If you have a copy of God's Word in your hands, please meet me in
the Gospel of Mark in chapter 8. Brother, thank you for your
precious prayer. Forgive me if I pray once again.
I think I have permission. Jesus said my house shall be
called the House of prayer. Mark chapter 8 We'll read these
verses and then we will pray and invoke the name of the Lord and
ask for His help because we need the Holy Spirit of God.
In Mark 81 we read in those days when again a great crowd had
gathered and they had nothing to eat.
He called his disciples to him and said to them, I have
compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three
days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry,
to their homes, they will faint on the way.
And some of them have come from far away.
And his disciples answered him, How can one feed these people
with bread here in this desolate place?
And he asked them, how many loaves do you have?
They said seven. And he directed the crowd to sit
down on the ground, And he took the seven loaves, and having
given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to
set before. The people and they set them
before the crowd, and they had a few small fish.
And having been having blessed them, he said that these also
should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied.
And they took up the broken pieces, left over 7 baskets
full, and there were about 4000 people and he sent them away.
Lord, this is your word. We believe with every fiber of
our being that your word has power.
But, Lord, we also know that you promised the Holy Spirit the
gift of God. Yes, to indwell us, yes to seal
us, but Lord, to empower us to be witnesses, to give us the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation, to understand these things and
to declare them with boldness and courage.
And we pray that in this moment as we are exposed to the voice
of God. That we would experience the
presence of God and that Lord, the end result of this message
would indeed be a simple yet glorious thing.
That you would draw us closer to you in an intimate way.
What is the point, O God, if we just hear platitudes?
What is the point, O God, if we just learn information?
But our hearts do not come alive?
And so, Lord, we call upon your name in this service, and we ask
that you would be merciful to us.
And that our eyes would be open, that you would perform a miracle
for the soul, and that we would be able to behold the absolute
beauty and the infinite glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Bring us there, oh God. No charisma, no personality, no
craft of a message can do that work.
Only the Holy Spirit. And we ask that he would be ever
present, Please, oh God, to be in our midst.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Another miracle. Of bread and fish, yes.
And there are some skeptics, some liberal scholars, who would
say that this is the same event that you and I studied not too
long ago when Jesus fed 5000, not including women and
children. And there are others who would
rightly acknowledge no, this is a different occurrence, and that
is accurate. It is a different occurrence.
And though you and I might confess that.
We might not know with confidence the purpose of it,
especially because it's so similar to the former, but the
very fact that this account is tucked in our Bibles should give
us enough encouragement to take the time to investigate it with
great attention, despite the resemblance.
What you and I have here is an invitation from God to consider
his. Mind and his heart.
And I think what you and I need to do in coming to this text in
order to draw as much SAP from it as possible is to compare it
with what we studied a few weeks ago.
And so as you have your hand there in mark chapter 8, as I'm
speaking, you can go to mark Chapter 6 and place your finger
there at verse 34, because we are going to go back and forth
in order to look at key distinctions between what seems
to be so similar. But containing enough contrast
for us to see, oh, there is truths for conviction, there are
truths for comfort here in this very account.
Can I pause here and give you a word of counsel whenever you
come to your Bibles? And I pray that you read your
Bibles as you read through the systematically from cover to
cover, you will indeed come into contact with what seems to be
repeating text. You may see something that
mirrors, something that you had just read, or something that was
in another neighborhood in the word of God.
When you come to that point, please resist the temptation to
glare over it. Do not bypass it.
Do not dismiss it. Recognize that God has put it in
there for a reason. And instead of just skimming
over those verses just so you can soothe your conscience, say
I didn't skip over this part of the Bible.
Pause. Pull out the text that you know
resembles it, and read it carefully and comparatively and
as you do that. You will see things begin to
surface and you will begin to see joy filled, life changing,
truths that will bless you. And I pray that as you see that
discipline being exercised with this very chapter right here,
you'd be inspired. That again, whenever you come to
a text that seems to be common or familiar or repetitive, it is
actually an invitation from God for greater revelation.
And so we come. Here and there are four main
points that I want to make in light of this text in comparison
to the other. And the first thing that I want
to bring to your attention is #1.
The one who made the predicament known.
In those days when again a crowd had gathered and they had
nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to
them. Now go to Mark chapter 6 and
verse 35 and you'll see at the feeding, the introduction to the
feeding of the 5000 something different and Mark 635 you'll
see. And when it grew late, his
disciples came to him and said. This is a desolate place and the
hour is now late. Send them away to go into the
surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves
something to eat. It's quite clear, isn't it?
When you come to the 4000, you see that it is Jesus who
introduces to the disciples A dilemma.
When you think back at the 5000, it was the disciples who
approached Jesus and made their problem known.
And when you. See that you realize that it's
it's not uncommon for people, including the disciples, to make
their needs known to Christ. What is uncommon though is for
Jesus to bring up an issue to his followers.
He went to the 12 and he said I have compassion on the crowd
because they've been here for a few days and.
If they head back, they might faint on the way.
Why is that difference important?
What do we learn from these things?
What do we see with these two references?
Well, mark Chapter 6 through the illustration of the disciples
coming to Jesus. You and I were encouraged to
bring our needs to Jesus. Bring your needs to Jesus.
Bring what you've observed to be a problem, and come to the one
who can solve it. But when you come to the feeding
of the 4000, what you are prepared to know?
Is be ready for Jesus to come and test you.
The 5000 Come to Jesus with your need.
The 4000 believe that Jesus will come to you with a test.
Was there a test included in the 5000?
Yes, but the emphasis of Jesus testing the faith of his own is
in this chapter and this is what we have to understand.
Christ is not seeking the advice or or the counsel of His
students by approaching them in this way.
His goal was to measure the growth, the growth and the
strength of their faith. You know when.
Jesus gives his test. It's not like how teachers
commonly give their exams to their students.
The Lord is in need of no evaluation to discover where
you're at. So why does he give his test
then? Why does the all knowing one
bring us through trials? In order to examine our faith.
Well, it's just for that. It is for you.
Listen carefully. It is for you to discover the
quality of your faith. It's for you to see it.
It's for you to recognize it. It's for you to be able to
observe it and to be able to say honestly where where is my
faith? And nothing proves the
sincerity. Nothing proves the strength of
one's faith more than trials. You can sing beautifully, you
can preach powerfully, but when a trial comes, your faith will
speak the loudest and they will come and when they do come.
It is then that you will know the true condition of your
convictions. And oh, when it shines through,
I pray that your faith does shine through.
There are manifold blessings as a result of it.
What are those manifold blessings?
Well, #1. When your faith stands, when it
is not moved, when it is only strengthened, as it goes through
that fire, you're strengthened. You personally will know a
greater peace. You personally will know a
greater assurance. You know a wise pastor.
Made a very brilliant observation when it comes to
believers who struggle with the assurance of their of their
salvation. And he had said this.
That it is. Usually younger people who
struggle with where they're at in their stance before a
righteous God. And when I heard that, I thought
to myself that's actually true when when I've encountered
people have said, how do I know I'm saved, it's usually those
who are fresh in the faith or those who haven't had much life
experience. What do you mean by that?
Because when you go through life.
Following Jesus, you will encounter various trials.
And when you go through those various trials and your faith
still stands, your assurance grows.
It grows. This is real.
This is in me. This is true.
This is not fake. This is not shallow soil here.
Oh no, this is the real deal. I still love him, though I
cannot see him. I still hoping him, though he
slays. Me.
You're strengthened. What about the other believers
who are watching you in your trial and your test?
They're encouraged. Look at brother so and so.
Still loving the Lord. Still serving the Lord though
there's so much trouble in his marriage, though there's so much
trouble with their children there.
They are still giving everything they have to Christ.
Oh, surely if it's possible in them, it's possible in me.
What about a watching, unbelieving, skeptical blasphemy
world? When they see your faith shine
as a result of that fire and draw, and we see their draws
being removed by the the surgeon's hand, are they not
challenged? Do they not at least question
and examine themselves to some degree while they see your hope
and the invisible but living God?
That's what Peter talks about on First Peter 17 when he says that
there is the tested genuineness of your faith.
And he said right before that that there are various trials,
don't be grieved by them because those trials are means to reveal
are you genuine and you see that, The believers see that and
the world sees that. And ultimately, at the end of
the day, Christ will praise it and commend it as your faith
endures until the end. But let's slow down with the
verses that we just read. Did you notice how the Lord in
verse two of chapter 8 expresses his compassion?
Verse two, I have compassion on the crowd.
Mark in six with the 5000 mentions Jesus compassion as
well, but not directly from the mouth of Jesus.
When compassion is mentioned in Mark chapter 6, it is narrated
by Mark. When we come here to Jesus with
the 4000, he himself says it. I have compassion on the crowd.
And when you compare again these two references, you realize the
absolute beauty of the nature and the character of God, namely
in his compassion. What was the object of Jesus's
compassion? With the feeding of the 5000,
we'll go back to Mark 6 and look at verse 34, Mark 634.
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd and he had
compassion on them because this is the reason why he had
compassion, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
And he began to teach them many things.
The trigger for the deep seated feelings of care and concern for
the people in March chapter six with the 5000 was spiritual.
The spiritual need of the people with a heavy heart.
The Lord perceived the masses, and he was able to discern that
this people, like sheep without a shepherd, are lost.
They're lost, they're vulnerable, they're exposed to
danger, they are malnourished, and they're in.
Trouble. And that's what moved him.
And when it moved him, he provided for them by teaching
them, he taught them. But when you come to Mark,
chapter 8, when Jesus says himself I have compassion, you
see that the object of his compassion is a little
different. Verse two of Mark eight, I have
compassion on the crowd because, well, what is it, Lord?
Because they have been with me now three days and have nothing
to eat. In the former account, Jesus
compassion was for the spiritual need.
In the second account, Jesus compassion is for the physical
well-being of the people. Why?
Because Christ is not merely the shepherd of your soul, He's a
provider for your body as well. We must not think for a moment
that because we are spiritual people who worship in spirit to
our God, who is spirit, that he overlooks the material
necessities of your existence. He's keenly aware of all our
needs because he is the master of the whole man of all that you
are spirit, soul and body. He is Lord.
And if anything coming to this passage.
We have the right to contemplate on His compassion as you and I
manage and engage our day-to-day affairs.
You're eating. Your clothing, you're living,
you're traveling are not outside of His tender care.
We tend to think Jesus is compassionate and sympathetic
for my eternity. Not just your eternity, your
daily activity. That is the extension of His
love. That is the breadth of his care,
that he actually can look not just at your empty soul, but he
can look at your grumbling stomach and still be moved.
In the same way it's hard for you to believe.
Well, welcome to the realm of faith.
What a glorious thing about the mindfulness of Jesus.
And what's so glorious here is that it's not just for the
immediate, it was for the future.
Notice that Jesus said they've been with me now three days.
And if I send them away, hungry to their homes, they will faint
on the way. On the way they will faint.
I'm. I'm thinking about their
tomorrow, Not just their today, their tomorrow.
And we need to believe that that he's the shepherd that, yes,
walks by our side, but he's omnipresent.
He's ahead of us as well. And if you do not believe that,
then you're in trouble. Just like the Israelites were in
trouble when they didn't believe that as they were being led into
the Promised Land. Speaking about that, can I show
you something quite amazing about God's leading in the
Promised Land? It's not an Exodus.
It's not in numbers. It's an Ezekiel.
Do you know where that is in your Bible, Ezekiel.
We'll go there. Don't be ashamed to go to the
index if you need to. Ezekiel.
Chapter 20. I remember when I was first
walking with the Lord, I heard a preacher and he said turn to the
book of Hebrews. And I thought Hebrews Jews.
So I went to the Old Testament. The person next to me said no,
no, no. A New Testament right side of
the Bible. Ezekiel chapter 20, verse six.
Look at this wonderful commentary.
That's why you got to read the whole Bible, man.
You got to see it all. Are you going to miss something?
Ezekiel 20, verse six, on that day.
This is the Lord speaking on that day.
I swore to them. That I would bring them out of
the land of Egypt into a land. Now look at this into a land
that I searched out for them. A land flowing with milk and
honey, the most glorious of all lands.
You know what that word searched is in the original and its
description is in its definition is to spy out the same word that
is used in Numbers 13 when. 12 spies, 1 chief from every tribe
were raised up to go into the land of Canaan to spy it out
long before those guys went in there.
The Lord spied it out himself. He already investigated it.
He already determined it. He already prepared it.
They were just going to discover it for themselves.
And you think about your life. And that car that you prayed
about and that house that you finally were able to get in this
crazy market and that opportunity, that job that seems
to have just fallen, fallen into your lap and you burst out in
praise in Thanksgiving. Can I tell you something?
God got searched it out for you a long time ago.
He's not surprised with you. He's not catching up with your
life. He's not overwhelmed with all
his children, and he's trying to manage it all.
Breaking a sweat while he sits on the throne, He searched it
out and all you get to do is you walk through these pads in this
life as a Pilgrim is figure it out yourself.
Something that he's already established long ago.
What a way to live. What a way to live.
Not just comfort for the unknown, but when I come to
something. That seems to have surprised and
shocked my plans, maybe even my prayers.
I can be absolutely at rest knowing he searched it out.
He knows why this is happening. He already spied it out for me.
He's. Ahead of me.
So here's the Lord saying, I'm concerned about what's going to
happen to them if they faint on the way.
So here's the mindfulness of the shepherd.
Ahead of your steps, ahead of your plans, ahead of your
thoughts, ahead of your worries. He's already there.
But did you notice something else in that same sentence where
Jesus says I have compassion on the crowd?
Go back to it, verse two. I have compassion on the crowd
because this moved me tremendously because they have
been with me now three days. The compassion of God, the care
of God, the mercy of God is for all.
It does dispense with common grace to the just and the
wicked, but at the same time do you realize that the Lord takes
into account those who sacrifice for him?
This blessed me, because it shows that Christ sees what you
do for him, and it moves him. These people were in attendance
for three days in a row. Not 30 minutes beyond the
service time, three days in a row.
And when you come to crowds in the gospels, they're not really
seen in a in a great light usually.
But I argue that this is a different case here, this people
come with unbroken presence of mind, presence of body, sleeping
overnight, exposed to the elements out in the open.
Seeing their resources evaporate hour by hour, and yet what is
keeping them in place is this deep interest in Christ.
And so deep was that interest that it swallowed up their
concern for physical bread. This is not the people
protesting to Jesus. We've been here 3 days.
Do you have something in your lunch box?
This is Jesus looking at the crowd and recognizing at what
length they were willing to go to be there under his ministry,
and then caring for them accordingly.
Do you believe that, Jesus? Christ regards what you do for
Him good because you should. Because you should.
He actually considers how early you came.
He actually takes into account how late you stay.
Oh, believe that he knows the distance you drove here and the
gas that you have to put in your car to get here.
He knows when you're doing this out of a pure heart, not under
compulsion, but out of genuine desire, not out of convenience,
but out of genuine desire to serve him.
He sees it. He sees it all.
And not only does he see it. He has special feelings in his
heart for you. They have been with me here now
for three days, But praise God, he knows he doesn't miss it.
Others might. He's aware of it.
How far, How long, how much? And it moves his heart.
Do you want to move his heart? And just love him and put him
above everything, even your food, and see the special
attention that he will give you. I know that.
That that's not. We don't like that stuff, right?
No, no, no, no. Don't tell me that.
Grace. Grace.
Yeah. Grace.
Good. You can be saved by His grace,
but how you know him is not necessarily by grace.
You walk with him. You choose to live for him.
You make the sacrifices for him. And he considers every single
one. So we look first here at the one
who made the predicament known. We come down to the second
point. The second difference is between
the 5000 and the 4000, and it is this the number of resources at
hand. Verse four.
And his disciples answered him, How can one feed these people
with bread here in this desolate place?
And he asked them, how many loaves do you have?
They said seven. They said 7.
When it came to the 5000 and the same question was asked, it was
a different response. We have 5 loaves and how many?
Fish 2 fish. Fish are included in this, but
you come down to verse 7 and it is a number not known to us.
And they had a few small fish, so they had fish and bread, The
same ingredients, different numbers, though not much of a
difference. And so people like to play
around with the numbers and try to get some deep mystical
meaning and you don't have to go there.
It's very simple. The assets are different, but
the encouragement you and I can draw is simply this.
Whether you have less or more today than you did yesterday,
what ultimately makes a difference in your life is not
what you have, but whose hand holds it.
That's the difference if these resources.
Remain in the hands of the disciples, no impact would be
made, but the moment that they consecrated what they had to the
Christ, anything is possible. Anything is possible, and there
should be no doubt that if Christ wanted to, that he could
have made bread and fish appear out of nothing.
He made this world out of nothing.
He spoke this universe into existence, and so why did he do
it with bread and fish? Because he wants to teach his
disciples then and his disciples now.
This valuable lesson Give it all to me and don't rely on your
resources. Rely on my creative,
compassionate power if you're going to make an impact for
anything. These people weren't going to be
touched if they trusted in their own wisdom.
Even back there with the feeding of the 5000, if they went to the
grocery store to try to buy all that they could for these
people, it wouldn't be enough. And that's the point.
Here are these people who have a need, and here are these
disciples who are agents of God's message and heart.
How are they going to make an impact?
Not in your own strength. Not in your own ideas, Not by
bar barring marketing schemes from the bestselling Christian
book. No, from looking at him, keeping
your eyes on him, believing him, putting it all at his hand, and
trusting that he could do miracles with it.
Where? Where was the focus of the
disciples? Look back at verse four.
And his disciples answered him. How can one feed these people
with bread here, in this desolate place?
That's where their focus was. This is a wilderness.
There's no jewel anywhere near here.
There's nothing that we can do to make this happen.
And that's the point, Disciples. You're looking at the wrong
thing. Look at the one who's done it
before and keep your eyes there. Keep your eyes there.
The one who calls into existence of things that do not exist
according to Romans 4. The one who actually can make it
all happen in a moment. This is a desolate place.
I thought about, you know, they believe that about the region
that they were in. And we can say the same perhaps
of the city of Chicago. This is a desolate place.
We're so grateful for this church opening the doors to us
to be able to meet here regularly.
But we have plans, God willing to have our own place.
How are we going to do that with this kind of a market?
How are we going to do that with a government that doesn't give
property so easily, especially if it's tax free, tax exempt in
some way. This is a desolate place.
With all the craziness and inflation, even if that time
comes, how will we pull out the resources to ensure a purchase
or a plan that will keep us out of trouble in the future?
Well, don't look at the desolate place.
Don't look at the lack of resources.
Don't look at the opposition. Look to him and keep your eyes
there. These disciples didn't for some
reason, and some people have so much trouble believing that the
disciples doubted at this time. That they reinterpret this whole
story because they think to themselves how you saw the same
this like the mirroring scenario, right?
It's Part 2. This is, this is copy paste.
There is no way that the disciples were doubting Jesus
here to the point where they reinterpret verse 4 to mean that
they were kind of sarcastically nudging to Christ.
How are we going to feed these people unless somebody does it?
That's how they interpret this verse.
How do you read that? Is it so hard to imagine that
the disciples lost sight of the faithfulness of Christ so
quickly? Answer No, it's not.
It's not difficult because you and I know very well, if we're
honest with ourselves, that we don't learn things the first
time around. I've seen it.
You. Can preach a message on
forgiveness and it takes 10 more of them before it says oh OK
yeah, forgiveness. Seen it for myself, reading the
scripture, dealing with situations.
It doesn't always happen the first time around.
Let me see here that these disciples, believe it or not,
didn't get it. Spiritual amnesia is not
uncommon among the Saints. You know, Jesus says something.
So convicting to one of his disciples, I want to show it to
you. It's in a different gospel.
And John chapter 14, the disciple Philip asked Jesus a
question and Jesus answers something that.
Should move us in, John 14-8, Phillip said to him, Lord, show
us the Father, and it is enough for us.
Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long and you still
do not know me? Phillip, whoever has seen me has
seen the Father. How can you say, show us the
Father? What a question.
Have I been with you so long? And you still don't get it,
Philip, after all the miracles, after all the teachings, after
all my sayings, after all the parables, and it still hasn't
registered yet. If you've seen me, you've seen
him. Lord, spare me.
I don't want the Lord to have to say that about me.
Daniel, have I been with you so long?
That you still don't understand who I am.
It's been 10 years, son. It's been 10 years.
And yet you can hear this and it can convict you.
And if you're not careful, that conviction can translate to
condemnation and your hope is slaughtered.
Don't go there. Because even in this you and I
are encouraged. You're saying, how can you
encourage not to be lighthearted about your stagnation, not to be
lighthearted about? Your unwillingness to move with
urgency and growth and grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus
Christ to be encouraged in this, that even when the disciples
should have responded so much differently, right, if they
really did believe Jesus. I mean, this is what I would
expect. How can these people be fed,
right? How can these people go home
hungry? Lord, Lord, we've seen you do
this. We seemed just give us the word.
Do you want to know what's in our pockets?
You want to know what's in our bags?
You want us to go look around and see how many bread and fish
are here? You say the word.
We trust you, Lord. That didn't come out of their
mouths. Doubt.
Unbelief. And what does Jesus do?
Does he scold them? Does he sigh and put him aside?
Says, you know what? I can't trust you guys.
I'm going to deal with this myself.
You clearly didn't get the lesson.
No. Look here.
Verse 6. And he directed the crowd to sit
down on the ground, and he took seven, the seven lows.
And having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his
disciples to set before the people.
He still used them, despite their limitations, despite their
mountainous doubt. They should have had mountain
size, not mustard seed faith. They should have had mountain
size faith. After all they were exposed to.
And what did they give him? A question of unbelief.
And what does Jesus do? He works with them still, and he
uses them to be extensions, vessels of his love.
Why does God do that? Why does he even use us at any
capacity? And I'll give you an answer,
because the Apostle Paul gave the answer when he talked about
how God used him. In Ephesians 3/8 he writes to
me, though I am the very least of all the Saints.
This grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ. Paul loved to teach on grace.
He loved to preach on grace. But the idea of grace was not
limited to salvation. Paul understood that the very
fact that he was a minister was an expression of God's grace.
You tell people, right? I'm sure maybe you've said it to
your own family member or loved one or your husband or whatever.
Maybe a dear friend that you can speak freely with and the Lord
uses them. There's fruit in their lives and
there's greater exposure and their ministry.
And brother, be careful, don't let it get to your head, sister.
Be careful. God has gifted you.
His hand is clearly on your life.
Just be careful. Don't don't get puffed up.
And I'm sure that's sound advice.
That is sound advice and it's possible, even in your spiritual
pursuits, to become arrogant and prideful.
But you know what Paul is showing me here?
This is what he's showing me. The more God used them, the more
humbled he was. The more the Lord used him, the
more he was aware of the grace of God, because he understood
this. This doesn't make sense for me
to be in this position. And so whatever God did through
him and only brought him lower. How is that possible when you
understand? His Holiness, His righteousness,
His standards, our unworthiness, our inconsistencies, our sin,
our temptation to rebel against them.
And yet still He makes us participations into his purposes
and plans. So any episode in which God uses
you, and at least in Paul's mind, He was brought lower and
lower and lower. God doesn't need us.
He does. But in his great delight and
pleasure, he wants to. And it's a gift for you to
enjoy, to see what God can do through you so that he can
receive all the glory. It's a grace.
These disciples here are are
even experiencing God's grace in the midst of their doubt #3 Not
just the number of resources, but the amount of leftovers
gathered. Look here, verse 8.
And they ate and were satisfied. What a phrase.
And they took up the broken pieces left over 7 baskets full
mark. Chapter 6 when they had fed the
5000 plus Jesus sends them out to get leftovers and they they
grabbed the pieces and they were how many baskets?
12 good 1212 baskets. Why?
Because when they went to that region, they went for a retreat,
and the retreat was suspended in order to serve strangers and as
they sacrificed to serve these people.
God honored them and gave them each a basket.
I'm taking care of you. I didn't forget about you.
They could have felt that the Lord brought us out here so that
we can rest, rest with Him. We just came back from traveling
and preaching and and now what do they come to?
They see the hills covered with people.
And it's very easy, very easy, to see your schedule interrupted
and see your plans obstructed because of ministry, because of
serving the Lord, because of opportunities to be like Christ,
and that costing you something. And you think the Lord's
forgotten me. And no, 12 baskets each in the
hand of those disciples. But then you come here.
They're serving people. And you're thinking O K12
baskets are show up, that's what's going to happen, right?
No, there there's 5 short, there's seven baskets.
And I must admit, this might be more challenging for us English
readers, because if you read the Bible in Greek, if you knew how
to read it, and you had a Bible that was spelled out in the
original manuscript, you would see it without question.
The word for baskets is two different words and Jesus.
Even communicates that here in Mark chapter 8 Scroll down to
verse 19 when he speaks to the disciples.
In another scene he says in Mark 8/19 when I broke the five lows
in the 5000, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you
take up? He's speaking about Mark chapter
6. They said to him 12 and the
seven for the 4000, how many baskets full of broken pieces
did you take up? And they said to him 7.
So right there, if you believe it's the same occurrence, how do
you explain this? He's talking about two different
things. Side point.
How many baskets when he talked about the five and the two, that
word baskets is different than the word baskets when he says
how many for the 4000 And the word for baskets for the 4000 is
a basket much larger than what they had in Mark chapter 6.
In fact, it's the same word that Luke used in Acts Chapter 9
verse 25 when Paul and Damascus. Was able to escape by being
placed in a basket and was brought down scaling the wall.
It's the same word there. That's not the word used in mark
chapter 6. And the word mark chapter 6 is
coffee, coffees, notes, I believe.
And here we see that the word for the bigger baskets is
spuris. I'm not here trying to give you
a Greek lesson. I barely can pronounce the words
OK. What I'm trying to show you here
is something quite important. There's something that you can
take out of this, right? Even though these baskets were
fewer in number, the container size proves that they were taken
care of amply. They were more than OK, all of
them were covered. And I meditated on this and I
thought, well, the Lord could have just given them 12
personally sized baskets like he did earlier.
But the idea here is that his provision may not always look
the same. It may not always look the same
in every season, but one thing you can guarantee that it is
always, always, always enough. Always.
God didn't take care of me the same way he did in college that
he is now. But you know what I can rejoice
in? He took care of me all the way
through. And it's the same for you.
It's the same for you. We look here and we think, okay.
The packages might be altered from time to time.
Things might shift, things might be different, but the purpose is
the same. To never leave us.
To never leave you in your need as long as you serve him with
your heart. So one.
And since it's 12, the other seven.
But here's the same result. They were taken care of.
Things might have shifted recently, right?
Things might have been taken. Things might have been replaced.
It might not be what you thought it would be, but one thing is
for certain, he's behind it and he has compassion for you.
Which brings us to the final point of our message today.
We talked not just about the one who made the predicament known,
not just the resources at hand, not just the amount of the
leftovers that were gathered, but finally the people that were
ministered to verse 9. And there were about 4000
people. And he sent them away and he
sent them away. Mark chapter 6 tells us how many
5000 not including woman, not including children.
Here we have 4000 people. Okay the number is different.
No no, no, no, no. Read carefully.
Where is Jesus? And where his disciples,
geographically speaking, you would know if you were here last
week. That's why you got to come to
church every week you come here in Mark Chapter 7.
Let's be reminded in verse 31. Then he returned from the region
of tire and went through side onto the Sea of Galilee in the
region of the Decapilis. That's where they're at and
there was no mention of them transitioning from that place.
And what is the Decapilis? It is the tent city region
heavily populated with Gentiles. Jesus heals a deaf mute man.
And it might be that that was the cause for the multitudes to
flood towards him. And that's what we're seeing
here, Mark, Chapter 8, that was common, a miracle brings about
the masses. And so you have these crowds
that come to Jesus, and here's the thing, he has compassion on
them. But who are they?
They're not Jews, at least primarily.
The 5000 Jews Jews, John Chapter 6.
They recognized him as the prophet that Moses spoke about
and they wanted to make him king.
Gentiles still has compassion. He didn't treat them any
different. Yes, the the focus of his
ministry was for the Jews, at least during his time.
It would be different when the apostles would be sent out.
But here we see a glimpse of what's to come, Jesus having
compassion on all. Not some.
Not the chosen people who had the privilege of knowing the
oracles of God, the manifestations of God, the
messengers of God. No, even these pagans, these
idol worshippers, we'll be able to taste something of the
compassion of Jesus because it was always there from the
beginning. You know what that word
compassion is in the original, to be moved in one's bowels.
A deep seeded feeling of sympathy that you can actually
feel in your gut. Not just I feel bad for them.
You know, I have some extra virtue in me today.
Let's just perform a miracle. No, he was moved and it was
turning him inside. And you think about the Jews,
They they had so much privilege, their history and the resources,
the divine literature that was. At their disposal.
And Jesus has compassion. You know, you could have grown
up in church and testified to that same kind of experience.
You've known it, you've heard it, You've seen it, You've
memorized it. You're trying to fight to stay
awake because you're so familiar with the scene.
And just like the Jews who had so much just by their heritage,
Jesus still has compassion on them.
And we tend to think, right. We tend to think that Jesus
favors those and he moves in those lives that had parents who
are faithful, have a lineage of people who are ministry serving
Him. No.
You come here and you realize he has compassion even on those who
have no connection whatsoever to him.
It's very hard to preach to the Gospels and not get
evangelistic. Very hard.
So just give me a couple minutes and we'll get packing, putting
our shorts and going to the picnic.
But this isn't this isn't a job 1-2.
This isn't. We're not playing games here,
right? And in these days, there is no
time to play any games. In the days that we're living
in, not one service should be wasted.
I heard a pastor say when he started his church with his
ministers. We will never, ever have a
throwaway service. Never.
Just let's just get this through.
I'm tired this week. Never.
Souls hang in the balance, and I come to you in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ to proclaim to you the compassion of God for
your soul. Christ has a heart filled with
compassion for you, and he longs for you, not just to know
satisfaction in this life. There is a satisfaction that
goes beyond that reaches deeper than your pockets being full and
your body being free from disease.
No, you have a spirit that is fractured, that is disconnected
from the living God who created you.
But Christ came as the bridge. Christ came as the Great
Physician. Christ came to heal you.
Not just to open your eyes, not just to even open your ears to
make you walk, but to bring you back to life from the core of
your being. He has compassion for you.
He's not indifferent in heaven. He's not trigger happy waiting
to send you to an eternal torment.
He's not looking for you to trip, so he has one more reason
to pour out his wrath on you. No, no, no, no.
He left glory. And he came into the stinking,
filthy, putrid world that saw the holiest man who has ever
lived, that who did nothing but good, who never made a mistake,
who never slipped, who had never done anything wrong.
And they spat on him, and they dragged his name in the mud and
they dragged his body through torture.
And they nailed him there like an ornament and celebrated his
death, gambled for his clothing, blasphemed him until his final
breath. Why?
Because he's filled with compassion.
And he has compassion for you. You.
Yes, here in 2023 with your with your nice job and your nice car
and. With your privileges here in the
United States of America, even here now the living Christ is
moved for you, and He wants you. He doesn't want to just use you.
He doesn't just want you. As a servant, He has a myriad of
angels who sing in perfect pitch, who don't hesitate to
obey Him. Seraphin who cover their face,
who cover their feet, and with two other wings, who are flying
ready to move at the. Moment he gives him a command.
He doesn't need your service, but he wants your heart.
Because out of love the God who is self-sufficient who is?
Not lonely, who doesn't need anything from you.
Still wants you for what? He loves you.
Well, why? I don't know.
He loves you, and he wants you, and he wants intimacy with you.
He wants you to be in heaven with him forever and ever.
And though we see through a glass dimly, he wants you to
walk with him. In this life, you were created
to walk with God, not for a career, not to find the most
beautiful wife or husband you can find.
Not so that you can stuff your closet with clothes and get the
newest edition of that phone. That's not your purpose.
That's not why you're here. To know God and to enjoy him
forever, to glorify him and in glorifying he would be blessed.
And you. Will be satisfied because that's
why you were created. And in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, this gospel, this good news, it was just rounded
to in one single way, repent and belief.
Recognize what your sin has done.
Recognize what your sin will bring you to recognize what sin
is, turn from it. Because he took the sin, your
sin, the sin of the city of Chicago, the sin of the state of
Illinois, the sin of every state of this nation, the sin of the
world. Upon his shoulder.
And God poured out his wrath on his Son in your place, so that
you would buy faith, a repentant faith, would drink the cup of
his fellowship and know his pleasure.
His mouth was dry and was thirsty, so that you would know
living water. His brow was pierced with
thorns. So that your mind could be
renewed and renewed and renewed. His hands were pierced so that
whatever you've done with those hands would be cleansed.
His feet were penetrated so that wherever your feet have gone
where they shouldn't have gone, he will remember no more.
This is the gospel. This is the good news.
There is no other God like this God, and there is no other way
to be saved but through his name.
And so I invite you today to receive Jesus Christ as your
Lord and Savior. I invite you today to realize
that everything can change today.
Even if you have to miss that picnic, we're going to have
plenty more. Give your life to him, Sit down,
ask questions if your heart is already convinced and convicted,
and cry out to the living God. Cry out and trust that as you do
with a sincerity. And with humility, the Spirit
bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
You will know when you've been born again.
Lord, we thank you for the service.
We thank you for bringing us in this place.
We thank you for the lessons from the miracle of the feeding
of the 4000. Thank you that your word has
been beautifully authored by the perfect one.
There is not one corner of this Bible.
Not one period mark. Not one word that is by
accident. Everything has been placed for
our instruction and our insight concerning you.
We pray, Lord, that as we worship you, that our hearts
would be given to you in a fresh way for the heart that is not
surrendered to you yet We pray that today would be the day
where they can say not physically but spiritually.
I was hungry, but now I'm satisfied I was empty, now I'm
full. I was lost, but I'm found.
I was confused, but now I see His compassion.
Lord, may that be the testimony of those in here who don't know
you. And Lord, for those who know
you, we thank you. That you've searched it out for
us, that we can leave here more encouraged.
That our tomorrows are taken care of, that you care for us in
every way possible, and that there is no God like our God.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Oh, we just stand. Yes, stand.
You can get excited. It's the House of God and
worship the Lord. Jesus.
The.