During those days, another large crowd gathered since said
nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples to
him and said, I have compassion for these people.
They have already been with me three days and have nothing to
eat. If I send them away home hungry
they will collapse on the way because some of them have come a
long distance. His disciples answered, where in
this remote place. Can anyone get enough bread to
feed them? How many loaves do you have?
Jesus asked seven. They replied.
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground when he had taken the
seven Loaves and given. Thanks, he broke them and gave
them to his disciples to distribute to the people and
they did. So they had a few small fish as
well. He gave thanks for them.
Also and told the disciples to distribute them the people at
and were satisfied. afterwards, the disciples picked up seven,
basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over about 4,000 were
present After he had sent them away, he got into the boat with
his disciples and went into the region of dalmanutha.
The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus the test and they
asked him for a sign from Heaven.
Decide deeply and said, why does this generation asks for a sign?
Truly I tell you. No sign will be given to it.
Then he left them got back into the boat and cross to the other
side. The disciples have forgotten to
bring bread except for one loaf that they had with him in the
boat. Be careful, Jesus warned them.
Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees, and that of Herod.
They discussed this with one another and said it is because
we have no bread aware of their discussion.
Jesus asked them, why are you talking about having no bread?
Do you still not see or understand?
Our, your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, but failed,
All to see and ears, but fail to hear.
And don't you remember when I broke the Five Loaves for the
5000? How many basketballs did you
pick up 12? They replied and when I brought
the seven loaves for the 7000, how many basketballs of pieces?
Did you pick up? They answered seven said to
them, you still not understand. I need to start this morning
with an apology and it's an apology to us.
At least the specific few viewer here this morning.
And I need to apologize to our gluten and wheat intolerant
friends. Because today, we're going to
talk a lot about bread. Bread is going to come up quite
a lot. And I'm really sorry because I
know the bread that you're able to eat, is not as good as the
bread. I'm about to Rave about because
breads amazing, isn't it? Bread is just one of the
greatest things. It is phenomenal, whenever it's
bread week on Bake-Off, I always want to go and eat the whole of
the nearest bakery, or just go to France, because I always
thought I liked nice bread. I always thought I had nice
bread growing up and then I married Jamie.
And she told me to France and oh my Edward French, bread is like
next-level. Good fresh French bread.
First thing in the morning, you can't beat it and then we had a
home group dinner and Elena made her for Katya.
Have you ever had a lane can sells for catch you again?
That is next level good. Like it's incredible bread and
I'm again I have to apologize but bread is fantastic, isn't
it? I've been so hungry.
Preparing, this sermon And bread is one of our oldest human food
stuff. They found a records back as far
as their Found Records of humans exist in and there is no country
in the world where bread isn't a part of their food.
Tradition bread is just a universal, incredible, brilliant
thing. If you don't like bread, I am
sorry for you. But it is no wonder with bread
being that kind of everywhere that Jesus uses bread.
In this passage particularly as a way of teaching his disciples
because that's what he's doing in this passage.
Well actually going to focus loads on the Miracle itself.
We're going to focus on what Jesus is teaching.
He uses bread to teach his disciples.
And as we read through this, did you get a bit of a sense of deja
vu? This all feel a bit familiar.
Because it is really familiar, isn't it?
A lot of this stuff feels like it's happened already.
It's incredibly similar to what happened back in chapter 6, as,
and if you flick back, you can see there, Jesus fed.
The 5000 here is the 4000 and there are loads of similarities
between these two events that are recorded for us by Mark.
So the place that they happen, my desolate Wilderness type
Place. Jesus is emotions is compassion
even his words. How many loaves do you have
everybody's full? And there are loads of Purrs.
And at the end, Jesus sends both of the crowds away and the
disciples getting a boat. There are loads of similarities
between these two events. So the question is is this just
the same story that Mark is repeating?
He's got a bit mixed up. Well, no, because there are
enough differences between these two events that they know that
they're not the same thing. You can probably spot them at
another time of different numbers of people, different
numbers of fish, and bread, and leftovers, and plenty of other
things. Even the length of time, that
the crowd that Jesus feeds have been, Gather is different.
So back in Mark 6, I've just been with Jesus for one day
hearing is teaching here the bin with Jesus for three days seems
like they all got some pack up went out and hung out with Jesus
for three days at the end of this three days.
Their food is starting to run out so Jesus called his
disciples to him and says I have compassion for these people.
They've already been with me three days and have nothing to
eat. If I send them home hungry,
they'll collapse on the way because some of them are come
along. Distance.
And just as we start, these see, Jesus's heart here.
I have compassion for these people.
Jesus cares, deeply about the people in front of him.
Yes. He cares about their spiritual
need, that's why he's been teaching them.
That's why Jesus came was to teach but he also cares about
their physical needs. He's also bothered by people's
bodies. Yes, the physical hunger is not
as big as their spiritual hunger, but he cares about it.
And the same is still true today is worth reminding ourselves of
that fact. He cares for all of us.
Yes, his priority for all of us is our spiritual hunger and our
spiritual needs. But he also cares about our
physical hunger and physical needs to.
So that is hunger or finances or our health, or our exams or our
stress levels, or our mental health.
There is nothing too small in our lives, to Jesus to care
about, Jesus care, deeply about, every little bit of your lives.
It's so easy for us to think that there are things too small
for Jesus to be bothered about are interested in, so we don't
take them to him. But don't listen to that lie
instead. See the care and the compassion
that Jesus has for all aspects of all the people that he meets
and then bring everything to him.
Pete reminded us last week, didn't he?
That Jesus has because Jesus cares for everyone. and Mark
reminds us again of that here But what happens next, in verse
4 should come as a bit of a surprise.
When we read verse 4, here's what we should read something
like this, his disciples answered him, are we have seven
Loaves and a willing to serve you again like before.
Here you go, Jesus, we know what you can do with seven loaves.
Instead we get this ridiculous response from the Disciples of
its stroppy in it, but we're in this remote place to anyone get
enough bread to feed them. Like what are you talking about?
Disciples are your memories really that?
Sure, just a few weeks ago at most you saw Jesus feed 5,000,
plus people with just Five Loaves and two fish.
But they don't remember that. All the they don't even enter
into their brains. This new problem has pushed out
any memory of what Jesus has done before.
And so, Jesus very patiently, ask them again.
Exactly the same question as he asked them last time.
How many loaves do you have? How many loaves do you have?
I can imagine that becoming a bit of an in-joke for the
disciples in the years to come Peter sat around, I'm quite
hungry. How many loaves do you have?
So the disciples club together and they give seven loaves to
Jesus, and he gives thanks, and he hands out the disciples to
give out to the hungry crowd, and then does the same with the
fish. but interestingly, as Jesus provides for the crowd who
is it, that he's teaching As Jesus gives the food and
provides this miraculous food for the crowd who is it that
he's teaching because if you're in the crowd and you're right at
the back somewhere and someone hands you some bread and fish
you just going to take enough to eat and pass it on, right?
You're not going to know did this only come from Seven Loaves
and some fish? You're not going to know that.
Who is it? That knows that.
It's the disciples. Jesus is teaching the disciples
and is Jesus provides for the crowd.
The disciples learned this lesson about him and they are
the ones that get to see this miracle firsthand.
And they get to see this miracle for the first hand for a second
time. And that is interesting to Jesus
feeds to massive multitudes of people in wildernesses in
desolate places. Now if you know your Old
Testament, that is a direct mirror of the way God provides
for his people in Exodus 16 and numbers. 11 God provides
unexpected food for his people in the middle of nowhere in a
Wilderness and Mark wants us to spot that link.
Jesus is doing what only God has done for his people in the past.
Mark wants to make it even more remarkable.
Back in chapter 6, The Crowd that Jesus said were from the
Jewish area, there were Jewish people but here Jesus is still
in the decapolis, the Gentile area.
Jesus is feeding a gentile crowd.
Jesus is showing the disciples at the kingdom of God is for the
Gentiles too. From like conversation, he had
with that woman back in chapter 7, who came to him and has all
the stuff that crumbs and table, while here the crumbs from
chapter 7, turn into full-blown bread.
And the thing that Jesus teaches his disciples here is that the
Gentiles are going to get more than crumbs after all.
The Gentiles get more than crumbs after all.
Now that would have been an incredible Comfort to Mark's
original readers. A lot of whom would have been
gentiles. Even though the Gentiles might
have been rejected by the Jews, they haven't been rejected by
God, and they are part of the New Kingdom.
That Jesus came to establish. And that's what Jesus teaches
his disciples here. The Gentiles get more than
crumbs after all So after this event again about and I imagine
the boat ride in verse 10 is probably a fairly quiet one as
the slightly. Embarrassed disciples realized
just how Daft they'd been how forgetful they've been when
they've seen all this already. But the truth is I'm far more
often like them than I like to admit.
Are you I forget all the time about Jesus power and his care
day in day out. Like last week, Pete reminded
us. Those wonderful truth that Jesus
cares about everyone and has power over everything and he's
making all things new But I've shown I forgot on that again.
And again, this week, I have reacted to the things that have
happened for how we respond in slow traffic, but how we respond
when he, for doesn't do what I wanted to immediately.
When I get hurt when things, don't go my way big or little
things. We can all be like that.
Can't we all forget these truths, we learn so often,
despite having seen Jesus care for us and others in the past
despite having seen Jesus has power over all things through
our lives, new problems like the disciples push those memories
out of our heads. Unlike the disciples, we can be
so quick to either doubt or to forget that Jesus really cares
for everyone and that has power over everything.
But that's one of the reasons that Jesus repeats this miracle,
he wants to remind the Disciples of what they've already learned
before. And I've said this before here,
is that we need that because the Christian Life is a constant
cycle of Amnesia, and deja vu. The Christian Life is a constant
cycle of Amnesia. And Deja Vu are forgot that I'd
learned that already. And so Jesus repeats this
miracle because he knows that's true and that's why God has
given us each other. We are so prone to forget this.
We're so like the disciples. The forget, these truths that
God has given us each other to help each other in services like
this but also throughout the week to remind each other of the
truth about Jesus that we forget far too quickly, that's part of
what being disciple. Making disciples looks like
regularly reminding each other of these truths.
So the question is, what can we be doing on our own in our
families and our home groups and our times together?
So remind each other of these truths about Jesus that we
forget far too quickly. But thankfully though the
disciples are forgetful. Jesus is so patient, isn't he?
And he's so willing to teach us again.
And again, he doesn't snap at the disciples here.
He just shows them again. What they've already forgotten.
Jesus cares, so much and is so patient and is so ready to teach
us and show us what he's like again and again and that is good
news, isn't it? But is good news if you know you
need that patience for yourself. And here the disciples get to
learn that the Gentiles, get more than crumbs after all.
But so do they They get another loaf of Jesus, his patience and
his teaching for them. And that is very unlike the next
group of people that we meet in this passage the Pharisees and
in these three verses the disciples learned by the absence
of bread and Jesus teaches the disciples at the Pharisees, get
nothing at all the Pharisees, get nothing at all.
Now Mark, doesn't spend too long in this interaction so we won't
either but the Pharisees grab Jesus out of the boat and they
demand him to give them a sign from Heaven, a sign that he
really is sent by God. And that might sound like a good
thing. I could very easily sound like
the disciples are just the the Pharisees it just this close to
believing just one more sign. But in the gospels demanding a
sign from Jesus is never a good thing.
It is always evidence that the person asking is really an
opponent of Jesus. And these guys demand that
Jesus, give them some proof, some sign that will convince
their big brains of who he is and who he's come from.
And Jesus responds. Is to psi the deep Long sigh his
second son, died in just a few verses.
Which is worth knowing Jesus teaches us through his size.
But I think we can work out what this lesson is, right?
If you if you go to your mom and dad and you ask for something
some food or I don't know what kids ask for these days.
Bitcoin. Is that a thing you're into?
I don't know but if you go to your spouse or your boss or your
teacher or your mommy, your dad and you ask them for something
and they go That's not a good thing.
Is it? You know that coming?
Next is not something good. You know, that that is not a
positive response and Jesus size.
And he says, why does this generation asks for a sign?
Truly, I tell you. No sign will be given to it.
Jesus isn't going to perform for them.
He isn't going to bow down to their whims, they don't get to
set the standard of what is enough for them to be convinced.
He doesn't need to prove himself to them anymore than he has
because he already has how many more signs do these Pharisees
need? They've had plenty of signs.
They just refuse to believe them.
Jesus is the sign. They refused to believe what is
right in front of them and demand more. but there is no
greater sign than Jesus, and if he's not enough for them and
nothing will be What more sign do you need from me?
Jesus says The reality is the Pharisees choose to be blind.
They choose to read blind to be blind and they refuse to see
what is clearly right in front of them.
And so unlike the crowd in the first versus the Pharisees, get
nothing at all from Jesus. I mean, he could very easily
have created some bread out of bread in front of them, right?
You could have performed a sign that's not hard for Jesus to do
it gives them nothing. No bread at all.
And the Pharisees turn and walk away, and the disciples followed
Jesus into the boat and sail off. if you're here this morning
or you're watching online and you're waiting for Jesus or God
to prove to you, who he claims to be for a sign to make you
feel like the Bible is true and worth obeying what this is worth
noticing If the life and the Miracles of Jesus weren't enough
for the Pharisees when it was right in front of them.
Won't be enough for you, either. And today, we all have far more
evidence of Greater signs and the Pharisees had at this point,
we have proof of Jesus, death and Resurrection.
You have the evidence of Jesus working all throughout history
through his power in his people through the church.
You have 100 or so evidences of is working power in this room
with you today. You have the evidence of his
word where he shows you himself, if you read it and look for him,
you have signs. Even if you don't understand
them completely. You can follow Jesus before you
understand everything, that's what the disciples do isn't it?
They don't understand. We're going to see a bit more of
that in a minute but they follow Jesus into the boat.
Faith comes by stepping into the boat with Jesus, rather than
standing on the shore in your safety.
It's easy to look down on the disciples.
They make it very easy for us. But there with Jesus there there
I would encourage you to do that today in the boat to stop
demanding evidence, that's going to satisfy you and to follow
Jesus and like the crowd at the start of the passage be
satisfied. But speaking of the disciples,
the third thing, that Jesus teaches them is that the
disciples don't get it at all. The disciples do not get it at
all. For this boat ride is a lot more
chatty, isn't the disciple seem a lot more chatter than the last
one? Mainly, it seems because they
realize they're only brought one loaf of bread with them and
Jesus, hears, and chatting about this and he uses bread as a
parable as a picture to try and teach his disciples a truth.
And he warns them saying be careful, watch out for the yeast
of the Pharisees and that of Herod.
And again, Mark doesn't spend a long time on this so we won't
either but Jesus here is talking about something that the
disciples would have all understood baking bread.
Breaking bread is nothing more people did in that culture than
they do these days. And they would have tried to
break bread, baked bread without yeast in it.
Particularly, and when bacon it, if any yeast did get into any of
the do, it will ruin the whole batch, it would affect the whole
thing. The tiny little bit of yeast can
ruin all the lows come from one batch of bread of do.
And Jesus is saying that something about both the
Pharisees and Herod is just as dangerous as a little bit of
yeast in a load of dough. Just a little bit of it.
Can have a big impact so be careful and watch out other
words. Jesus uses.
And putting together from Mark's gospel, what we know about both
the Pharisees and Herod, there's not loads they have in common
but the one thing they do have in common is that they both on
the outside look like they're interested in God's kingdom.
But on the inside they refused to want have anything to do with
him in their hearts. They want to look impressive to
the people around them but they don't want to obey what God
tells him to do. And so Jesus is warning his
disciples to watch out for any outward.
Good behavior. There's nothing to do with real
love for God. To watch out for people who are
more bothered about appearing to behave, good enough, then they
are about repentance. Beware the face doesn't become
something that's lived out in front of others, when Everyone's
Watching has got nothing to do with real heart.
Love for God. If your face looks impressive on
a Sunday but doesn't change the way you treat your mom or your
dad, or your spouse, or how you browse the internet, how you
behave when your Christian friends aren't around, or are
you behave when you're alone? That should be a warning. that's
what Jesus is warning his disciples and us to watch out
for the Pharisees in herod's outward goodness in front of
everybody showing off how great they are, but empty unchanged
hearts, that is an example to run away from But that isn't why
Mark tells us this. Instead, he tells us what Jesus
teaches his disciples to show, how little they understand what
on Earth is going on. Have a look at verse 16.
After Jesus says that powerful stuff.
They discuss this with one another and said, it's because
we've got no bread. instead of getting the parable instead of
seeing what Jesus is saying, they argue about lunch, They're
panicking because I've only got one loaf between 13 of them on a
boat. And again, how stupid can you be
disciples like was just happened like a two days ago and most
they miss the point though, only with twelve loaves in total
Jesus is very recently fed over 9,000 people.
So what if there's only one loaf of bread in your boat, don't you
remember? Who's in the boat with you
disciples? But instead, they're so
distracted by their own mistakes, that they forget about
the power and the care of Jesus. The disciples are so distracted.
By this own mistake, whether it's mistake, they've made that
they forget about the power and the care of Jesus.
And so they start to bicker among themselves.
It seems like while they think Jesus isn't listening.
But he is listening. And so he really gently far more
gently than I think I would have been questions.
I'm to try and wake them up. Why are you talking about having
no bread? You still not see or understand
but your hearts hardened by Jesus is trying to teach them,
actually, they're worried about the not going to have enough
food. They don't think that Jesus is
going to care for their physical needs.
They don't think Jesus really cares about them.
And so Jesus reminds them of everything.
They've seen him do in just the last few weeks.
Just think for a second. He says about your lunch Panic.
Do you think it's really the problem?
You feel like it is Am I going to let you starve?
And that question, are your hearts hardened?
Well, the truth is Mark has already told us that they are
back in chapter 6. There is something stopping
these disciples seeing and understanding who Jesus is for
them. and they're unclean sin filled heart that Jesus talked
about in chapter 7, if blinded them Spiritually.
These guys are blind. They can't see the truth.
That is right in front of their eyes.
They don't get it. Everything they've seen Jesus do
so far. Should have meant that their
hearts were full of faith. That even with one loaf
everything we've got enough bread because we've got Jesus.
But instead, their hearts are hardened, they can't see the
Messiah for the Miracles. It's ready to rebuke of them.
Jesus quotes. Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 21,
then Verse 18, that's where Jesus quotes Jeremiah 5:21 and
he reminds them that they shouldn't be worried about the
bread. All by that shouldn't be a
thing. They're worried about instead,
they should now have seen and heard enough to know they're in
a boat in a relationship with the God who created the entire
universe. Jesus is saying, haven't I shown
you in so many ways. My love, and my care and my
power for you disciples, you can trust me.
And to do that a bit more. He reminds them of the, to
feeding Miracles. Yes.
Jesus fed the crowds till they were satisfied with.
Read that twice in the two accounts, but there was more
than enough left over for the disciples to eat too.
How many leftovers did you get? Jesus asks He does that to
remind them, that his care. And his power weren't just for
the crowds but for the disciples as well.
Not just for the needy people around them for these needy
disciples to, they thought that Jesus had come to minister to
others, he come to minister to them.
And they need his divine power and divine compassion just as
much and they have it in basketfuls.
He's trying to teach them an equation that I know I need to
remember. I found some maths in Chris to
try and think of all people in the room says gluten,
intolerant, people and mathematicians all covered.
But this is an equation I think we all need to remember because
it's so easy to forget this. The try and keep it as simple as
possible and it picks up again from what Pete reminded us of.
Last week that Jesus cares for everybody.
He has Divine God, like compassion but he also has
divine power over everything. and when you add that together,
divine power plus Divine compassion equals everything we
need, Everything we need. That's what he's been.
Minding, his disciples divine power plus.
Divine compassion means we have everything we need.
And I need to be reminded of this so often.
Because we also easily forget these truths.
Don't we? And we doubt God's power or we
doubt his care for us. And we forget that Jesus cares
about everyone and has power over everything and that that
affects so much of our lives. So we have everything we need
and whatever circumstance worrying.
So one example of how forgetting that affects me, maybe it
affects you as well. When I forget either one of
these two things just don't pray.
I don't pray about situations instead, I try and sort out my
own bread level situations by myself rather than trusting in
the bread of life. The one who has provided and
will provide everything we need primarily through his death and
Resurrection, but who loves to provide for everything we need
physically too. We forget that divine power
plus, Divine, compassion equals everything we need and we are
far more like the disciples than we like to admit.
And that is what Jesus is reminding his disciples of in
this boat trip but they don't get it, they don't get it at
all. And Jesus says, in verse 18 that
they don't get it because spiritually they're blind.
Like Jesus has already performed incredible Miracles and provided
for them and cared for them so much again.
And again, already saving them from deadly storms and deadly
hunger, they can't see it. They're not able to put two and
two together and get for Jesus is saying they're spiritually
death, and they're spiritually blind.
They can't make themselves here and they can't make themselves.
See, and understand, they need help.
Disciples. Just don't get it at all.
Yet. That is good news.
Because that is why, Mark tells us this story.
The exactly this moment in his gospel. because in chapter 7
last week who was Jesus able to heal, You're allowed to answer
that. The guy was deaf and if you look
ahead to just after this passage in Mark chapter 8 who is Jesus
able to heal, spoiler alert for next week.
Sorry Richard a blind guy. And if these are all spiritual
signs, pointing to spiritual truths, and the disciples are
deaf and blind. What is it?
They need, they need someone to heal their blindness and their
deafness. Thankfully, that persons in the
boat with him. Jesus came to open their ears
and their eyes to understand the truth of who he is, and what
he's like, and how much he cares for them.
Jesus is willing and able, he came to heal the Blind and the
deaf and he's going to do that for the disciples.
They don't get it at all yet, but as John's flagged up, they
will soon. And Jesus still at work, he's
not finished with them. That's good news, isn't it?
Because Jesus still has Divine compassion and divine power,
even now. And so we can all be confident.
He will provide everything we need.
And therefore, we can be confident that we can go to him
in prayer about big things, and small things, and no matter what
those things are, we can come to him, we can go to him in prayer
for those people who that, we know and love, who are still so
blind. And he refused to see or can't
see the truth of Who Jesus is because he is able to open the
eyes of the blind to see the truth of who he is.
And we know that because he did it for these disciples.
We've done it for us so we can be confident that he can and
will do it for others, too. I said earlier when we doubt and
forget these things affects our prayer life.
And I was asked this week, if Jesus was to give me everything,
I prayed for in the last week, how many people would be saved?
It's Jesus was to say, down and answer every prayer with
positive answer. You've asked for, in the last
week, how many people would be saved?
Not really challenge me. Because the truth is, I don't
pray about things, I don't think God either got power over it or
that he cares about it. How is our prayer life?
For those who don't know. Jesus, have we forgotten that
he's both got power and Care over all things.
Are you more like me and out too?
Often his power and his care, and his desire to save because
we all risk being like the disciples, panicking over, what
we can do with the bread, we have, when we should just turn
them, ask for help. I'm the one who can feed
thousands, through God's power working in him.
That's what we want. Quality Bible club, right?
We want children to come along, who are spiritually blind and
have their eyes open to see the truth of who Jesus is and then
families and Karen and part to be changed as a result of that.
We need to be praying for it. But even more brilliantly if we
have messed up again. When we forget to pray or refuse
to pray, we can still be confident of Jesus, divine
compassion for us again. He's so patient with his
disciples, right? I'd be tempted to check them
out. The boat at this point.
That's not what Jesus Does. His compassion.
It's not just for the crowds around and about it's also for
the disciples ice, also, for you and me.
It's so easy to trust. Jesus is Love and his patience
and his care and his compassion and his forgiveness for other
people. But then forget that is equally
true of you and me too. So imagine that his patients
with us is actually wearing pretty thin by now actually he's
very disappointed in us to forget him what he's like again
and trying to sort out our own lives on our own again and
failing to resist temptation again.
Forgetting to pray about things again.
We all prone to suspect sometimes that he's just getting
irritated by us. and we imagine that instead of his loving
compassionate, gentle questioning We got one of his
disappointed size. But that isn't how Jesus works
for people who are desperate to follow him, just look at the
disciples. They don't get it at all, they
don't understand but despite their constant not getting it
nurse. Jesus is so patient and bears
with them right. He continues to teach them and
show them what they need to see about what he's like.
And then we'll see again. Further, spoiler alert.
We'll see after the cross. That he sends these slow
disappointing man out and then changes the world through.
The truth is Jesus is not looking for self-reliant Heroes.
He's after helpless week bread eaters.
We'll get in a boat with him. Jesus isn't looking for
self-reliant Heroes, he just want helpless weak, bready, as
who are willing to get in the boat with him, no matter what,
people who know they're blind, but it cling to Jesus anyway,
because he is the bread of life and he will never ever turn away
anyone who comes to him asking him to help them, no matter how
Daft. They might seem.
Jesus is the very image of God in human form and he's showing
us what. God the father is like to God is
gracious and compassionate. Passionate he is slow to anger
and rich in loving kindness. God is not quick to anger and
slow to love. Slow to anger, and quick to
love, and Jesus shows that again and again.
This morning. Whether we're a Daft disciple or
a greedy, Gentile, or stubborn Pharisee, we all need the same
thing. We need a powerful savior, a
savior with divine power, and divine compassion, who can open
blind eyes, and unblock deaf ears, and it provides for all of
our needs, and who loves to open blind eyes.
If they'll just come to him and admit their need, because not
even sinful. Stubborn Hearts is a problem.
Jesus can't defeat And that's good news in them.
It's good news for us. It's good news for the people.
We love, it's good news for the world around us, so let's be
people who are praying for that. Our mission hasn't changed and
Jesus hasn't changed either. He still has divine power and
divine compassion and he will provide all that we need.
So let's trust in him. A seek out ways to be reminding
each other of those truths and we forget them because as
disciple making disciples, we forget that so often and we need
help. Don't lie.
Our mission hasn't changed and Jesus hasn't changed either.
He still has divine power and divine compassion and he will
provide all that we need. So let's trust in him.
A seek out ways to be reminding each other of those truths and
we forget them because as disciple making disciples, we
forget that so often and we need help.
Don't lie.