The God who Provides

Well, please do have a seat.

And it is wonderful to see you this morning,

particularly if this is your first Sunday with us at Brunsfield.

It is just great to have you with us.

Can I encourage you at this point to make every effort to get Luke chapter 9

Luke 9 · chapter mention

open in front of you?

It is crucial as we come to church at this point in our service

that we have God's Word open in front of us.

So make every effort to get the Scriptures open in front of you.

Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

And let's pray together.

And ask for God's help as we come to his Word.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord, we still ourselves now,

and we remember who you are and who we are.

We remember that you are God in heaven,

and we are on earth.

And we remember that your ways are so much higher than our ways.

And we remember that in our world of change,

in our lives of change, Lord, that you never change.

And what a joy it is that we can call you,

because of Jesus, our Father.

And we can hear from you as your children.

So, Heavenly Father,

we ask that you would speak to us now through your Word.

Would you help us grasp something more of your amazing goodness,

like we were just singing,

and your greatness.

And may that go from being praised on our lips,

to knowledge in our head,

to truth in our hearts.

And may that just drive a love for you.

Help us to appreciate something more of who you are this morning,

we ask.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Well, we've been journeying through Luke's Gospel

over the past few months.

And I want to take you,

at the outset of this sermon this morning,

right back to Luke chapter 1.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

If you remember right at the start of his Gospel,

you may want to turn there now,

to chapter 1 and verse 4.

However, we saw Luke declare at the outset of his Gospel

that he'd started out with a very clear purpose in mind.

And he had set out to compile,

and you'll see it there,

an orderly account of Jesus' life.

And what he's done is,

he's carefully researched the facts about Jesus Christ.

And he's gathered those facts together,

and he's put his account together in a way

with the express purpose of providing his readers there

with, and you'll see the word there,

certainty.

This is what he's all about, Luke.

He's trying to provide certainty to his readers.

Now, I find that a massive comfort.

Because I look out in a world,

and I see massive uncertainty.

I see political uncertainty.

I see economic uncertainty.

I look at my life, and I see uncertainty.

And isn't it incredible that Luke writes for certainty?

So here he is.

He's written for certainty.

And because he's done that,

I think it means that we should expect to see

a progressive logic to his Gospel.

And indeed, I think that's exactly what we see.

Here is the flow of Luke's Gospel so far.

If you remember, at the start,

he started by showing us Jesus' CV.

So he started showing us,

this is who Jesus is,

and these are the things that he was doing.

This is who Jesus is.

Then he progressed to tell us about Jesus' manifesto.

This is what Jesus came to do.

Then he proceeded to tell us about the mission of Jesus.

Right at the heart of what Jesus came to do,

we saw it last week, if you remember,

right at the heart of it,

Jesus came to bring salvation.

To save people from their sin,

to rescue them,

to give them life,

and to reconcile them to God.

And as we enter chapter 9 this morning,

what we need to see is that progression,

that flow has led us to a new theme in Luke's Gospel.

Chapter 9, we enter a new section.

And the big question now for Luke

is having shown us what Jesus came to do,

and who Jesus is,

he'll now go on to show us what it means to follow him.

So there's our big theme for this morning.

What it means to follow Jesus.

What does Jesus call his followers to a life of?

And can I suggest straight off the bat,

that is the most important question

that we can ever ask with our lives.

What does it mean to follow Jesus?

You know, one of my pet hates in life,

I don't have many,

but one of my pet hates in life

is when people try to hide the small print from you.

Don't know if you find that,

you get stuff through your inbox,

and it says super fast broadband,

$9.99 a month,

and you think, ka-ching, we're in.

Then you read the small print,

what does it say?

Line rental, £16 a month.

You know what it's like?

You get flyers through your post,

it says three free months at the gym.

Again, you're thinking,

great, I can get my Hasselhoff on.

Then what does it say?

But only when you sign up for 18 months.

We hate it.

I hate it when people try to hide the small print from me.

Here's the thing about Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

There's no hiding of the small print.

Jesus is explicit in what it means to follow him.

Small print, Luke chapter 9,

Luke 9 · chapter mention

not small, it's big.

And the disciples in our verses this morning,

they're going to learn two massive lessons

about what Jesus calls them to as they follow him.

This is what a life of following Jesus looks like.

Now, what I want to suggest this morning

is that although we are not the 12,

and although we live in a different time from them,

and although we won't go around doing exactly the things that they did,

nor do I think we should expect to,

actually, at the center of what Jesus calls them to do,

is so true for us today.

A big lesson for this morning

is that the disciples,

these followers and learners of Jesus,

are called by him to a life of going

and a life of knowing.

A life of going

and a life of knowing.

So here it is.

If you've got verses 1 to 9 there,

let's look at what going looks like.

So we meet Jesus at verse 1.

What is he doing?

He's calling a team meeting.

That's what he's doing.

Interesting.

He calls the disciples to come to him

before they can go out.

Now, it's interesting,

because up until this point in Luke's gospel,

Jesus has been the only one

doing the preaching and the healing.

I mean, this really has been a one-man show

up until this point in Luke's gospel.

But now, do you see that Jesus

calls the disciples to him

and to join him in his kingdom work?

He calls them to himself,

he delegates authority to them,

and he sends them out.

This is what's going on.

This is the pattern.

I want us to notice a few things

about what he is commissioning them

to do here.

Now, firstly, notice what they are to do.

Verse 2.

They are to preach,

and they are to heal.

Jesus is calling them to go

and to tell people about the kingdom of God,

to go and make him known

in their surrounding countryside.

Go and make Jesus known.

Secondly, notice where they have to go.

Verse 4.

They have to go to people.

This is a people business

that Jesus is calling them to do.

People right at the heart of this.

They will enter homes.

Where did they go?

Verse 6.

They went from village to village.

How far did they go?

Notice the word at the end of verse 6.

They went everywhere.

This is a going-to-people mission

that Jesus is sending his people on.

Now, presumably, that's why

they are told not to take

the essentials for their journey,

if you think about it.

It does seem a bit odd

when we read it there, doesn't it?

But if you think about it,

it's going to sharpen in their minds

the sense of urgency

that they need to go,

but it's also going to sharpen

in their minds

that they need people.

They need to have people serve them.

They need to seek out people

that are going to help them.

People that are going to let them

stay with them.

People that are going to feed them.

Because if that doesn't happen,

they're not going to get very far.

Third thing to notice,

notice how this will go down.

I think this is where it gets

really applicable for us.

How will this go down?

What does Jesus envisage?

Do you see it there?

That some people will accept them.

Some will accept them

and their message about Jesus

and they'll warmly welcome them.

But, verse 5,

some will reject them

and their message.

I think we've got a great example

of that rejection.

Luke tells us about King Herod

at verse 7.

Seems likely that the mission

of the twelve,

what they are doing,

and clearly the success

of what they are doing,

it reaches the palace.

And Herod is perplexed

and he's confused

about Jesus' identity.

And what's the question

that's on Herod's lips

that Luke records for us there?

Who is this man?

Who is this Jesus?

Who is this Jesus?

It's been the big question

of Luke's gospel so far

as we've looked at

the identity of this man.

Who is this Jesus?

Now that might seem

an innocent question

at this point

on the lips of Herod.

But later on we learn

that it would appear

that he simply wants

to see Jesus perform a sign.

Or at worst,

to have him killed

and he's choosing

to respond negatively

to who Jesus is.

So let's bring a few

of those threads together.

What is Luke telling us?

He's telling us,

or Jesus is telling

his disciples,

that when they go,

when they tell people

about him,

they'll be met with hunger

and they'll be met

with hostility.

Some people will accept

their message

and some people

will reject their message.

And what I want

to suggest to us today

is that as modern day

disciples,

Jesus calls us

to the same pursuit.

You know,

Rico Tyson,

his great little book,

Honest Evangelism,

I suggest you read it.

It's a great little book,

probably the best book

I've read on this kind

of stuff.

He writes this,

God is the great evangelist,

the great seeker

and finder of people.

And he's called his followers

to the same pursuit

and to the same emotion.

So there we go.

There is the gospel task

of the disciples

to go to people

in their community,

to their everyday circles

and to make Jesus known.

And we think about it

in our lives.

We think about our circles.

We think about our communities.

Think about the people

who are in your circles.

Think about your colleagues

at work.

Think about your peers

at university.

Think about your classmates

at school.

Think about your brothers

and sisters.

Think about your mums

and dads.

Think about your uncles

and aunties.

Think about your family.

I mean,

these are our circles,

aren't they?

What is Jesus calling people to,

followers of him?

He's calling them

to embrace a lifestyle

of speaking for him.

I think at this point,

I would say that's why

I find it so massively encouraging

to hear people like Struan

really want to take

their circles,

speaking for Jesus

in their circles,

really seriously.

I want to,

this is what effectively

he was saying,

wasn't it, I think,

that I want to

speak for Jesus

in my sports team.

I want others

to help me speak

for Jesus

in my sports team.

And I want to gather

others together

because I realise

that I can't do it

on my own

and I'm so much more

effective by others

supporting me.

I think that's great.

It's absolutely brilliant.

And it's so encouraging

here to see,

isn't it,

that as people go

and as God moves

by his Holy Spirit

and as the message

is proclaimed,

God moves

and people are saved.

I don't know

if you were aware

at all

that this week,

we've got many students

in this church,

by the way.

I love that we have

such a diverse

church family.

It's brilliant.

But the many students

in this church,

many students

in this church

involved with the

Christian Union

at their university.

And I don't know

if you knew,

but this week

was the Edinburgh

Christian Unions

coming together

and having a

missions week

on campus.

So what they were

trying to do,

they were trying

to come together,

pull resources,

help each other

and go out

and tell their classmates,

their peers,

about Jesus.

Now they called it

something more.

Is there something

more to life?

That was a big idea.

I've been following

it this week

and something really

cool,

they set up a website

and on the website

was just testimonies

of Christian students

about how they came

to know Jesus

as the Lord,

King and Saviour.

It's brilliant.

Let me read to you

two stories

that I found

on this website.

This is Megan.

Megan's a fourth year

student at Napier University

and this is her story

about how she came

to faith.

She said,

I wanted to get

to know Jesus more

so my friend Alice

took me to church

and there I found

all the answers

to my questions.

It brought me

so much joy

to know that Jesus

had wiped my slate clean,

that he had sacrificed

himself and taken

the punishment

for my sin.

This was to me

the most incredible

amount of love

I'd ever heard of.

I hadn't realized

how much God loved me

and I remember

praying to Jesus

one night

and asking him

to save me

because I knew

I simply had

had too much.

It was right at that

second I knew

God had forgiven me

and that God

was truly real.

That's cool,

isn't it?

Hunger

for the gospel

as the gospel goes.

Hunger.

Here's David,

a third year

at Napier University

talking about

what life was like

for him

after he became

a Christian.

It was really hard

and I ended up

sticking out

like a sore thumb

at school.

My friends

constantly teased me

and picked on me.

It was humiliating

and I kept asking myself

have I made a mistake?

I tried to hold on

to Jesus

and to trust in him

knowing deep down

that he was real

and I was encouraged

by friends at church

and I was shown

a verse from the gospel

where Jesus says

to his disciples

you will be hated

by everyone

because of me

but the one

who stands firm

to the end

will be saved

and I knew

I had to keep going.

Hostility.

What will happen

when the gospel

goes to our world

to our friends

to our circles

we will be met

with hunger

and we will be met

with hostility.

You see

it's not our job

to make people

Christians

it's not our job

to make people

respond to the gospel

message

that's the work

of the Holy Spirit

as he works

in the lives

of people

but it is our job

to be obedient

to Jesus

and out of a love

for him

speak of him

and introduce

people to him.

Now just think about it

if you want an illustration

just think of a witness

in a courtroom.

Why are they called

into the court?

Well they're simply called

to present the truth.

Not their fault

if the jury

don't believe them

they are simply called

to speak

the truth.

Same with evangelism.

We haven't failed

in our task

if people don't believe us

but we think

we have failed

in our task

if we simply

don't try.

To follow Jesus

point number one

what does he call

his followers to?

To a life of going.

Now I don't know

about you

but I hear that

and I'm massively

daunted by it

and I'm scared

by it

and I think to myself

that is a big task

and I think to myself

somebody else

nodded me right?

Massive task.

Massive task.

I think about my circles.

I think about my football team.

I think about my family.

I think about my friends.

And I think on a bigger level

I think of our neighbourhood

of Brunsfields.

I look out over here

and I see all those flats

five, six storeys high

filled with people.

Thousands of people

living in this neighbourhood.

And I look out here

and I see maybe

150 of us or so

and I think we haven't

even scratched the surface

of this area.

And I think of our nation

of Scotland

and I think of the statistics

that would tell me

that two or three percent

of people in this country

would claim the name of Jesus.

That would know him

as their Lord, King and Saviour.

And I think of the size

of the task

and I feel crushed

under the weight.

And I consider the scale

of the task

and I feel sometimes

massively disheartened

especially when I

encounter that hostility.

I bet you the disciples

felt like that at times.

The question for us

as we look at this

as we think about our own lives

as modern day disciples

is how do we keep going?

How do we keep going?

What is it that the disciples

need to know here?

Now Luke has deliberately

put this together

in a certain way.

We've had the mission

of Jesus

and very next

we get the identity

of Jesus.

No coincidence.

What follows next

is a big reminder

for the disciples.

They need to grasp

the identity

of who Jesus really is.

They need to grasp

his incomparable power

and his sufficient

and abundant provision

for them.

And this takes us

to the second thing

that Jesus is calling

his disciples to embrace.

And that's to embrace

a lifestyle

verses 10 to 17.

Embrace a lifestyle

of knowing.

So look at it there

if you've got it there

come back with me

if you've lost me.

Okay.

Verse 10.

The disciples

what are we told there?

They return from their mission.

And they tell Jesus

everything that they

had seen and done.

Everything they've seen

and done.

And you can understand

that they are

absolutely shattered

given everything

that they've done.

They have poured

themselves out.

They have walked around.

They have spoken of him.

They are shattered.

So what does Jesus do?

He takes them away

for a bit of R&R.

You can see it there.

He tries to take them away

but it seems that news

spreads quickly

of Jesus' whereabouts.

And as we've seen

constantly throughout

this gospel

the crowds

find out

and they are really

keen to follow him.

Do you see that?

They go towards him

the crowds.

And notice in passing

and I found this

beautiful this week.

Notice in passing

how Jesus responds

to them.

Now our little girl

Chloe

one of her favourite books

is called

Five Minutes Peace.

Put your hands up

if you've heard of this book

called Five Minutes Peace.

Yep.

What it is

mummy elephant

she's got three little

children elephants

I think that's the term

three little children elephants

and he just won't

give her a minute's peace.

And this book is called

Five Minutes Peace.

I just want five minutes

when you're not

all up in my grill.

Just give me

five minutes peace.

And she never gets

the five minutes peace.

Now if I were Jesus

at this point

I would be playing

the five minutes peace card.

Just crowds

just give me

just give me

a bit of time

with my disciples.

Can we have a bit of time

just to us?

But what does he do?

How does Jesus

respond?

Look at it

second half of verse 11

it's great.

Jesus welcomed them

and he spoke to them

and he healed them.

Now one of the

big themes isn't it

as we've been going

through this Gospel of Luke

one of the big things

that we've seen

is the beauty

of Jesus Christ.

His compassion

his love for people

his grace

that he bestows on people

his patience

his kindness

his tenderness

we see them all here

don't we?

Patient

kind

concerned

caring

gracious

this is the Jesus

that we meet

in the Gospels.

but what happens

the day progresses

and it suddenly dawns

on the disciples

that there could be

a crisis just around

the corner

do you see that?

They're heading

for a crisis

the day is

drawing near

and do you see

that they identify

two potential reasons

for this crisis?

Two massive reasons

firstly because of

where they are

check it out

verse 12

where are they?

They're in a desolate

place

they're out

in the sticks

now what does that mean?

That means that there is

no Tesco Express

at the end of the road

and that means

there is no Starbucks

on the corner

that you could go to

to get your caffeine

hit to take you

through the night

they are

in a desolate

place

that's where they are

first problem

second problem

notice

what they have

they don't have a lot

verse 13

no more than

five loaves

and two fish

how many people

are in front of them?

5,000 men

5,000 people

now

picture that

100 people

in this room

that is

50 times

this amount

of people

that is a lot

of people

that's a lot

of people

and even

that number

of 5,000

do you notice

that there

may well not

have accounted

for women

and children

as well

big number

of people

given that

number of people

what they have

wouldn't have

even made a dent

in the hunger

of the people

there

so what do they

do

and I love

this little

discourse here

notice it there

what does

the disciples

do

they put the ball

in Jesus'

court

what do they say

what are we

going to do

send them away

Jesus

that's their answer

to the problem

send them away

to get something

to eat

what does

Jesus do

the ball's

in his court

now

he puts it

well and truly

back in theirs

do you notice

that

what does

they say

you

give them

something

to eat

you

in the

Greek

there

it's

emphatic

you

give them

something

to eat

verse 13

I love

how they

suggest

they think

they can

go and

buy food

for all

these

people

can you

imagine

that

they go

to the

local

store

and they

ask

the

guy

behind

the

tail

says

what

are you

after

or after

some

eggs

how many

eggs

are you

after

5,000

it's a lot

of people

they just

don't know

what to do

we get that

sense

don't we

they just

don't know

what

they are

going to

do

they

they are

well and

truly

out of

ideas

and they

are well

and truly

out of

resources

there's

not a

chance

they can

do

this

and here's

where I

find this

really

interesting

if you

think about

it

presumably

Jesus

could have

just done

this

he could

have just

done this

miracle

couldn't he

he didn't

really need

to have

this

conversation

with the

disciples

he could

have just

done it

and everyone

would have

been satisfied

and fed

but you

see how

Jesus

helps them

feel

their utter

helplessness

that he

allows them

to be in

that place

of

cluelessness

now why

is he

doing that

well

surely

reflecting

on it

this

week

is it

not to

show

them

one of

the

most

fundamentally

simple

yet profoundly

beautiful

truths about

the Christian

life

that we

need

Jesus

we need

Jesus

what do

the disciples

need to

learn at

this point

surely that

it's not

all about

them

that they

need

Jesus

and so what

does he do

he gets

them to get

the crowds

to sit in

the 50s

these groups

and Jesus

performs the

miracle

it's written

there isn't

it

of course

he could

have

performed

that

miracle

food

for

everyone

and more

than that

do you

notice that

what does

Luke tell

us that

all the

people

ate

and they

were

what

satisfied

satisfied

in fact

so satisfied

were they

do you

notice that

there are

12 baskets

left over

this is

a big

feed

reading the

Jesus

storybook

bible

with my

little girl

the other

night

commenting on

this section

I love

this

it was the

most natural

thing in the

world

it's what

God had been

doing ever

since the

beginning of

course

taking nothing

and making

it everything

taking emptiness

and filling

it up

here is

the glory

of Jesus

Christ

and he's

calling his

disciples to

behold it

lesson for the

disciples

they need

Jesus

and the

wonderful truth

for the

disciples to

know

that they

need Jesus

but he

is willing

and he

is able

to provide

for all

their needs

all their

needs

so there

it is

the second

truth for

the disciples

to grasp

that to

follow Jesus

is to sign

up for a

life of

going

and it's

to sign

up for a

life of

knowing

and if you

look carefully

there the

information that

Luke gives

us you see

that there's

actually something

else going on

behind the

scenes as

well and

you begin

to see the

massive

exodus imagery

that Luke

employs here

and indeed

it's not just

in these verses

actually it's a

mega theme that

runs throughout

chapter 9

the exodus story

God's people in

the wilderness

God's people at

the end of

themselves in the

need of food

God miraculously

feeds them

provides food for

them in the

wilderness

lesson for

that generation

you need

God

and your

God is

one who

can provide

all your

needs

and he will

lead you

and he will

provide for

you

you need

God

lesson for

this generation

surely it's

the same

disciples

you need

God

your God

is willing

and he's

able to

provide all

of your

needs

so keep

trusting

and following

him

and trust

him when

things happen

that he knows

where he's

leading you

he can provide

for you

here are people

in a desolate

place

here are people

with no idea

where they will

find food

and here is

God miraculously

once again

providing for

his people

isn't that just

a wonderful

truth for us

to meditate on

this morning

as God's

people

that our

God he will

never run out

of resources

that our

God will

never run

us dry

that our

God will

provide for

every single

need of his

people

it's a big

incentive is it

not for the

disciples to

keep going

if they know

who this God

is whose name

they go on

behalf of

what do they

need to know

what do we

need to know

we need to know

that when the

task seems

big

our God

is bigger

when the

task seems

giant

our God

is

gianter

our God

is a big

God

that is the

truth here

our God

is one who

provides for

all of our

needs

and I was

thinking on it

this week

how often

is my view

of God

my God

is too

small

he is too

small

just need to

think about

his greatness

and I need

to stop

trying to

rate my

ability to

navigate my

way through

life

the lesson

here is to

look to him

look to him

as the all

sufficient one

look to him

as the one

who is able

to provide

everything

stop projecting

your human

limitations on

God

stop pretending

like he is one

who has

limited energy

stop

looking on him

who is one

who has got

limited resources

like we do

I think

J.I.

Parker

he nails

this one

in the head

he says

we think

of God

as being

too much

like what

we are

let's put

that mistake

right

and let's

learn to

acknowledge

the full

majesty

of our

incomparable

God and

saviour

we need to

have a big

view of

Jesus

that's what

this is

telling us

we need to

have a big

view of who

he is

the mission

is big

but our

God is

big

I think

that's a

great place

for us

to finish

for this

morning

as we

think about

the greatness

of our

gods

what do the

disciples need

to know

that as they

go in the

name of their

saviour

they need to

know the

incomparable

power and

provision of

their saviour

what does

it mean to

follow Jesus

what does he

call his

disciples to

what does he

call his

followers to

well here it

is at the

beginning of

chapter 9

two aspects

of it

to follow him

is to sign

up to a

life of

going

and to

follow him

is to sign

up to a

life of

knowing

now we're

going to

one of the

songs that

we're going

to finish

with is

guide me

oh thou

great

jehovah

let me

just read

this verse

to you as

we finish

I think it

just picks up

on a lot

of the themes

that we've

been looking

at this

morning

guide me

oh thou

great

jehovah

pilgrim

through this

barren land

I am weak

but you

are mighty

hold me

with thy

powerful hand

bread of

heaven

bread of

heaven

feed me

till I

want no

more

feed me

till I

want no

more

let's pray

together

oh dear

father we

ask that you

would help

us this

week

we ask

that you

help us

this week

to be in

tune with

your

incomparable

greatness

would you

help us

to be

those

people

who

follow

you

and who

live

not by

sight

but who

live by

faith

and we

do so

because we

know that

you are

the gods

who is

able to

provide for

all of

our needs

and I

ask dear

father that

in our

own times

this week

of reading

your words

would you

feed us

up

would you

build us

up

would you

strengthen

us

and would

you send

us to

a lost

world

to proclaim

the greatness

of your

son Jesus

Christ

and so we

thank you for

our time this

morning

and we pray

you'll be with us

now in the rest

of our service

in Jesus name

Amen