Jesus' Heart for the Hungry

Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast.

We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for tuning in.

You guys picked a good day to come to church.

Really, really good day.

And if you're if you're joining us online, um, welcome, welcome, welcome, whether it's right now or a little bit later on.

Uh I love that the on-demand uh function of online sermons is is really fantastic.

And before we dive in, I want to know raise your hand if you attended church last week and heard the amazing sermon that Pastor Fred Mark preached on on seeing the unhoused through the eyes of Jesus.

Wow, a lot of you.

A lot of you.

And keep your hand, raise your hand again if that have really changed the way you saw people and responded this past week.

Yes.

That includes me.

And uh for those of you in the chat online, can you just put in the chat how that have really changed your um, you know, maybe share a story just real quick, how God has used you just by seeing and engaging.

And uh, if you have not seen the message, it's online, please go and take a look.

Uh it's really, really worth it.

So, uh before we dive in, I or I want to start with gratitude.

I'm just so thankful.

You know, everyone that have given financially, that have given their time, that have showed up, that have given items to make this Del Mar food pantry, that partnership that we have with you know, with you guys, and also with our clothing pop-up closet that used to meet here, it's it's it's uh nearby at a low-income apartment complex.

If you've given or served, thank you, thank you so much.

You know, there are hundreds of households that are being fed as a result of your guys' giving and your generosity with your time.

And not only are they being fed, but they are really seen by you, they are known and loved by you.

And that matters deeply to Jesus.

But we can't do it alone.

You know, people have to show up.

So thank you so much for doing that.

Um, because when we care for the hungry, it's not just social work, it is kingdom work that we're doing.

And today's message title is Jesus Heart for the Hungry.

So we're gonna take a deep dive in that and what that looks like.

And my my um my prayer is that as of last week, several of you raised your hands.

That message, Pastor Fred, help us to really change our eyesight to look more like Jesus and see our unhoused neighbors or just people in need, seeing them through the eyes of Jesus and responding to that.

It's my prayer that you know, by today, by the end of our time together, not only are you gonna understand Jesus' heart for the hungry, but your heart is gonna start beating like his.

It's almost like a spiritual heart transplant.

And that's gonna, that's gonna impact, it's gonna, you're gonna, you're gonna live differently going forward.

We're gonna talk about also some opportunities that if you're not engaged, you can get involved.

And um, but I think you know, to start by feeling that oneness with Jesus' heart for the hungry, um, we have to start living, you know, to get that alignment, you know, with his and living out his mission.

Now, living on mission for us as a group here at the church reminds me of a story from NASA.

And this happens in 1962 when John F.

Kennedy visited NASA.

And this was right at the height of the space war, space race, and some of you may remember, well, you've known, you I don't think you were alive back then, that you may have remembered, but uh some of you may.

But uh right at the beginning, he said, by the end of this century, we're gonna put a man on the moon.

And that was a huge challenge because the technology didn't exist, and we were actually behind that Russia was leading at that point, but it inspired a mission that really inspired a nation.

So he's now touring NASA and walking, you know, with a whole entourage, the halls of NASA, NASA, and he saw this janitor sweeping the floor, and he stopped and he walked over and he asked him, tell me, what do you do here at NASA?

And they said he kind of like squared up and he smiled and confidently said, Sir, Mr.

President, I'm helping put a man on the moon.

The janitor.

And what is so amazing about that moment is that NASA's their culture was so mission-driven that everyone, no matter from the top to the bottom, to the janitor, knew what their mission is.

He didn't say I sweep up the floor, I clean up after astronauts.

No, he said, I'm part of a mission to put a man on the moon.

That's pretty special, huh?

That's a type of that's a type of group I want to be part of.

Where everyone, no matter what your contribution, you're part of that mission.

What if Jesus walked in today?

And when we take our two minutes to kind of like talk, he's asking you, what do you do here at Awakening Church?

How will you answer that?

Will you answer, have a lot of alignment with the mission of Jesus and what he has for us?

Some may ask you, maybe new to this community, maybe new to Christianity, or you may just be exploring and you may wonder what is, what exactly is the mission of Jesus?

And that's okay.

We're gonna, we're gonna we're gonna take a deep dive on that.

And wouldn't it be cool?

You know, if we can actually time travel and we can go ask Jesus himself.

You know, we got Kevin back there.

I know Kevin, you're a car guy, right?

Because he's got a nice car, he loves cars.

So let's say there was a car.

Hmm.

I think there is a car that allows you to go back in time.

Let's say we get our hands on a uh on a DeLorean.

You know, the one from Back to the Future?

The one with a flux capacitor.

And let's say we we we we all can get in there.

Kevin's our driver.

And we punch in 28 AD.

And we hit the gas.

And what happens?

What happens when it hits?

How fast does it have to go before you can actually go back in time?

88 miles per hour.

So we're we're going, we're going, we're going, and we hit 88 miles per hour, and boom, we're back in Galilee.

Right?

It looks different.

And we're looking, we're looking for Jesus.

Where is he?

Where is he?

We see a crowd right there.

We start walking, and we see Jesus, and we know what he looks like, right?

Because we all seen the chosen.

So we're kind of have to work our way, and what are we seeing?

He's teaching, and man, he's laughing, and and then people bring and he's healing, he's healing people, and everybody kind of wants a peace, and there's a lot of commotion happening.

And one of us, we walk up and we just say, Excuse me, excuse me, Jesus.

I have a question.

What do you do here?

That'd be a pretty, pretty fascinating answer, right?

Well, the good news is we don't need a time machine to go back and ask.

It's already recorded in scripture.

We can see exactly how Jesus would answer that.

So we're gonna go back in time, but I want you to this morning to put yourself in these scriptures as if we are witnessing it firsthand.

And then let's see what is Jesus' mission.

We're gonna see how did he live that out and how does that apply to us?

How does it apply to you and also us as a church awakening?

So the first passage I'd like us to go to is it gonna be in Luke 4.

So before we get to Luke 4, just I'm gonna back it up just in Luke 3, Jesus got baptized around the age of 30.

And some of you may know that's when the Holy Spirit came on him like a dove.

And then right after that, he went into the wilderness for 40 days.

He's fasting.

Satan tempted him, and he passed the test.

And now we're gonna pick it up into Luke 4, chapter 14.

It says, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about him spread through the whole countryside.

He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

And where did he go next?

He went to Nazareth, uh to Nazareth, his hometown where he was brought up.

And on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, and as was his custom, he stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.

Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free and to proclaim the hear of the Lord's favor.

Wow.

Then he rolled the scroll up, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.

The eyes of everyone in the synagogue was fastened on him.

He began by saying to them, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

What a pivotal moment that was.

If you want to follow along, a key part of what he will say is, I am here to bring good news to the to the poor.

That's a critical part of his mission.

That's the heartbeat of the gospel, and it's so central to Jesus' mission.

Now let's say we get to keep following Jesus, we keep tagging along.

And let's see how he actually does this, what he was sent to do.

And let's go to Matthew 9, verse 35 and 38.

Matthew 9:35

It says there Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them.

Why?

Because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.

Let's pause for a second.

So it said he had compassion on them when he saw the crowds.

And if you look at that, you know, the word compassion in Aramaic is Rachma.

And the meaning of that, if you direct translation, is to have a womb love.

You know, like a mother, a mother's womb.

Another way of describing it's it's it's that kind of love that you feel in your guts.

It's a physical feeling.

That's what Jesus felt when he saw the crowds.

He was moved with compassion.

And for some of you, you know, you're in situations where you you just can't help yourself.

One of the things I found, you know, I uh the Lord has given me a gift of leadership.

And sometimes you're you're in in situations, and and uh, you know, you may be among strangers or you may be among people, and you're given an assignment, and people are not really sure what to do or how they everybody is kind of like it, there's a little bit chaotic.

I can't help myself, I just start to lead, I start to organize, and and uh you know, sometimes it works off well, sometimes it doesn't, but I can't help myself.

So I think Jesus, when he sees the hungry, he can't help himself.

It breaks his heart.

When he sees the lost, when he sees the lonely, those are the people that become his friends, those are the people that he feels like he's very much focused.

That's why I came.

To bring good news to the poor and to bring hope and deliverance.

So, in your sermon notes, here we see Jesus was compelled, he was driven by his desire first to obey his father who sent him, and a sincere compassion for others.

He had a deep love for others.

So his ministry was very much love-driven.

I think that's why people responded so favorably to him.

Also, now let's continue reading.

In Matthew 25, it says there that he looked at his, he turned to his disciples and said, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

That's still true today.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

I love how Jesus, it wasn't just about him and what he can do.

He trained, he modeled for his disciples.

And then we see in chapter 10, Matthew 10, where he actually sent them out.

He empowered them with the Holy Spirit, and he sent them out with specific instructions.

Worth reading, worth reading.

So part of following Jesus is also becoming a worker because the harvest is plentiful.

It relies us.

We get to carry this forward, and then we reach what I call the crescendo of Jesus' heart for the hungry, revealed in Matthew 25.

What we're gonna look at is Matthew 25, verse 35 to 40.

Matthew 25:35–40

And this passage, just the context, is actually Jesus is describing what's gonna happen the day of the judgment after his second coming.

And now everybody that have passed away, they've now risen back, and all every nation, every tongue, every tribe is standing in front of Jesus, giving account for how we live our lives.

And he's describing what that's gonna look like, which is really interesting.

Now I'm gonna need some help.

Um, you see the I, because Jesus is telling this in the first person.

The I is Jesus.

So every time we see the word I, I want you to say I.

Okay.

So um let's go.

Here we go.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, was a stranger and you invited me in.

Needed clothes and you clothed me, was sick and you look after me, was in prison and you came to visit me.

Then that's okay.

That's okay.

We got a rhythm going.

Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we do these things for you?

Then the King Jesus will reply, Truly tell you whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Yeah.

Amazing.

Absolutely amazing.

In your sermon notes.

I love how Jesus doesn't just he doesn't just care about the poor, he identifies with the poor.

He makes us personal.

And he elevates this when we serve the least of these, no matter how small, we are serving Jesus.

It is sacred work we are doing.

And I think it helps when we do it with that perspective.

Like Pastor Fred was teaching last time, we start seeing others differently.

We don't just see them as people that we need to serve or people in need.

No, this is an opportunity to serve Jesus.

Now let me share some amazing news.

So, two pantries back, so me and Stevie, she's all she's not here, but she's also a member here, um, and Kiara, another city team member.

We came to spend some time at your pantry, the food pantry that we serve uh families here every first and third Thursday of the month.

And um uh we did some interviews.

So we got to interview 30 families that attended the pantry that day, and it was amazing.

One of the things we just wanted to see, what are the levels of need?

And we asked them prior to coming to this pantry, receiving food twice a month, um, what was your level of food insecurity?

From all the time to sometimes to never, hardly any or never, 87% said that they suffer from food insecurity either all the time or sometimes they worried about having enough food for them and their families.

And that's remarkable.

Because regardless of the nice car that people are driving, we don't know what's going on.

We don't know if I've talked to people, sometimes people actually have apologized and say, I know I'm driving a super nice car.

I used to work in tech, I used to make good money, I got laid off.

I haven't worked for nine months, and I've burned through all my savings.

Thank you.

I want to thank you guys because I really need this.

We don't know what's going on.

Sometimes I say this is a lease car.

And if I miss, if if I miss payments, if if I lose this, I don't have anything else because I can't afford to get into a new lease.

No one will sell it to me.

But the amazing thing what you guys are doing, 87% now for those that only come here three months or more, they said that now they've we've seen a 57% reduction in food insecurity.

That's huge.

57 You've taken that worry off their plate.

We said if if these services or these things were available, would you seriously consider joining that?

One of the things we asked spiritual community, and then they ask, what is spiritual community?

What do you mean by that?

So well to be part of a local church or a small group where you learn more about God, but you also do that with others, and that becomes a community like, oh, I need that.

20% said they need that.

Harvest is plentiful, workers are few.

But we see people are harassed and they are helpless.

People are struggling with the basic needs of food.

Another question we ask in light of all the immigration enforcement and things like that, how have that impacted your the way you live your lives daily?

And it was interesting, a third said they had to make major adjustments, a third said they had to make minor adjustments, and another third said hardly any at all.

Our community is constantly things that are throwing at them and they're in need.

And I love Awakening Church, how you guys, God is using you, He has anointed you to reap that harvest.

To be there for them when people are really in need.

Well done.

But we're also scratching the surface.

Because Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, which is one of our partners, we get all this amazing food from them, and they are the absolute best at getting staggering amounts.

Folks, they serve 500,000 individuals every month.

It's just mind-boggling to me.

And City Team is their largest, um, their largest uh partner, leverage partner.

They come and deliver food four times a week, and then we take that to 43 different neighborhoods.

In Alameda County, we go and pick it up there and take it to 19 different communities.

So we have 62 mobile pantries.

And second harvest says that one in five people are food insecure.

That's almost double the national average.

And there's some unique things happening in the Bayer.

Cost of living is obviously a big contributing factor.

I think there's also maybe a uh a divide between knowing what kind of resources and opportunities is an opportunity divide between the low-income and the affluent community.

And I think we are uniquely positioned.

The only reason we get to scale it to 62 different locations is because City Team partners with 49 local churches.

Many churches have multiple pantries that we work with.

One of those churches are you.

Because we want to make it super easy for local churches to love on their neighbors.

They don't have to worry about, you know, transportation, cold storage, and all of that.

And they just have to show up and love on their neighbors, build relationships, and look for ways that we can create on-ramps to what we call lasting solutions.

First, spiritual community, knowing God, being loved by God, being set free from all these things that were said in in Luke chapter 4.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

But also have community where they do that with others.

And then with our elevate program, we lift people out of poverty with workforce development.

And we're doing that now in two areas.

We want to scale that.

Harvest is plentiful, the workers are few.

And Jesus is looking for workers who will say, Here I am, Lord, send me.

There's plenty of opportunities.

We're going to share more today.

I hope today is a day that you get involved.

So let's go to one more chapter, uh, one more verse.

This is in John 21.

Sorry, John 20, verse 21.

John 20:21

And now Jesus is resurrected and he revealed himself to his disciples.

And he told them this.

He said, As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

As the Father has sent me, I'm sending you.

So again, in this in your sermon notes, if you want to follow along.

If you want to see Jesus' results, if you want to have his heart, if you want to see the things he did, we have to do Jesus stuff.

It's proper English, right?

We gotta do Jesus stuff.

And then in the passage also said, then he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit.

And I think this is the secret, folks.

In other words, the same spirit that anointed Jesus to bring good news to the poor, recover our sight to the blind, you know, all of those amazing things lives in me, lives in you.

We don't have to do this ourselves.

In fact, if you're gonna do this by yourself, you're gonna see limited results.

You know, there's a lot about emotional intelligence, and it really helps.

Relationship, and especially if you're married for 24 years, that really helps, like I am.

And then uh there's a lot to say about artificial intelligence, right?

It's all the thing, and I may or may not have used uh Chat GPT to improve my sermon.

Um all right, I did, and you can thank me for that.

But more importantly, folks, we have spiritual intelligence.

When Christ said he was finished, it's completed.

What separates us normal folks, and I'm just a normal guy.

Our superpower is that we all have direct access to that, that curtain that separates us the store from the top to the bottom.

So we have spiritual intelligence.

And that is the force multiplier, that's the game changer.

So when we serve others, when you share others, when we bring that, it makes a difference.

That's why we love partnering with churches, because people go to other pantries, but they always say, it's different at this pantry.

Why?

Because we have the same spirit that anointed Christ is in us.

So let God do the do the heavy lifting.

All right, we're gonna get we're gonna get we're gonna get there soon, okay?

So we're gonna do a quick recap.

Okay, so we learned about Jesus' mission, we saw him live it out, we saw him pass it on to his disciples, we saw also how he equipped them and empowered them.

So now for us, how do we sustain this?

And I believe it comes from a place of reverence.

Some may say, you know, the fear of the Lord is not like we're scared of him, but we have a deep reverence, and Jesus definitely modeled that.

But it's also out of a place of gratitude and love.

So sustaining that, what is fueling?

How how how can we keep focusing on that when there's so many distractions around us?

Kind of reminds me of um any of you seen the show I shouldn't be alive?

Can we bring that?

Any seen that show?

Yes?

Raise your hand, only a few.

Oh man, it's a great show.

It's really a neat show.

Alright, so they have these real stories of people that was man, they were lost at sea or in the wilderness, or some harrowing story, and literally they were just hanging on by a thread.

Many, many people would have died, but it just they somehow made it out and they didn't give up.

And as tough and horrible that experience was, I gotta be honest, I many times felt jealous.

You know, because there's a before and then there's an after.

And afterwards, they know they should have been dead, but yet they are alive.

And that brought so much clarity, so much purpose to them.

It's like, dang, I would like to have something like that.

They don't waste time anymore, they love their family, they appreciate it, just uh a deeper appreciation for life.

But then, you know, the Holy Spirit reminded me, it's like Hermie, huh?

You actually were one of those.

You were lost in sin, drowning in your sin.

You had no way out.

I was at some point I I committed my life to to Christ, and then when I came out here, um I became completely backslid.

And after about a year and a half, I was totally depressed, I felt lonely, I was, I lost my, even when I looked in the mirror, I had no spark.

And that's when slowly but surely, in a matter of three or four months, I became back, I came back to Christ and I came back to church.

And Jesus reminded me, you know, if it wasn't for me, you know, you were dead.

There's no way I could pay that price when you look at the cross.

That was me.

But Jesus, but for God.

He rescued me, he rescued you.

So now at that place, how do I say thank you?

How do I pay back?

I know it's it's grace, we don't have to work for it.

But to sustain our ministry, Matthew 25 says, if we serve the poor, if we serve the least of these, we are serving Jesus.

So in your sermon notes, a great way to say thank you and a great way to sustain this ministry is to serve the poor.

And my wife is so much better than me at this.

When she sees a homeless person, she sees somebody's son, somebody's daughter.

And many times she also sees Jesus in them.

And when I have that mindset, man, and I show up with that, I come from the right heart.

Now my heart is aligned with Jesus' heart, and we're so much more effective, and it's so much meaningful.

So we don't serve, we serve out of gratitude, not guilt, and we serve out of love, not obligation.

Can Jesus use when we serve out of obligation?

Sure.

But hopefully, we'll start to move in out of love.

Um, I want to share this video real quick.

And you guys know Kevin?

I love how what he shared.

I did this interview at like two pantries ago.

And uh you'll pick up one of the things I asked him, is like, okay, hey, why do you keep coming back?

Because he's been doing it for three years.

Here's his answer.

Alright, hey everybody.

Uh, my name is Kevin.

Um here at the Delmar food pantry.

We do this uh a couple times a month.

Uh I found out about this as part of Awakening Church, where to go.

And I just heard that they were you know giving away food to people who needed it on Thursdays, and I was able, and I think it's important to uh participate in helping the community and uh showing love to people in meaningful ways.

So I signed up and I've been doing this for probably for three years.

Um 80% of the time they have one I can make it, so we show up.

We bag up food, we pass it out, uh, we try to be friendly to everybody and uh you know wish them the best and hopefully they get home with uh you know somebody.

Three years, first of all, thank you for that.

Yeah, why do you keep coming back three years?

Um I don't know, I just it's something that I can do, and I think it's the right thing to do, so I do it.

I uh it's it's not a lot more than that, you know.

It's not like you know, I don't know that it benefits me, right?

It's it's for the kingdom, right?

So it's it's not, you know, you can say you're storing up treasures in heaven or whatever, but for me it's just it's the right thing to do, I can do it, so it's not more complicated than that.

What about some of the relationships with other fellow uh awakening?

Yeah, like the uh Yeah, no, it's great to uh whenever you serve with uh you know your community, you get to know them in ways that you don't get to know them on Sunday morning, so you know you have the bond that you don't get um you know just saying hi in church or whatever, you know, like Pearson and Mildred, you know, they're there every week.

Uh John's here pretty much every week, and you know it it creates a depth and riches in the community that you don't get otherwise.

People are maybe interested or wondering should I should I come and check this out?

What would you tell them?

Yeah, if you have the time, it's it's really not that difficult, right?

You know, if you can count to six, you know, you can figure out how much fruit to put in the basket, and uh, you know, if you can lift uh 15 pounds and you have three hours, come on and do it.

It's easy, it's fun.

Uh you can make a difference in people's lives.

I love that.

You know, I just want to thank you guys, and I could also show uh Gerson and Mildred's story.

We did the interview.

They actually organized their day off to serve here at the pantry uh so they can serve together.

But I love you know, it's not about me, it's not always what I get out of it.

It's about building God's kingdom.

So thank you, Kevin.

And if you have given or if you have volunteered at our pantry or our pop-up closet, could you please just stand?

Could you please stand?

Wow, look at look around, look around.

All right, I'm gonna give a quick, quick impact report.

So these folks here, these folks here have served the pantry guests.

Have uh we had 2,300 visits.

230 unique households have come through your pantry.

You've also given out 77,000 meals that they could cook in their homes at the value of$177,000 that they can put towards utilities, things like that.

And thank you so much because you guys are showing up, making that happen.

At our Papa Closet, which used to meet here, it's now at a at a nearby low-income apartment complex.

We had 61 visits, and that's where we now have faith conversations.

And uh we share people, how we help them with food and clothing, but we also have a vital connections program, which is an inductive Bible study, and um you know, five people already have graduated from that, becoming new Christ followers.

There's another seven that have expressed interest, you know, in that.

And we've also at our Elevate the Neighborhood, two of those participants have gone through a workshop and they have got inspired to start an industrial cleaning company, and they are doing well.

The Lord has provided miraculously for them, and they are now hiring folks from the Vival Connections program and paying them a living wage.

All because you've opened up your hearts and your parking lot for low-income neighbors.

Well done.

Well done, guys.

So, in closing, I know you're thinking, where are you gonna have lunch?

We're gonna get there real soon.

So uh I just want to I just want to get back to, you know, when when President Kennedy asked that that janitor, what do you do here?

And he said, I'm putting a man on, helping put a man on the moon.

He didn't say, I'm sweeping floors, I'm cleaning up after astronauts.

He said, No, I'm part of a mission to put a man on the moon.

And I asked that, imagine if Jesus walked through here and he asked you, what do you do here at Awakening?

How will you answer that?

And if you've caught, and if we've caught the heartbeat, the heart of Christ, especially the heart for the hungry, we'd say, we won't say just, oh, I volunteer here, or I come to church every now and again.

I'm part of a small group.

All of those things are important, but I believe your answer would be if we caught his heart that Lord, I'm helping bringing your kingdom to the poor.

I'm feeding you when you were hungry.

I'm loving the least of these because I've been loved by you.

And us as a church, we love our neighbors and we carry on what you started, Jesus.

Because that's what we do here.

That's who we are.

That's what awakening church is all about.

Thank you.

Let's pray.

Oh, actually, I just want to give out quick, three quick next steps.

One is continue seeing other people the way Jesus sees.

Again, tap into some of that spiritual intelligence, the Holy Spirit, helping to see those, and then just muster the courage.

If you see someone in you, just say, hey, you look like you're having a tough day, or how can I help?

And just follow through on that.

Second thing is step into the harvest.

Serve at our pantry, serve at many other volunteer opportunities, and I'll also be at the white tent.

We have lots of opportunities.

Also at City Team and here, get involved.

And then also fill your ministry with love.

So each morning, again, pray.

Ask God to fill your heart and have Him show you how to love others the way you love.

Okay, let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we thank you.

Thank you for rescuing us when we shouldn't be alive.

Thank you for seeing us, feeding us, forgiving us, and giving us a new purpose.

Lord, I pray that you awaken our hearts today, not just to hear your compassion, but to carry it out.

Give us your eyes for the hungry, for the lonely, for the forgotten.

We don't just want to attend church.

Lord, we want to be your church.

The kind that feeds, the kind that heals, the kind that loves like you do.

And Father, as as Father send you, now send us, fill us with your spirit, and let every act of service be fueled by love.

Lord, so when you ask us what we do here at Awakening Church, we can boldly say, Lord, we're helping bring your kingdom to the poor.

Amen.

Thank you.

God bless you guys.

Thank you.

Church, please give Herm a round of applause.

Hermy, thank you so much.

You guys, uh, we are not done uh rolling out visitors, rolling out guest speakers today.

Uh I have my friend Tomas here.

Uh Tomas is our lead coordinator for our food pantry.

Uh he has a passion for feeding the Bay Area, for feeding people to make sure that nobody goes hungry.

Uh he's got an amazing story, so I'm gonna just ask him a few questions and uh hopefully we'll share a little bit more about the why and the what that we do here at Awakening with our local outreach program.

Uh Tomas, thank you for being here today.

Of course.

I feel like I'm on a podcast now.

Hello, introduction.

Thank you for being here.

Uh Tomas, um, what initially led you to serve here at Awakening uh at the food pantry?

Um well I'll start with kind of a more political, conscious awakening that happened around COVID.

I was working for a church up in Oregon.

I was living in Oregon for a little bit, and um there was a lot of food insecurity and homelessness in the area.

The the homeless actually took over the Central Park, and I had, you know, everyone seeing what's going on, COVID and losing jobs and all this kinds of stuff.

I wanted to do something.

My friends and I actually um called a bunch of pizza shops to uh give out pizza one day, and it was just infuriating to me to see me and non-believers doing more work in that homeless community than the church that I was working for was.

And so that was a turning point for me where I was like, this is you're claiming this, and yet instead of feeding the people that are three blocks away from you, you're raising money to expand your already large building.

Make it make sense.

And so that was a big turning point for me.

So then when I moved to California or moved back home, I'm from here, um, a friend was helping me look for churches, and I wanted to be a part of one that was actually doing something, actually serving its community.

And so when I saw that Awakening was um had the food drive, um, I knew that that was a a place that I would want to give my time.

Um what was the question?

The question was Why do I serve?

Yeah, why do you serve?

That's why.

I also have some more time.

Um I my I work for United Way Bay Area, uh, a nonprofit here in the Bay Area, and they give us 30 hours or 35 hours a year to go volunteer.

That's paid time.

So that's awesome that I get that opportunity.

That scheduling is not an issue for me.

And I'm saying this not for you to make an excuse about why you can't volunteer, but rather as why I have taken it as just a double sign that I need to be doing this and spending my time um uh helping Brian with the community.

Oh, that's awesome.

I know when I was uh looking for a lead for our pantry, we had some amazing folks, Thomas and Angie, that led the pantry for quite a while.

Uh they had to step down and Tomas was their recommendation for our next lead.

And I'm so grateful that we get to partner together with somebody who is extremely passionate about making sure people do not go hungry.

Um so speak thinking of all the people that we've served throughout the years, people that we've met while we're doing the pantry, is there anybody that stands out to you that might be something you want to share with our community?

Yeah, the first is a um mom who came by a few months ago and she was late.

Um not late, but like one of the last cars to come through.

And she said, I'm so glad I drove by because I saw your sign, and we have a sign flag that we put out on the field out there.

It's my job to put that out every week.

And well, my um unofficial, I just do it every week.

And I uh many times I'm like, it's a long walk from here all the way over there.

I'm getting annoyed.

Um, I injured myself a few months ago, so I'm like sometimes I was driving, I'm like limping my way over there.

And for her to to say that and acknowledge that that little work piece of work that I did meant so much because um every pantry, every two weeks.

It's so worth it to get that flag out there.

Make sure the people are aware that this is happening.

So that was one.

The other is one lady.

Did you remember her name?

No.

In the first service, I couldn't remember her name.

So we're just gonna call her M.

And she comes through every other week or every every pantry, she picks up for 12 different households.

And that's everyone on her block or in her court, whatever it is.

And that's uh so three bags per twelve.

This she fills her car with all this food that she brings back for her community.

And I said one time, thank you for doing this for your neighborhood, for your community, and for for being the person to bring them food.

And she said, Of course.

I was once someone in need who um came to something like this, and I wanted to um this is my way of like giving back every every week, is to she was probably the one who made everyone aware to sign up in the first place.

And I was like, hey, I'm getting this food, you should too.

And now it's exploded into 12 um different families.

Um, so she's amazing.

There uh it's just awesome to see that the same faces every other week, um including hers.

A few weeks ago, it was really hot, and I was we'll start here checking in and we'll end like over there.

And she offered me a ride back to the front, and I was like, oh yes, please.

AC for one minute while we're outside.

And so, you know, you build these relationships with these people.

I'm sure Kevin could say a lot to that as well.

Um just being that um consistent, familiar face um that they see every other week means more than um means just as much as the food that we're giving to them.

Yeah, 100%.

Um a lot what a lot like what Fred said last week.

It's people being seen.

Uh they're not just somebody that comes through to get food.

They're people that we know, they're people that we built relationships with, people that we talk to who's like, hey, I haven't seen your you know your dad that's usually here in the car with you.

Where is he at?

Oh, he's you know, you got this going on, that going on.

It's just it's being able to build relationships with people that might not otherwise have that connection.

So the fact that we get to do that is I know it's special to me, it's special to Tomas.

Uh Kevin talked about it.

It's something that we all get to do as part of our service, is seeing people uh as God's creation, as our brothers and sisters.

It's it's a pleasure to be able to get to do that.

Uh Tomas, are there any next steps that people could take if they are interested in getting involved?

Yes.

Um the easiest is always to donate.

Um when SNAP was being uh cut, uh again, I work for United Way Bay Area, so we have a very uh institutional, high-level uh look of uh who was in need, what was in need, and uh the main thing that we were hearing from local partners and local pantries was that they just needed the money.

And so that's what we were telling a lot of people donate to United Way, donate to um the food pantry provider in your community.

Here um it's us, it's Martha's Kitchen, it's Second Harvest.

Um and uh in in years past, I'd probably say, oh, just donate to them, but through uh awakening and the relationship that Brian has with the school, that the church has with the school, your money is going directly to the student that walks that that's going to walk those halls tomorrow.

And it's just amazing to see that every month that someone's utilities were paid, someone's rent was paid because of your giving to the giving tree.

I missed it the first service.

I forgot what it was called.

Um so first donate to volunteer.

Um I know that time is money, and so that's time that you're taking away from your family or whatever it is, but it's worth it when it's in your community.

Um if you can't swing, I know we meet in the middle of the middle of the afternoon, in the middle of the week.

Um, it's a hard time to swing for most people.

Um so if you can't talk to us, we'll be at the white tent.

I'm connected, Hermie's connected.

We can find some some ways for you to participate wherever um you may feel.

And even if it's not during the week or uh a consistent thing, um, I challenge you to have it be something that you do once a quarter.

And you take a vacation day or call in sick, something, and go serve your community, um, find a place that works.

It's very important to be out there, to see the people that um are in need, to build relationships with them, to be a friendly smile.

It's really important for us to see that it's gonna it changes your perspective, it changes your values, it realigns them with everything that was just talked about, um realigns your values to to what really matters.

Um and so that's really important.

Um donate, volunteer, call in sick, what else?

I got 40 seconds.

I think that was it.

Was there something I mentioned in the first?

That is perfect.

Okay.

Um, yeah, basically, if you guys want to come see us afterwards at the white tent, uh next to the white tent, white tent adjacent, um, we will give you various opportunities that we have.

We have a couple Saturday opportunities coming up to um serve the low-income uh folks just kitty corner to us, really walking distance.

Uh I can fill you in on all of those things.

We don't have time for that now, but please come see us afterwards.

You guys.

Thank you for staying with us.

Thank you for welcoming Hermione.

Thank you for welcoming us to come up here and give you a little bit about what we do every day.

Um the band's gonna come back up, they're gonna lead us in a couple more worship songs.

So please join us and let's worship.

Thank you, guys.

We hope you are blessed by this message.

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