in praying over them come on up let's pray Father in Heaven God you are an amazing God Lord you love us you love this church you love your people father you love Austin and Deb and God As You Are leading them opening the doors father that as he said should have been closed father we just want to come and stand with them and pray for them Lord as they as they move forward in this new adventure of Austin going to Seminary father there's going to be a lot of changes in their lives just and going back to school and just all the things that are involved in that God we pray that you would be continually preparing the road for them as they move forward in that Direction and father we pray for the church Lord as we've enjoyed his leadership in music and worship service and the youth father we pray for your wisdom and guidance and Direction Lord as we move forward in this as well father we pray for these next six weeks for the whatever different things Lord that need to line up as they move forward in this New Direction that you've LED them in and we just pray for your wisdom and your guidance in Jesus name amen