Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] So this is a 6.2 liter supercharged V8 Hemi engine, 800. Yeah. Amen. That's right.
[00:00:10] 840 horsepower, zero to 60 in 2.3 seconds. Some of you are not motorheads, so what that means is you stomp the gas and you're at 60 miles an hour.
[00:00:22] So this was designed for the 2018 Dodge Challenger Demon to keep this car light and fast. It does not come with a back seat, so no groceries, but it does come with racing slick tires. So when you buy it, you have to sign an agreement that you won't drive it in the rain.
[00:00:39] So it's not the most practical car, but when you stomp on that gas pedal, it's really effective for exercising your smile muscles.
[00:00:48] So while this is really impressive on its own, this engine just sitting on that stand can do nothing.
[00:00:59] But when it's put where it's intended in the car it was designed for, it comes alive.
[00:01:05] And today I'm going to argue the case that we are not so different from this engine.
[00:01:12] You are powerful, you're impressive.
[00:01:16] But when your life is put where it's intended, which is in God's hands for his purpose, your life, your talent, your efforts are multiplied.
[00:01:28] So pull up a chair as we continue our series called the Table, where we are going to join another meal and watch Jesus change even more lives. So we're going to be in Mark chapter 6, verse 30. If you want to change there, go there, turn there.
[00:01:46] Mark 6, 30.
[00:01:51] So today we're going to meet a heavy hearted savior and his weary students.
[00:01:57] To give you some context, Jesus had just been rejected in his hometown.
[00:02:01] He's mourning the murder of his cousin.
[00:02:05] His closest followers, the apostles, they are coming off the adrenaline of being on their first solo mission. And then we pick up the story in Mark chapter 6, verse 30.
[00:02:16] So the apostles returned to Jesus from the ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught.
[00:02:23] And then Jesus said, let's go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest a while.
[00:02:28] He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn't even have time to eat.
[00:02:35] So they left by boat for a quiet place where they could be alone.
[00:02:39] But many people recognized them and saw them leaving. And people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them.
[00:02:47] Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
[00:02:55] So he began teaching them many things.
[00:02:58] Late in the afternoon, his disciples came to him and said, this is a remote place. It's already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.
[00:03:09] But Jesus said, you feed them with what they asked. We'd have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people.
[00:03:17] How much bread do you have? He asked. Go and find out.
[00:03:21] They came back and reported, we have five loaves of bread and two fish.
[00:03:26] Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of 50 or 100.
[00:03:33] Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven and blessed them.
[00:03:38] Then breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people.
[00:03:44] He also divided the fish for everyone to share, and they all ate as much as they wanted. And afterward, the disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed.
[00:03:59] Pray, God, thank you for this incredible story of what you will do. And we trust you help us to see ourselves in this story today.
[00:04:10] Thank you, God, that you meet us right where we are, wherever we see ourselves in this story, even if we feel like we don't deserve a place in it. You meet us right there. Thank you, Spirit. We just invite you to move and work here today in a way that we don't even know or have faith enough to ask. We pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.
[00:04:35] So Jesus cared for his apostles, and he valued his own rest.
[00:04:41] So after a busy time, a heavy time, he said, let's set sail for silence and solitude.
[00:04:49] But when the boat pulled up to the shore, there was a crowd there.
[00:04:54] So imagine how would you feel if you were one of these apostles. You're with Jesus and you're busy, you're working, you're going, you're ministering to people. And Jesus said, hey, let's get away and rest. You'd probably be like, yes.
[00:05:06] But then you pull up and there's a crowd there.
[00:05:09] How would you feel?
[00:05:12] It's probably not a super relatable scenario, so let's put ourselves in their sandals. Let's imagine it's a Friday night at the end of a long week.
[00:05:23] The pizza's warm, sodas are cold, Netflix is queued up, and the driveway is full.
[00:05:34] Your teenage daughter can't remember. If she asked if her friends could come over, all of them, over to your home, how would you feel?
[00:05:50] So as the boat pulled up and Jesus and the apostles Came up. The apostles were watching Jesus because here's the thing. His teaching was felt as much as it was tellt.
[00:06:02] So how was he gonna handle this?
[00:06:05] Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
[00:06:14] The apostles are watching him. You know, there are times as a dad, that I unclench my fists and lower my voice because I know my children are watching. And one day they're gonna emulate how I handle a situation.
[00:06:28] But Jesus wasn't frustrated. He didn't see the crowd and think, oh, man, my guys are watching. I better be nice.
[00:06:35] He showed compassion because that's who he is, right? He sees the crowd as sheep without a shepherd, just like us.
[00:06:46] Jesus sees our need.
[00:06:50] We are the crowd.
[00:06:53] We run from place to place, looking for comfort or a distraction or an escape. And Jesus has compassion on us, sees our need.
[00:07:09] So this is a book I'm referencing throughout the series called Gentle and Lowly. And here's what Dane Ortland says in that book about Jesus seeing our need. He says, Jesus doesn't simply meet us at our place of need.
[00:07:21] He lives in our place of need.
[00:07:23] It is his very heart in just being who he is, Jesus. Jesus sees our need.
[00:07:34] The need you came with today that no one else knows about.
[00:07:39] He sees it.
[00:07:41] So Jesus sees the needs of this crowd. He met their most important, deepest need, and he taught them right. He explained the emptiness of this world apart from him. And then he invited them in. He offered them the fullness of life with him. He assured them of his presence right there, right in their place of need.
[00:08:05] Which is such good news for us.
[00:08:09] Because if you came this morning thinking, I have nothing to give, I just need, Jesus says, I'm right there.
[00:08:19] If you came in just thinking, man, I.
[00:08:22] I got nothing.
[00:08:24] I am d u n done.
[00:08:31] Jesus said, well, my strength is perfect when you are at your weakest.
[00:08:37] And maybe one day your story will be like. I don't remember what year it was the World cup was going on. It was America's 250th. All I know is that was the lowest point of my life. And it was at that moment I realized God really sees me and really loves me.
[00:08:51] And if that's you, he meets you right there in your place of need.
[00:08:59] He says, you don't have to keep running from place to place, looking to belong and be loved. He told the crowd, he said, the kingdom of God is right here, and you have a place at the table.
[00:09:11] So he addressed first Their deepest need, their spiritual need.
[00:09:15] Then he met their immediate physical need, and they had a fish fry.
[00:09:22] This is why you need a Bible, and you need to read it, and you need to learn about Jesus, because you may have been told things about him, but when you really learn who he is, you go, that's a guy I want to hang out with.
[00:09:34] Because he pulled up, lowered the tailgate on the boat, and they had a fish fry, breaking the loaves into pieces. He kept giving hushpuppies to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. And he divided the catfish for everybody to share, right?
[00:09:50] Jesus meets our need.
[00:09:54] Pretty simple.
[00:09:56] They were hungry, so he fed them.
[00:10:00] He meets our need in this story. This was not easy to do.
[00:10:06] They came with him with barely anything, and he fed more than 5,000 people. So he doesn't just meet our need when it's easy. He doesn't just meet our need when life is peaceful, right? King David marveled at this in his masterpiece, Psalm 23. He said, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, right? In our wandering, in our doubt, in our fear, in our pride, in our sadness, in our victories and our celebrations, even among our enemies, God meets our need.
[00:10:44] So he multiplied the bread and the fish. The apostles dished it out, and they all ate as much as they wanted, right? He didn't stop at just simply meeting the need. Jesus satisfies our need, right? They came to him, and he didn't just warm up some leftovers.
[00:11:03] He broke out the fry. Daddy, did anybody else grow up with one of these?
[00:11:11] Did it just, like, live on top of the dryer or the counter? Did you keep grease in it?
[00:11:19] We used to live like a frying emergency was just gonna break out.
[00:11:24] We were gonna need to use this, right? So you come to Jesus, and he doesn't just say, I don't know. There's some leftover pizza in the fridge.
[00:11:33] He says, well, let me prepare a feast for you.
[00:11:37] When you go to Jesus and you're tired, he doesn't say, well, take a nap. He says, let me teach you what a lifestyle looks like that lives resting in me.
[00:11:49] When we're lost, he is the way.
[00:11:54] When we're confused, he is the truth. When we fear death, in him, we find life. Watch this. Psalm 23 goes on. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
[00:12:05] You anoint my head with oil.
[00:12:08] My cup overflows.
[00:12:10] He doesn't just fill our cup.
[00:12:13] He feels it to where it's overflowing and pouring out into our lap.
[00:12:17] And the best part, his ability to satisfy our deepest desire, our deepest need of mercy and grace will never run out.
[00:12:29] We will never find the bottom of his kindness and his patience.
[00:12:36] Jesus sees our true needs. He meets it, and he even goes beyond and he satisfies it.
[00:12:46] So my doctor recently told me I need more omega 3 fatty acids in my diet.
[00:12:52] He said the best way to do this is to regularly eat canned sardines.
[00:12:57] Hmm.
[00:12:59] Have you ever tried canned sardines?
[00:13:02] My diet is still low in omega 3 fatty acids.
[00:13:08] So when it was time to feed this crowd of 5,000 people, Jesus asked the apostles. He said, guys, what do we have to work with?
[00:13:16] It was not impressive. It was basically a few crackers and a can of sardines, right? You could fit it in a brown paper bag. It was like a small meal for one person in a crowd of thousands.
[00:13:29] But while it wasn't much, the apostles put it in Jesus hands, and it became a feast for the masses.
[00:13:38] Thousands of people experienced a miracle from the little that have been placed in the hands of Jesus.
[00:13:46] And that's our takeaway today. A little becomes a lot in the hands of Jesus.
[00:13:55] A little becomes a lot in the hands of Jesus, right? He took what was in that lunchbox and he multiplied it into a banquet.
[00:14:04] So when we trust what we have to Jesus, a little becomes a lot.
[00:14:10] I mean, the mom who packed this little boy's lunch, she probably didn't expect us to be reading about it 2,000 years later.
[00:14:20] She was just caring for her son.
[00:14:22] She's probably like a lot of you mamas are. She was packing his lunch and prayed and said, God, would you use this meal to draw little Jonathan's heart closer to you?
[00:14:32] I imagine God grinned and said, I got you, mama.
[00:14:36] I'll do even more than you imagine.
[00:14:38] God turns a little into a lot.
[00:14:43] But what does that mean for us, like, in our daily life? What does that mean, God turns a little into a lot?
[00:14:49] Well, it's a little thing to smile at a cashier at the store, right?
[00:14:54] But you have no idea what's happening in their life.
[00:14:58] God could use that to change everything about their day.
[00:15:02] It's a little thing to ask your waiter, what was your name again? That's a little thing. But God could turn that into a conversation that could change their life.
[00:15:11] A little becomes a lot. There might be somebody in your life or even in your home that you have a really hard time finding a single reason to be kind to them.
[00:15:23] But then you remember, well, God has been kind to me.
[00:15:26] So you go out of your way to just do something small and kind for them.
[00:15:32] Then they come to church and they hear their preacher go, well, grace is receiving something good you don't deserve. And that person could go, you did that for me when I didn't deserve it, and you're telling me God loves me like that?
[00:15:48] Or you may have. You may oversee employees. There may be one who's really struggling.
[00:15:54] It may be a little thing for you to give them another chance, and that may be the first time that they understand God's mercy.
[00:16:03] Right? Your little could become a manifestation of God's grace and mercy in their life.
[00:16:10] Our little can become a lot when we put it in God's hands.
[00:16:15] So why do we keep such a tight grip on what we have?
[00:16:21] Right? I can't. I'm busy, man. I can't be bothered with somebody's needs when my calendar is full, Right?
[00:16:28] Or we're told to stockpile money because we're safer with another zero at the end of our bank account. Right? I can't be bothered with the needs of somebody else when I'm looking out for number one.
[00:16:39] Right? But the apostles, they took what little they had and they put it in the hands of Jesus, and he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people.
[00:16:50] So just think about what happened. They obeyed him and just kept giving away what he gave them, and he kept providing more.
[00:17:00] So do you think if the apostles would have stopped distributing this, that Jesus would have continued to multiply it?
[00:17:11] How many apostles were there?
[00:17:16] 12. Yes, I heard it. The right answer. 12. There were 12. If they had taken the first 12 baskets of food and sat down to feed themselves and eat, would Jesus have turned that into thousands?
[00:17:31] Right. They obeyed him and they gave away what he gave them, and he gave more.
[00:17:39] So they distributed the food. And afterwards, the disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover bread and fish.
[00:17:46] You're going to get it this time. How many apostles were there?
[00:17:49] 12. After they gave away what Jesus gave them, how many of them did he provide for?
[00:17:57] You're better at math than this. How many?
[00:17:59] All of them.
[00:18:03] So they. Jesus said, I'm going to put this in your hands and I want you to give it away, okay? And they did. They were hungry, too. And when everything was said and done, Jesus said, hey, there's plenty for you, too.
[00:18:17] But just put yourself in that situation. If we had been given that, we said, well, it's really actually smarter for us to keep this. Let's feed ourselves Then we can take care of them.
[00:18:26] Would these 5,000 people have experienced this miracle?
[00:18:31] Jesus said, trust me, give it away.
[00:18:33] This is easy for me.
[00:18:36] And they trusted him and they gave it away. And a little became a lot.
[00:18:42] So Matthew, he was there and later he wrote down these words of Jesus, he said, wrote where? Jesus said, seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and he will give you everything you need.
[00:18:56] I bet when he was writing that down, Matthew laughed himself and thought, yeah, I've been there.
[00:19:04] So what has God given you to distribute?
[00:19:10] What has he trusted to you that could be more effective in his kingdom than it is in your hands?
[00:19:21] And it might not seem like much, might seem like a few crackers and a can of sardines, but when we trust it to God, a little becomes a lot.
[00:19:33] And it's probably something you're already doing, something you already enjoy, something you're already skilled with, right? We tend to put sidewalks where footpaths already exist, so it's probably something you're already doing.
[00:19:46] A desire you have, a talent you have, a skill you have.
[00:19:51] Like you may already get a kick out of. Kids.
[00:19:55] So in the fall, when we add Grace Kids to our second service, you need to serve.
[00:20:02] This is how you preach the announcements.
[00:20:06] Watch this. So in the fall, September 13th to be exact, which will be our two year anniversary, we are adding Grace Kids to our second service.
[00:20:18] And let me introduce you to the Grace Kids staff who will be serving. If you will look around the room, it is you. Congratulations.
[00:20:29] All jokes aside, we really need you to serve. And there is some training and preparation. The point of that is so that the moment kids walk in, you're ready, you're pouring into them, you're having fun, you're not worried, you're equipped, you're ready to go. So please come talk to me about that. Or Molly Pontius, our Grace Kids director. We'll get you ready and by the fall, you will be ready to go.
[00:20:53] Or you might already be a monster bass player, so you need to start slapping that thing. Here on the worship team, you already, a lot of you lead employees at work, so you can also lead them towards the Lord.
[00:21:11] Some of you love to cook.
[00:21:14] So the next time you see a young family here at church with a baby, say, hey, I don't know you, but could I make a meal for you? I just love to cook. Could I do that for you?
[00:21:23] Some of you already feel like your life revolves around piles of laundry so you can pray for your family while you fold it.
[00:21:31] You are already going to baseball practice and gymnastics competitions. So pray that God would use you to encourage others while you're there.
[00:21:41] These things may not seem like much, but when we put a little in the hands of God, it becomes a lot.
[00:21:51] So on that day when Jesus told the apostles to go feed the people, they said with what?
[00:21:58] It seemed impossible, right?
[00:22:01] Maybe God has put something in your hands that seems impossible that you just need to say, your hands are stronger than mine.
[00:22:10] I'm gonna give this to you.
[00:22:14] There's an author named Justin Whitmill Early. He wrote a book on parenting called Habits of the Household.
[00:22:20] This book is all about taking the little things that make up the everyday and putting them in God's hands. And parents, I want you to be encouraged by this. This is a guy who researched and wrote a book on parenting and he says this parenting is really hard.
[00:22:38] Be encouraged, he said. Parenting is really hard, mostly messy, and none of us shines at it. At best.
[00:22:46] I'm a tired, confused, impatient, guilt ridden and regret prone father whose only hope is that Jesus actually did live, die and rise again.
[00:22:57] My only hope is that grace means that this divine reality will somehow break into my reality.
[00:23:05] And the way that happens, the way the reality of God's grace becomes a reality in our lives, is when we take what God has trusted to us and we put it in his hands.
[00:23:16] When we put it in his authority, in his power for his purpose, then he makes a lot from our little Think about this. When one little boy said, I can go without one meal. Here, thousands of people experience God's miracle.
[00:23:39] Is that a likely scenario?
[00:23:43] One little boy said, I'll go without one meal. So thousands of people had an experience with Jesus and said, that is not a man, that is God.
[00:23:55] From one little boy.
[00:23:58] So have you been guarding your lunchbox a little too closely?
[00:24:03] Is it time to just say God, this is what you've given me. I'm going to put it in your hands. I'm going to trust you to use it for your purpose as you do that God has proven in the midst of this story that he sees your need.
[00:24:20] He knows it, he'll meet it, he'll even go beyond that and satisfy your need.
[00:24:27] Because as we trust Him, a little becomes a lot in the hands of Jesus.
[00:24:35] So Jesus, help us to trust what you have proven to be true.
[00:24:42] Your strength and your provision.
[00:24:45] But even deeper than that, the salvation you offer us, God, that you will meet our deepest need to give us life.
[00:24:57] So help us to give this life away, to use it for you knowing that you will meet every need that we have.
[00:25:05] We pray this in your name. Amen.
[00:25:09] So since this is the table series, we're ending every week with something to chew on.
[00:25:14] So I just want to give us a moment to ask, what is it that you need to put in the hands of Jesus?
[00:25:25] Like, is there some ability that you have?
[00:25:35] I mean, it's happened in this room. Somebody's mentioned a need, and I say, actually, well, I actually know somebody who can help you with that.
[00:25:46] So is there an ability you've been given that you just need to say, hey, I'm doing this. So God, how can I do it for you?
[00:25:56] Or maybe there's something you're worried about.
[00:26:01] Maybe it's like a relationship or your health, your finances that you just need to say, God, your hands are stronger than mine.
[00:26:16] Maybe you realize you've been spending time in a place that's not paying a reward like you thought it would.
[00:26:27] I heard a great sermon this week about the things that we take in shape us.
[00:26:32] Maybe you need to evaluate what you're taking in.
[00:26:37] Maybe you just need to say, lord, I want to do this differently. I don't even know how I'm going to put it in your hands. I'm not even sure what that means, but just, would you help me?
[00:26:47] Or what's something that's unique about you that you can put in God's hands and let him multiply?
[00:27:00] Some of you are great at playing the drums. So God sent you around the world to change lives.
[00:27:07] Some of you love motorcycles, so God takes you around the country to change lives.
[00:27:19] A lot of you, God has just made to be such special people that others in this room just run into you in normal life and feel like they've been a little bit closer to God.
[00:27:32] We need you. We need you doing that.
[00:27:35] So what is it that God's given you that you can trust to him?
[00:27:40] Because we need your little to become a lot. He didn't make you on accident. He didn't give you the desires or the skills he's given you on accident. It's for a reason.
[00:27:51] So God, would you just reveal to us.
[00:27:58] The unique purpose you have for each person in this room of many parts and what a beautiful body of believers we have here.
[00:28:12] So God, would you just help us to say we want to make a difference in our relationships and our families and our neighborhoods and our communities.
[00:28:24] So use us.
[00:28:27] Would we be like those apostles that you said, here you go, take it to the people?
[00:28:34] And that can be really scary because our nature is to look out for ourselves, provide for ourselves. But when we give away what you've given us, you will just continue to meet our needs.
[00:28:56] So spirit, we just leave this invitation open. Just pray as we go about our normal lives this week that you would reveal.
[00:29:04] Oh, that worry, that's mine. I'll take that.
[00:29:09] When we realize something that is just a gift from you, help us to figure out how to use it for you.
[00:29:19] In Jesus name, amen.
