Jesus Feeds 5000

Good afternoon. thanks to the worship team for leading us in worship. it was a blessing to me just as I was observing some of the people leading us in worship. I was just thinking, boy, I've been here at Cornerstone for a long time.

I'm 44 now and I've been here since I was about 23 and some of the people up front on the piano and leading worship, they were just really little kids way back when I was their age now. And, and just, there's, there's some people here whose stories that I know, I know from where they have come and just to see them leading me in worship, it was just a huge blessing for me this morning. Well, anyways, let us go ahead and take a moment here to look to the Lord in prayer. I'd like to pray his blessing upon you and, his use of me as well, so let's pray.

dear Lord, we just come before you this morning. And Lord, we quiet our hearts in your presence. Lord, we thank you for the songs that we have been able to sing, and we thank You, Lord, for the gospel that those songs have directed us to. Our God saves.

Lord, we acknowledge that you are a good God. That Lord, you have been good to, you have been good to us. Lord, we're thankful to you that you shed your blood on the cross for us so that our sins would be forgiven. Lord, we ask that you would open the eyes of our understanding as we take a look at your word here this morning, and Lord, I pray that you would help each and every single one of us to gain something from your word, that Lord, it would not just be mere Words on paper, but Lord, you would minister to us the living word, Jesus.

Help us to behold you in the pages of scripture here this morning, and Lord, I pray that you would help me, help me, Lord, to minister to your people in a way that would glorify you and that would benefit your people. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. No.

The day begins and I give my son his list of responsibilities for the day. I say to my son, memorize your Aniverse, clean your room, vacuum the floors, take your cuts, do your throws, finish your math, practice each of your three speeches 5 times, be sure to read Gruden's chapter on the deity of Christ. Watch the video clip of Rabbi Zachariah. Defense of the Trinity.

Finish your apologetics card. Deliver it in the mirror. Read Vincent's book on head coverings. Practice piano for one hour.

Make sure you are ready to lead worship for Awanis tonight. Take the trash out, put your clothes away. Take a shower, brush your teeth, and read to your little brother. I bark out these commands to my son, and he looks at me like I have just flipped my lid.

I know, I know he feels overwhelmed by what appears to be an impossible task. Nevertheless, I am his father and in my infinite wisdom, I am confident that he can do whatever I asked him to do. In these moments I, I simply want my son to trust in me and to get working. I can't.

I won't. That is not the response that I am looking for. And part of what I want my son to learn is that he is often capable. Of much more than he realizes.

I want for him at the end of the day. To believe, to have faith and to trust. Likewise, you and I are capable of much more than we realize. The Lord knows this, and he puts in us what seems to be, he puts us in what seems to be impossible situations in order to prove what he can do in and through our lives.

The Lord calls us to trust in Him. We see the Lord doing this with his disciples. The Lord often puts his disciples in difficult situations and he calls them to do impossible things. He wants to prove to them that he, he can accomplish much through them and along the way, the Lord develops the faith of his disciples, and he teaches them, and by way of extension, he teaches us to trust in Him.

In our message this morning, we will look at when Jesus fed the 5000 and we will discover 4 things that Jesus does to develop trust in his disciples. So please turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 6, Mark chapter 6, we're gonna be beginning in verse 33, Mark 6:33, and as you are turning there, And just a little bit by way of some background. We know in the first chapter of Mark that Jesus calls out his first disciples, Simon, Andrew, James, and John. All four were ordinary men with ordinary occupations, and soon thereafter, we note that Jesus is in a synagogue in Capernaum, and he delivers a man from demon possession.

Next, he heals Simon Peter's mother-in-law. And then later he heals a leper, he then heals a paralytic. After that, Mark records the calling of Matthew the tax collector. Matthew the tax collector threw a huge party for invited Jesus to the party and tax gatherers and sinners were in attendance at that party and it was then that the scribes and Pharisees began to take issue with the company that Jesus keeps.

And then Jesus, as we continue to read through the big picture of Mark, he challenges the religiosity of the day, and he says, quote, You cannot put new wine into old wineskins, unquote. Jesus represents the new wine that cannot Be accommodated by the old wineskin of the religiosity of the scribes and Pharisees. And as we continue in Mark, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand. He does this in a synagogue on the Sabbath afterwards, the religious leaders plot to kill Jesus.

Nevertheless, he continues to heal countless people. The next thing he does is he selects 12 men. He selects, hand selects 12 men whom he would pour into, empower, and equip for ministry. In Mark chapter 4, Jesus teaches to these 12 men a number of kingdom parables, and afterwards, he calms the raging sea of Galilee, and then he rebukes his disciples for their lack of faith.

Afterwards, the Lord Jesus Christ heals a demon possessed man. After that, Jairus comes to Jesus on behalf of his dying daughter. He agrees to go to his daughter, but along the way, a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years comes to him and touches him and is healed simply by touching the cloak of his garments. In the meantime, Jairus's daughter dies, but Jesus goes to her and he raises her from the dead.

And then we get to Mark chapter 67 through 12, and, and it's interesting what happens here. Jesus has already spent some time with his disciples. He has shown them what he is able to do and here Jesus is going to send them out on their first short term mission trip. He sends them out in groups of 2 in order to preach repentance and to perform miracles that were designed to authenticate their message and their authority.

The disciples eventually returned to Jesus with a praise report. They tell Jesus all of what they were able to do. They healed the sick, they raised the dead, they cast out demons, they taught repentance, and so they were excited about what they were able to accomplish in the name of Jesus. And now we find ourselves in Mark chapter 6.

And the sermon this morning is entitled Jesus Feeds the 5000, 4 things that Jesus does to develop trust in his disciples, 4 things that Jesus does to develop trust in his disciples. The first thing that Jesus does to develop trust in his disciples is reveal his love. This is the first thing. Brothers and sisters, he reveals his love by way of extension.

He wishes to reveal to you and I his love, and for us to be captivated by his love. As we look at verse 33, we can consider this the backdrop inside of which the love of Jesus is revealed as we anticipate the feeding. Of the 5000 in verse 33, it says, and when, when he went ashore, when Jesus went ashore, he saw a great multitude, and he felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. This backdrop of Jesus' love is revealed in the following 4 ways.

One, he went to where a crowd would be. Take note of that, he went to where a crowd would be. He went to that crowd fully aware that a crowd would be there, but he did not try to circumvent the crowd on this occasion. He goes to where the crowd is, and then it tells us too that he saw the crowd.

Again, he saw the crowd. He was aware of the people that were there. He saw the faces of the people in the crowd. He took note of them, he noticed them and also noticed third, that he felt compassion for the crowd.

He felt compassion for the crowd. Now the Greek word for compassion is a hard word to say. I'll probably mess it up, but let me try, splag snit samai, splag snit. Sitsema.

Try saying that 100 times in a row, slag schnitzamai. Well, that is the word that is used for the compassion that he is feeling, and this word refers to the inward parts, the bowels, including the heart, liver, and lungs. This word is emotionally charged. Furthermore, the verb is in the passive voice.

Understand the verb is in the passive, which means that the subject is not. The one performing the action, but the subject Jesus is passive in the action. He is passive. The intense compassion felt within the bowels of Jesus naturally sprang from very deep inside and out of the overflow of the compassion that was deep inside of him, Jesus would take action.

We'll consider the action in a moment, but first understand the reason why Jesus felt such intense emotion. The Bible here says that because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And so Jesus comes to the crowd, he sees the crowd, and he's filled with compassion, and the reason he has this compassion for the crowd, this big crowd, is because he could see their spiritual condition. He could see that they were bankrupt, he could see that they were dead in their transgressions and sins.

He could see that they needed to be taught. He saw these people and his heart being moved with compassion. is going to begin to teach them many things. These people were like sheep without a shepherd, directionless, no, no real sense of purpose in their lives, they were lost, and Jesus as the great shepherd wants to minister to these lost people.

And so consider what he does by way of ministering to these lost people. It says 4, he taught the crowd. Number 4, he taught the crowd, and it says that he taught them many things. Now there are a number of things that he could have done, but what Jesus does here is the most important thing.

He teaches them many things about the kingdom of God. He teaches them about repentance, he teaches them about their need for the Lord. He's teaching them all day long and the The Bible says that he was teaching them many things. He did not tire in teaching these people, he saw them, he saw the condition that they were in, and he wanted so badly to minister to them out of the overflow of the compassion that was in his heart, and he's teaching them many things because he loves them.

You see, the love of Jesus for them is revealed in these four ways. He went to where the crowd would be, he saw the crowd, he was cognizant of the crowd, he felt in his innermost being compassion for the crowd because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and then he teaches them many things. Imagine if you had been one of these persons in the crowd on this day. Imagine what your testimony on that day would have been.

You would have said that, that Jesus came to me, he saw me and he felt compassion for me. He taught me many things. And had you been a disciple on this day, you would have observed how deep was the love of Jesus for the crowd. You would have observed how much Jesus cares for the people, and you would have had every reason to trust in the love of Jesus for you.

You see, the first thing that Jesus does here, To develop trust in his disciples is he's showing them by way of example his love for these people and by way of extension he's showing them how much it is that he loves his disciples. He has a purpose for them in showing to them how much he loved the crowd. But you are not someone from that crowd. Rather, you are someone from the cornerstone crowd, and as we look back some 2000 years, we behold that Jesus has come and that he died a brutal death on the old rugged cross in order to minister to your greatest need.

Through his shed blood, our sins are washed over and we are welcomed into God's presence. And for you who have repented of your sin and believe in Jesus, he has sealed you with the Holy Spirit of God. God the Spirit indwells you. God the Spirit indwells you who have repented and who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus will return again someday and he will restore all things.

He has done this for you because coming to you, he saw you. He felt intense compassion for you and he taught you so that through believing the truth of the gospel you might be set free. I submit to you this morning that Jesus undoubtedly loves you and you have every reason to trust in Jesus. Let's now move to the next thing that Jesus does in order to develop trust in his disciples.

The second thing Jesus does to develop trust in his disciples is present the test. He presents a test. This is often the very thing that we do not want. We do not want a test.

We do not want a trial. We don't want to be tasked with a responsibility that seems humanly impossible. We don't want for our plan to be rejected, to be set aside, and we do not want for another plan, a more difficult plan, a hard plan to be put in its place. Yet the Lord will ordain a difficulty so that we might learn to trust in Him.

Look at verse 35. It says, when it was already quite late, his disciples came up to him and they began saying, The place is desolate and it is already quite late. Send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. But Jesus answered and he said to them, you give them something to eat, and they said to him, Shall we go and spend 200 denari?

This would be the modern day equivalent of $60,000. Should we go and spend 200 denarii on bread and give them something to eat? Here, Jesus presents a test in order to develop trust in his disciples, and as we examine this test, we know there's 4 things about the test, 4 things about the test. First, this test comes in the form of a dilemma.

It comes in the form of a dilemma. You see, much of the crowd had been with Jesus the entire day, and now it is late, and the disciples bring to Jesus a legitimate concern. They say, Jesus, this place is desolate, it is late, we've got an idea, we have a plan, send them away so that they can get for themselves something to eat. Sounds like a good plan, doesn't it?

However, Jesus has a different plan, one that is ultimately designed to strengthen the faith of his beloved disciples, and notice what Jesus says again, he says, you give them something to eat. This leads to the next thing about the test. Second, this test calls for obedience to what seems like an impossible command to follow. This test calls for obedience to what seems like an impossible command to follow.

Consider again the command of Jesus to his beloved disciples. He says, you give them something to eat, and given what the disciples had already declared, this seems outlandish. The disciples had a reasonable plan in place. Jesus rejects their plan, and he introduces an idea that seems unthinkable.

You give them something to eat, and this is not a suggestion, this is an imperative. And the disciples were left with no option. That's what I want you to do, fellas. I want you to feed this multitude.

You give to them something to eat. I want you to note that in the middle or in the midst of what seems like an impossible command, Second, This test calls, or second, this test calls for obedience to what seemed like an impossible command. The thing that I want you to notice here is that this command is given to them in the second person plural. He's not speaking to one person.

He says, you give them something to eat, you, being plural, you all, not just you as an individual, but together as a whole, I want you to accomplish what seems to you to be an impossible task. You give them something to eat. He's not speaking to one but to the whole, and the task was not meant to be accomplished by one person. And so how comforting to know that often the task we are given is not meant to be accomplished by one person alone.

So often we are to work together. This command could have been, could not have been any clearer, and nevertheless, the disciples struggle with the command and in the process we discover the next thing about the test. 3rd, 3rd, this test exposes the heart of the disciples. Notice how the disciples respond, and they said to Jesus, shall we go and spend 200 denarii on bread and give them something to eat?

In essence, this, this serves as an objection to what Jesus commanded them to do. The disciples are utterly shocked. You have got to be kidding me, right? You have got to be kidding me.

You really think, Jesus, that we can feed this entire crowd? Did you not hear? We told you, the place is desolate. That means there is no place anywhere close for us to go and get the food that they need.

There is no food and we cannot create something out of nothing. This is impossible. You mean to tell us that we are to come up with $60,000 and then travel a distance, buy all of the food that we need, and then haul it back here, us 12, and feed the whole crowd? Such a response of the disciples reveals that they struggle to trust in Jesus.

By now, they should know that Jesus has the power. They should know that Jesus really cares. They should know that when he gives command, he fully intends on carrying out that command. He is faithful, they should have known these truths about Jesus.

Their experiences with Jesus were sufficient for them to trust in Jesus, but their response reveals a heart that is filled with doubt. Their response reveals That they don't really know their savior. It shows that they would rather trust in themselves with all of their heart and lean on their own understanding despite the clear command they object, but before we move on in the passage, there is one more thing about this test that we should know for. This test was orchestrated by Jesus.

It was orchestrated by Jesus, and this point is clear when we cross reference John's account. In John chapter 6 verses 5 through 6, we read this. Jesus, therefore lifting up his eyes and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, and understand that what he is about to say to Philip, he says to Philip before the disciples even realize that they are in a dilemma. He says this to Philip before the disciples even come up with their own plan as to how to solve the problem.

And so in advance, Jesus said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread that these may eat? You see, he's bathing them, he's preparing him, and the Bible says here that he was saying this to test him and by way of extension to test the disciples, he said this to test them, for he himself knew, Jesus knew what he was intending to do. This test was orchestrated by Jesus. Jesus wanted for these disciples to experience this test and so here in advance, he baits the hook, he sets the stage.

And so we can take from this the fact that the test was orchestrated. He is sovereign. And you may be in the test, and I submit to you that whatever test you are in, It does not escape God's sovereignty. You see, he wanted the disciples to know that God uses ordinary people and ordinary means to accomplish extraordinary things.

He wanted once again to show the disciples what he could do. He wanted to stretch the faith of his disciples so that they would learn to trust in him. And so Jesus presents a test. It came in the form of a dilemma.

It was followed up by what seems to be an impossible command to follow, and it exposed in the disciples a heart of unbelief. Perhaps you identify with these disciples of Jesus. The Lord has orchestrated a test in your life. he is calling you to do something that seems impossible for you to do.

Your marriage is falling apart. You have been horribly sinned against by your spouse, and you struggle in your heart of hearts to forgive, and everything in you wants to run, but the Lord tells you this morning to be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving just as God in Christ Jesus has forgiven you, or maybe your financial situation has changed dramatically. You are now making 60% of what you were making before and you have no clue how you are going to make it. You are a wife with children, and the Lord is calling you to get a part-time job.

You have not worked for more than a decade, and the thought of getting a job seems impossible. Maybe you are a career woman, but the Lord is clearly telling you to be a stay at home mom. Like the disciples, you have objections, you struggle to see how this is gonna work, or maybe you are overseeing the largest speech and debate tournament in the country. There are 1000 things to think about and the Lord has lovingly orchestrated countless fires in the county where the event is to be held and you have just found out that the venue for the event must be vacated.

I do not know the details of your dilemma, but I can guarantee you, the Lord is in control and he sovereignly orchestrates tests in your life in order to stretch your faith. Now let's consider the response here of Jesus to the disciples. This is wonderful. He, he could have admonished his disciples, right?

He could have sent them back to their occupations. He could have said, I'm done with you guys, forget it, it's over. That is not how he responds, and this leads us to the 3rd thing Jesus does in order to develop the trust of his disciples. The 3rd thing Jesus does to develop trust in his disciples is provide a simple step as a way forward.

He provides a simple step as a way forward. Look at verse 38. And by the way, this direction comes in the form of something easily done. Look at 38 again, and he said to them.

How many loaves do you have? Go and look. Some time elapses. And when they found out they said 5 and 2 fish, 5 and 2 fish.

You see the way forward begins with Jesus asking a simple question that is followed with a simple command. The question, how many loaves do you have? redirects the disciples away from the big picture of feeding some 20,000 people and gets them to think in realistic and concrete terms. The disciples are no longer stressed with doing the impossible, but they're asked a question for which they can reasonably find an answer, and the question is followed with a simple command.

Jesus says, go look. The disciples are here given a simple step as a way forward. Jesus is on their side. He is for them.

He wants for them to learn to trust. This question followed with a simple command represents something that disciples are able to sink their teeth into, and in a way, Jesus stoops down to the level of the disciples with a goal of developing their capacity to trust in Him to do the impossible. Likewise, Jesus is on your side, he is for you. He may ask you to do the impossible, and when you despair, he will show you a way forward.

When you question, when you doubt, when you have objection, the Lord Jesus will stoop down to your level, and he will give to you a way forward. He will often provide a very simple step for you to follow. The disciples had no idea what the Lord was going to do, but they were able to do the work of finding out how much food was available. The Lord might have you in a situation where you have no idea how it will all work out, but I can guarantee you that there is a way forward.

Perhaps you are here with us this morning and, and you feel bound in the chains of sexual sin. Perhaps you have looked at pornography several times this past week and such, such sexual lust has had a stronghold on you for decades ever since you were a child, and you feel like the Lord is asking you to do the impossible when he in his word commands you to flee sexual immorality. But I am here to tell you this morning that there is a way forward. I do not know what that way forward for you is.

I do not know the exact simple step that you need to take. Perhaps you need to get alone with God and seek hard after him and to cry out to him and to cry out to Him for deliverance. Perhaps there are a few dozen Bible verses that you need to memorize in your battle against lust. Perhaps you need to cancel your cable, you might need to purchase safe eyes for your computer, maybe you need to take a hammer to your computer.

Seriously. The way forward might come in the form of a public confession. God in His grace might allow you to get caught in your sin as a first step in the right direction. Like I said, I do not necessarily know what the way forward for you is, but I can guarantee that the Lord provides a way forward.

The Bible declares that God will not always, that God will always provide a way of escape. He will always provide a way of escape. 1 Corinthians 10:13, Jesus is your deliverer, he is your freedom, your peace, your refuge, the power that raised Jesus from the dead is the power that will ultimately deliver you from the clutches of sexual sin. One day at a time, 1 hour at a time, 1 2nd at a time.

You are positionally free and you can be practically free 1 2nd at a time and each second adds up to minutes. Those minutes add up to hours, hours become days, the days turn into years and the years become decades. But that decade of freedom begins with a way forward that the Lord has provided this second. It is a way forward rooted in the fact that Christ died for you.

He atoned for your sins, so that you might be free from the guilt and power of sin, and so freedom is your reality in Christ. The Bible commands you this moment to trust in the Lord with all of your heart and to lean not on your own understanding, but in all of your ways to acknowledge Him and He will direct your steps. I want you to take note of the response of the disciples to this command. The Bible says that they obeyed.

They heard the question and then responded obediently to the command. Picture the scene. Every disciple goes out asking folks in the crowd if they had any food. They met with very little success, but they persisted and eventually one of them, one of the disciples, Andrew, he finds a boy who had, get this, 5 loaves and 2 fish, 1 boy.

That boy did not have to give the little he had. He could have held on to it thinking that he and his family would need that food. He could have thought to himself, I only have a little. What good are 5 loaves and 2 fish?

No one else is giving. Why should I? But that little boy gave what little he had, and little is much when God is in it. It reminds me of how Jesus says, you have to become like a little child and herein is the example of faith right before our eyes of the faith that we must have trust in Jesus.

There is a pastor friend of mine named Kevin. Pastor Kevin always had a heart for the down and out. He loves the poor and needy. He loves the abused, and he always labored for such people.

However, Kevin's church was unable to effectively meet his monetary needs, and he had to make the difficult decision of moving on. I know this man because this man is my mom's pastor or he was my mom's pastor before he moved on and so he had to make this difficult decision and he eventually landed a position at another church. That was hard for him, but he had to trust in the Lord. And this is where the story gets interesting while at the other church in another state far away in a galaxy far, far away, Pastor Kevin noticed an old vacant building.

One day he noticed this building and he had a vision for its use. It was multi-leveled and very, very large. It could easily become a dream center. A place where herding folks could be ministered to in every way.

Kevin noticed that the building was for sale, so he contacted the realtor. As it turned out, there were others who were also interested in the building and they had the finances to back it up. It was a foregone conclusion that Kevin's vision for a dream center was nothing but a pipe dream. He would never be able to get that building.

But he sensed that the Lord wanted him to take one simple step. Pastor Kevin then contacted the realtor and asked to meet with the owner of the building, and with nothing but a heart for Jesus and a dream of what God could do through that building, Kevin shared his vision with the owner. When asked how much he could offer for the building, Pastor Kevin confessed that he had no money. The owner seemed genuinely happy to meet Kevin and the two parted ways.

Never in Kevin's wildest dreams did he think that the owner would contact him a few days later with a counteroffer of $1. Kevin didn't have much, but he had a vision. And he had a voice. He also had a phone and a number to call above all, he had the Lord and today Kevin's vision of a dream center is a reality and I say to you today that little is much when God is in it.

So Jesus provides a simple step as a way forward. Let's move on. The 4th thing that Jesus does to develop trust in his disciples is perform a miracle. He shows forth his power, he shows what he is capable of, he shows to his disciples what they have already seen before, but he shows them again.

And he'll show them again, and he'll show them again, and he will persevere in showing to them who he is and what he is able to do, but in this account on this day, he performs a miracle and that miracle is that he is going to feed the 5000, 5000 men, not including the women and children, 20,000+ people. You see what we learn here is that Jesus pulls through in a pinch, he pulls through in a pinch. What we have here is, is a picture in which we behold the Lord. It reveals much about Jesus that is ultimately designed to give the disciples and by way of extension, you and I every reason to trust in Him.

Look at verse 39. It says he commanded them all to recline by groups on the green grass. Must have been spring, the grass was green. And they reclined in companies of 100s and 50s, you get the sense that Jesus knows what he's about to do.

You get the sense that Jesus is in control, you get the sense that Jesus is gonna handle the situation. And it says that they took the 5 loaves and the 2 fish. Did you catch that? 5 lousy loaves and 2 finite fish, not much to write home about, but those 5 loaves and 2 fish are in the hands of Jesus and looking up towards heaven.

You see, Jesus had those, those loaves and the fish in his hands, he looked up towards heaven. This is an acknowledgement that God is the source of all blessing. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above the heavenly host, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And so notice what it says, looking up towards heaven, he blessed the food.

And then he broke the loaves. Imagine at this moment, the joy that must have been in the heart of God as he knew what he was about to do for and through his disciples. So he broke the loaves and it says, he kept giving, he kept giving, he kept giving 5 loaves and 2 fish, and he kept giving, giving. Imagine the boy.

Imagine that boy, he was the only one who apparently had anything to give. He looks up at the loaf in the hands of Jesus, and he realizes that that is his loaf that he gave, and he witnesses how Jesus took his little offering and he multiplied it beyond imagination. And it says that he broke the loaves and, and that he was giving them to the disciples to set before them, and he divided up the, the two fish among them all and verse 42 says, they all ate, they all ate. Yo disciples, I have it covered.

Yo multitude, you were right for seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness because all of these things will be added on to you. I knew that you were hanging on the words of my mouth, and I knew you were here to listen to me, and I knew that you were running out of food, but I'll tell you, I rewarded you because you sought first me. It says they all ate and every single person was satisfied, all 20,000+ people satisfied with the abundance of food that the Lord Jesus provided for them on this occasion.

Hey, can you imagine the disciples running around, passing out seconds and then 3rds, and then 4ths, and then, excuse me sir, would you like some more?

I'm done, I'm full. excuse me, ma'am, we've got plenty of food left over. Would you like some more? no, I'm, I'm, I'm good.

I've had enough. hey little guy, we've got some bread, you want some extra bread? No, I've had like 5 loaves of bread. I'm stuffed.

This is the scene. This is what's happening, an abundance of provision. There are times, and this is one of them, when the Lord blesses with an abundance of physical provision. Earlier, the disciples had gone out in two on a mission trip, they were told to take nothing with them.

Sometimes we are called to go with a little. The multitude this day had been with Jesus the whole day, and they had very little, but at the end of the day, their physical need is more than met. They were given abundance, and this fact is highlighted here in verse 43, and it says they picked up the 12 full baskets of the broken pieces and also of the fish, and there were 5000 men who ate the loaves. They picked up 12 baskets full.

I'm not exactly sure if there's any meaning behind that, but there were 12 disciples and perhaps they would always remember that the Lord Jesus on this occasion had 12 baskets full at the end of the day, just as a friendly reminder to them of what he's able to do and to multiply, multiply the little to make much out of it. Wow. Wow, do you picture that? Can you imagine what an incredible moment for the disciples.

They had just witnessed an amazing miracle, Jesus fed some 20,000 people, surely they get it. Jesus cares, they understand Jesus is powerful, he provides, he is faithful, surely their trust in Jesus is at an all-time high. And the encouraging thing for us is that it is not. It is not.

Mark, just a few verses later, is going to shed some light on the spiritual condition of the disciples as it relates to the feeding of the 5000. In verse 52, he declares, Mark declares regarding the disciples that they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves because of their hardness of heart. They had just eyewitnessed one of many miracles. It had just happened.

They had seen the multiplication of the bread. This is the type of stuff that Jesus does. They had seen him heal people, they themselves were able to raise people People from the dead and heal people and cast out demons, that this should not have been a surprise to them. They should, they should have understood what was going on, but it says that they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves because of the hardness of their heart.

The insight that they should have gained from the loaves that evening would have served them well in the early hours of the next morning. We're talking about 9 hours later to 12 hours later. You see, immediately after the loaves, Jesus made the disciples get on a boat to sail for the other side. Jesus then disbands the huge crowd, and he goes up to a mountain to pray.

So you picture the scene, the disciples are on a boat, they're sailing for the other side, Jesus made them get on the boat, and then he shoos the crowd away, and then Jesus goes to a lonely place on top of a mountain, and there the Lord Jesus is there praying. And Mark tells us that at the 4th watch of the night between 3 and 6 a.m. in the morning, the disciples were straining at the oars. Imagine, picture the disciples just straining at the oars.

Here we go again. Here we go again. They are in a difficult situation. Here we go again.

This has been ordained by God for their good that they might learn to trust in God. They are in a difficult situation, completely exhausted from the strain of rowing through the choppy seas and into the face of the wind, but Jesus is praying, and Jesus sees them. And Jesus, who cares for them, will come to them. And so it says that Jesus comes towards his disciples, intending to come alongside of them and then to pass by, and there he is.

The disciples see him walking on the water, surely everything is OK, all is well, their beloved Lord is now within eyesight. However, Mark tells us that they completely failed to recognize him. How could they not recognize him? They knew who he was.

They had seen him, they had hung out with him. They, they knew what he looked like. There he was in flesh and blood on the water, walking, there could have been or should have been no mistaken. And there he is in the middle of the storm.

He cares, he's proving that to them, and there he is as they strain at the oars and they, they fail to recognize that Jesus is present and that all will be well. Instead, they mistook Jesus for a ghost, and they cry out in fear, they cry out in fear, and then it is then that Jesus says, take courage, it is I, do not be afraid. Do you hear the words of Jesus when you are straining against the, the difficulties of life, and when, and when hard times come your way, and when you, you are in the middle of a difficult situation, you don't know which way to go, and do you see the face of the Lord, He is there in front of you in the middle of the storm, and he says to you, take courage, it is I do not be afraid, do not be afraid.

And the story of how Peter says, Lord, if it is you.

If it is you. At least he started with Lord, but if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. a measure of faith, a measure of faith, a small measure, a mustard seed, but there it is, there is a bit of belief, he is catching on, Jesus is able, trust in the Lord, and now hear what the Lord Jesus says to Peter, come. Come, and what happens?

And Peter, with his eyes on Jesus walked on the water, but as soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus in the middle of the storm, he began to sink and he cries out to Jesus and he says, Jesus, save me. And the Lord Jesus grabs him by the arm. And he exhorts him, he rebukes him, you have little faith, why did you not believe Peter? How could you not believe?

Peter, it is I. Don't you understand, Peter? I love you. I care for you.

I will not let you go under. Keep your eyes on me and all will be well. I will provide for you, Peter, and it tells us that immediately. They get on the boat and the water was still perfectly calm.

Like glass. This was the 2nd time that an incident like this on the waters had happened. And this is where Mark records that they were greatly astonished. They were greatly astonished, blown away, and it says that the reason Mark gives as to why they were astonished is that they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves because their hearts were hardened.

They're as. was not a good thing here. Their astonishment indicated that they had little faith. Their astonishment showed that they just really didn't know who Jesus was, and Mark says the reason they were so astonished is because they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but that their hearts were hardened.

Mark's recording of their pathetic spiritual condition is encouraging to us because we are often just like them. And that's what I love about Jesus and his relationship to the disciples and that's how it is recorded for us in Mark, is that I see in me the disciples, I see in the disciples myself, I'm no different, I am no better. I am just like the disciples. And this actually leads us to a final reason that we should trust in Jesus.

I threw an extra one down just for good measure. he does not give up on us. He does not give up on us. He did not give up on the disciples.

He did not say, I am done, forget it, over, you guys just don't get it. How come you don't believe you've got hardened hearts, you did not gain any, anything from the incident of the loaves. You're slow, you're dumb, you're retarded. I'm done with you.

He does not do that, but, but he, he does not give up on us is the point here. The disciples would go on to turn the Roman world inside out and upside down, and God would use these ordinary men to accomplish extraordinary things. Little is much when God is in it. Trust in the Lord, the disciples would Eventually get it.

Jesus saw in them something more than we see in them in our passage today, and Jesus sees in you the things that you may struggle to see for yourself. He sees what you are becoming. He is working in you to develop your trust in Him. And so to review the 4 points, 4 things Jesus does to develop trust in his disciples, 1, he reveals his love.

Secondly, he presents a test. Thirdly, he provides a simple step as a way forward, and 4th, he performs a miracle. What are some of the lessons that we learned from this? Just a few.

This is not exhaustive, but here we go, just a few lessons. Jesus will test you to toughen you. He will test you to toughen you. Jesus uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.

The disciples are a case in point, the little boy with the 5 loaves and the 2 fish is a case in point. Jesus will choose the base things of the world to confound the wise, he will choose the weak things of the world to demonstrate his strength through their weakness. This is how Jesus works. And so Jesus, Jesus uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.

he proves that little is much when God is in it. Little is much when God is in it, and he pulls through, Jesus pulls through in a pinch, he has your back. He's got you covered. He loves you.

You can never deny the love of Jesus for you. He proved it to you in no uncertain terms when he died on the cross, a bloody death for you. He allowed himself to be butchered on a cross of wood, to be nailed to a tree, to suffer excruciating agony and pain, so that you might be forgiven of your sin and have all of the reason in the world to trust in him. He gave his back so that he could have your back.

Application. I've got one application, just one thing. This whole message has been designed around the idea of trusting God, and, and the thing that I want to say to you today is this is the take home, this is what I want to accomplish in your lives, this is what I want you to go home doing. I want you to go home and trust God.

Trust God. I do not know what you are going through this morning, but I am willing to bet in a room this size that someone, even if it's just one, needed to hear this message. Perhaps God has called you to serve him in some way. He has called you to do something that seems impossible, and you, you have doubt, but I don't have much.

I don't speak well, go away, Lord. I am a sinful man. Perhaps you are struggling financially and you don't know what you're going to do to make the ends meet. Maybe you have struggled with a particular sin and, and you have given up believing that you will ever be free.

I will never stop falling. I will never win this battle against the sin. I, I will never stop getting angry. I cannot forgive myself.

I, I, I, I just cannot love my enemy. I have tried so hard and I feel like I am growing upstream and against the wind. It is no use. It's too hard, I cannot, and the Lord says to you what he told the disciples early that next morning when they were straining at the oars, take courage, it is I, do not be afraid, do not be afraid.

17 years ago I was preparing to start seminary full time. My wife was doing hair full time and I was planning on substitute teaching to supplement our income. This was our plan to get through seminary. However, we ran into a little bump along the way.

Somehow my wife ended up pregnant and. And I needed to get a job to provide for my family. And at the time that seemed like a very tall order. 4 years prior, I had tried to no avail to get a job teaching history somewhere in the Inland Empire.

I submitted applications everywhere, but no teaching position opened up for me, and that is how I ended up in Guam. I went there on vacation. I had an interview by God's grace, and they hired me on the spot, and so I got a job. And so I, I was returning back to Guam for 2.5 years to teach and now here I was 4 years later, my wife is pregnant 4 years after my last failed attempt, my wife is pregnant and I needed to find a job teaching history.

I submitted applications. Now get this, 4 years later, I spent more than 1 year looking for employment. This time around, within 1 week, I went for the basic preliminary interview and then a few days later I received a phone call with a job offer. 4 years prior, I could not find a job to save my life, but now within the less than 2 weeks, I was being offered a full-time job that would allow my wife to remain at home to care for Andrew.

God knows what we need. And he will provide. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. And by the way, God knew that I needed to live in Guam for 2.5 years and for that reason hindered me from finding a teaching job in the Inland Empire on my first go around.

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. My family recently was experiencing a lean month. A very lean month. We were low on funds.

We did not have enough to get through the remainder of the month. And my wife and I had just talked about our situation earlier in the day. And that evening we were approached by a homeless mother. With a little child.

And she seemed legitimately needy. I don't always give to these people on the streets, but she seemed needy. We did not have the time to get her a meal, but I felt in my heart the desire to help her out in the name of the Lord. We had $20 to our name that was to last us.

A number of days. I felt impressed to help, trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Part of my motive in giving to this homeless mother was a strong desire to bless her in the name of Jesus. And so I said to Marcy, we will give her $10.

As Marcy handed her the money, I told the lady to receive the money as provision from the Lord. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. And she seemed very appreciative. Later that evening, my wife and I arrived home.

It was about midnight. I retrieved our mail from the mailbox and I brought it inside and I noticed one small envelope addressed to Marcy and Carlos Limtiaco. I was already wondering. I was thinking like, OK, this is an unusual envelope from this person.

What's this about? So I opened it. My name was on it, so I felt free to open it. Inside was a card expressing appreciation to my wife and I for our ministry to this one person.

And inside of the card there was a check for 100 times the amount that we had just given to the homeless lady. I should have given her 20. It was a check for $1000. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

I began this morning with a list of commands that I bark out to my boy Andrew. I realized that sometimes I can be a bit unreasonable. And this is where I must draw the line between me. And my God While there are times in which it might be justified for my son to struggle to trust in me.

There is never a time when the Lord cannot be trusted. The Lord has reminded us of this today and so the point of the message is clear, trust in the Lord, trust in God. Would you pray with me, please? Heavenly Father, we just come before you.

And Lord. Apart from the work of your spirit cementing these things to our hearts and our mind, Lord, all of our attempts will come of naught. I pray, Father, that you would just encourage us with the things that we have considered here today. And I pray, Lord, that as we lift the song of praise to you in the name of Jesus, that you would just exalt yourself, that you would inhabit our praises, Lord.

There are many of us who, who just, we have needed to hear this. And Lord, now our need is to exalt you, to worship you, to praise you, to trust in you, and as we sing to you, we do so as an act of trust in our mighty God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.