Just got a VERY TIMELY sermon review from Rachel on Pastor Milke’s sermon from a few weeks ago. I don’t know which comments are directly from PM or Rachel, so I will just throw mine in too!
Matthew 14:13-21 (NASB95)
13 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
15 When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, "This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."
16 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!"
17 They said* to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."
18 And He said, "Bring them here to Me."
19 Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds,
20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.
21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
The background from Matthew 14:3-12 is that John the Baptist was just beheaded. So the passage starts out by saying Jesus withdrew (remember they were related)
In v.14, “Jesus had compassion on them (the crowds).”
We need to have compassion no matter the cost or HOW WE FEEL. We need to see people’s needs as God sees them. How quickly our faith weakens in times of hard ministry-it’s easy to say we have faith-that we know that God will take care of us. But…then the rubber hits the road. Is it our faith that weakens or just our resolve? Often I feel it is more the resolve to walk out what my faith is telling me.
In vv. 15-17 the disciples ask Jesus to send the people away. Having been with Jesus for two years already, you’d think they would know He wouldn’t!
vv. 18-19-I need to obedient to Christ without knowing all the reasons or rationales
Jesus gave specific directions but didn’t say why or what would happen. We have the creator of the universe at our disposal when we are in ministry, yet sometimes (often times!) we take matters into our own hands and send people away “to town to get food”
WE ARE MOST EFFECTIVE FOR CHRIST WHEN WE ARE OBEDIENT TO HIM
v.20 I need to realize it is God who provides
When God meets a need, He meets it FULLY! GOD gets the glory. When you are obedient to meeting others needs in ministry, your needs will also be supplied.
I (we) need to accurately weigh my basket…of gifts and talents that I can give towards ministry.
God wants you to feel inadequate to meet others’ needs because then you will rely more on God and that’s exactly where He wants you to be.
Give your basket to God and see what HE can make of it. Not just your basket of gifts and talents-how about your expectations? Your responsibilities outside your gifts and talents? How about your obedience? What amazing things GOD will do when we give Him our baskets!
But are we only to come to him when our baskets are full? Are we not also to come to Him when we are empty? We bring them full, to use for His glory. We bring them empty also (whether because we have already poured them out, or because we don’t know what we need), that HE may fill them with what we need!
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