He is Good | Qualities of Jesus | Mark 8:1-10 | Coleton Segars

We're in a series right now that we will finish at some point, but we have finally made it to Mark 8.

We're literally halfway through the book of Mark.

And um titled He is Good.

Mark titles his gospel, The Beginning of the Good News of Jesus.

That's what he called it.

And so he had good news.

He wanted us to understand that he is good and worthy of our attention.

And I think there are more miracles in the book of Mark because Mark focuses primarily on who Jesus is and what he does than any other gospel writer.

And it's pertinent for today because that's really what I want to talk about.

I want us to look at him and behold him for who he is.

But uh this is what he writes in Mark 8, verses 1 through 10.

Mark 8:1–10

It says, During those days, another large crowd gathered.

Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion for these people.

They've already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.

And if I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.

His disciples answered, But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?

How many loaves do you have?

Jesus asked.

Seven, they replied.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground, and when he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so.

They had a few small fish as well.

He gave them, he gave thanks for them also, and told the disciples to distribute them.

The people ate and were satisfied.

And afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

About four thousand were present.

After he had sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanitha.

This is the word of the Lord.

Three years ago, um Rainey and I were, I was going through a church planting assessment year-long training program to consider planting a church instead of going to a church and uh taking over a church from a retired pastor.

And uh because I really thought I was gonna um I really thought I was gonna just start one, start my own versus uh trying to fill someone's shoes.

And um that year was was wonderful, it was very helpful.

I got a tattoo to remember it and how formative it was because I want to mark out the spaces where God has broken in.

But uh one of the things that was really great was Rainey and I went on um a couples retreat for this thing and got to sit down with counselors and all this stuff because they want to make sure healthy pastors plant healthy churches.

Healthy pastors and healthy marriages definitely plant healthy churches, and so they want to work with you and that kind of thing.

And one of the processes they put us through was they gave us each a sheet of paper, and basically the the rules of the sheet of paper were go off by yourself and write uh 25 things that you appreciate and admire in the other person.

And uh, and then when you get back together, once you're done, get back together, share them to one another to encourage and just breathe life into one another.

Um, and then talk about how this, these things and how you feel about one another should shape your life together moving forward.

And that's what we did.

And the other day I came across, I've lost mine that I wrote about Rainey.

I don't know what I did with it, but I found hers that she wrote about me.

And um, you know, you're only supposed to do 25.

She wrote 41, you know.

I'm not saying that I'm the best, but I only wrote 25, but she wrote 41 and I found it.

And I just wanted to share some of these.

Starting in starting at one.

No, but it was, I mean, I'm actually am going to share a couple of.

But it's this really beautiful thing.

She was like, she she, you know, like normal stuff.

Some of it's like, you're funny, you coach Teddy's baseball, um, you like to try new food in different cities.

You believe in the power of prayer, that it's real.

Um you will learn how to do something if you don't know how to do it until you learn how to do it.

Um there was one that was hysterical.

Um, you you value my voice as an equal.

That was I really appreciated that she said that.

Um, where was it?

Well, I can't find it now, but it was something hysterical.

This is terrible.

I should have actually wrote it down.

Um, I don't worry that you'll get drunk and gamble our money away.

That was a big deal.

That was number 23.

So just and so as we're talking about those things, it was one of the that one was hysterical.

Um, and so how should you how should our lives be shaped?

I'm like, well, I guess can't get drunk and gamble the money away now.

You really like that about me.

Um, but I bring that up one because I did find that recently and just through moving stuff around, but uh I bring it up because that's kind of what I want to do today.

I want to point out from this text three things that I think Mark wants us to appreciate about Jesus.

And then just look at like, okay, based on these characteristics and these qualities that exist in him, how should that shape our lives?

Because to look at great things about a person and for them to not impact you in a certain way.

And so this idea that like I'm not gonna get drunk and gamble the money away, it's supposed to bring peace if it actually gets into your heart and your soul, that you can trust me with you with our family's money, and I'm not gonna go double Teddy's college fund at a casino somewhere.

Um it's supposed to bring some peace in that particular space.

And so I want to look at three things in this text uh that we see about Jesus' character, his personality, his nature, and then uh give you just three things that I think would be helpful for us to appropriate those things into our lives so that they shape us and form our relationship with Him in a certain way.

Okay, the first thing that we see is Jesus' heart for us.

Jesus' heart for us is seen in verses one through three.

He says again, another large crowd gathered since they had nothing to eat.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion for these people.

They've been with me three days and they have nothing to eat.

If I send them home hungry, he's thinking about their future.

If I send them home, they'll collapse along the way because some of them have come a long distance.

And so if you if you ever read the gospels and you look at how the miracles normally begin, they normally begin by someone requesting something.

I need a miracle, I'm going to Jesus to ask for it.

Here, the script is flipped.

Jesus begins this process.

He's the one, he sees the need before they're even asking for it.

They're not sitting there going, like, we're hungry.

They're not doing that.

And he's like, Well, I guess I'll perform this cool miracle.

He notices the need, he thinks about their current circumstances, he thinks about their future, and he's like, I want to do something for them.

I want to care for them.

Well, they're not asking for that.

It's like, I don't care.

My heart is for them.

I see their need and I want to respond to their need.

It says that he has compassion for these people.

And James Edwards in his commentary says this.

He says the Greek word for compassion is sponknitzumai, which is a great word.

Sponknitzumai.

It comes from splanknon, meaning entrails or vital organs.

And so sponknitzumai takes on a meaning of being moved deeply from within in the seat of your emotions.

Therefore, I have compassion for these people, expresses Jesus' gut-wrenching emotion on behalf of the crowd.

His gut-wrenching motion, emotion on behalf of the crowd.

And to me, I just started thinking, I was like, do we think of him that way?

Like, do we, do we think that Jesus thinks of us with like gut-wrenching emotion towards us?

Because I think for the most part, what we primarily think is like, I don't even know that he sees what I'm going through.

I wonder if he actually cares for do you do you even see the pain that I'm walking through?

Do you see the struggle that I have?

Do you see the emotions and the things that I'm actually dealing with?

And what you see in this text is like he feels gut-wrenching emotion about a crowd that just ran out of food.

And so, like, can you imagine how he actually thinks about you?

And it's supposed to shape us into this thing to go, like, you're you're moved within over somebody who's hungry.

How much more are you moved towards my needs and my thoughts and my struggles and the stuff that I'm walking through, and the things that make us cry, and the things that make us weep, and the things that make us just struggle to the point of going, I just don't know what to do, I don't know how to move forward.

What does he feel about you?

And this text would sit there and say, like, he feels gut-wrenching emotion towards you and about you.

He splunknetzomies you.

He it is something in him that when he sees you, you're in a spot that's making you like yearn and filled with angst.

He also is joining you in that space.

That's how he feels about you.

AW Tozer, uh, in one of my favorite quotes, uh, that Ray doesn't like all that much, but I really like it.

So you get to decide.

But he says this he says, what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.

What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you, because we tend, by a secret law of the soul, to move toward our mental image of God.

And so whatever you think about him, and whatever you think he thinks about you, you tend to move towards and gravitate or repel against whatever that image is.

And so if you see him as angry with you, disappointed in you, constantly wagging his finger in your face and saying, like, you should be ashamed, nobody wants to spend a ton of time with that person.

And so, why would you ever want to commune with a God that's constantly like, you could do better?

Like, no one wants to do that.

But if you see him as someone who is like, I feel gut-wrenching emotion about the things that make you hurt and the things that make you cry and the things that make you struggle and wish that this weren't a part of your story, I feel more for you than you feel for yourself in the same way that he did in this particular text.

It would lead you to this space to actually go, if you feel strong enough about people who are hungry to actually consider their need before they're even considering it, how long have you been thinking about the pain in my heart?

How long have you actually been processing the struggle that I'm dealing with?

My angst makes me feel like I can't get up in the morning.

How much and how much emotion do you actually feel for that?

Because I feel at a 10.

How much more do you feel that way?

And we're supposed to walk away going like he feels something for us in a way that he's actually choosing to respond to these people before they're even asking for a thing.

In my experience, one of the greatest deterrents of prayer is seeing God when we pray to him, is like, I got it feels like I'm gonna have to like get him to care about my need.

Like, all right, I'm gonna go pray about this thing, but I don't really think he's gonna do anything because he's apathetic and he's he's got bigger issues and he's got bigger fish to fry, which I don't even I don't know where that came from.

It's a terrible, I don't know what that is.

Um, but like, versus this idea that like he's sitting on go, ready to do something for you.

These people aren't asking for food, and he's like, gotta get them some food.

We have to do something incredibly powerful that people be talking about for 2,000 years.

We have to do something amazing for these people because they're gonna get hungry and they're gonna pass out along the way if we don't give them food.

We must meet their need, but they're not asking.

I don't care.

I see their need.

And so if we see him that way, like he's just constantly ready to move towards us with help and ready to move towards us to meet our needs, it would lead us to want to pray and want to talk to him and bring everything to him because that's who he actually is, and that's who we see him to be.

And I think one of the ways that we primarily see him as being, I gotta twist your arm to care about this.

I gotta, I gotta make sure and like binge you into submission that you might actually do anything in my life.

I just don't think you see that in the scriptures.

I do think that you'll have to be persistent in prayer, I think that matters, but you do not have to convince him to care for you.

His care for you, it is actually the thing that he's moving towards you in pursuit to care for you.

You don't have to like get his attention and be like over here, struggling really hard.

It's really hard for me.

Like you don't have to do that.

His heart is immediately towards you.

And so if we see him as resistant to help us, I believe we're seeing him incorrectly.

And one of the things that Marx wants to point out is like he sees what you're going through, what what nobody else knows, what you won't tell anybody else.

The struggle, the angst, the things that you deal with interpersonally in your relationships with your family, with your loss.

Like he sees all that stuff.

And he is the one that's like, I actually want to move towards them with help and need and meet those needs.

I want to do those things.

He is not resistant.

I love the promises from the Psalms.

David writes this that God is our refuge and our strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.

Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way.

Who is he?

He's an ever-present help, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.

It's a promise like given to us by someone who constantly had trouble.

David was constantly in trouble.

He was just people constantly trying to kill him.

It's like, who is the Lord?

He's always there.

He's there before I knew I needed his help.

He showed up.

He's always there.

He says this in Psalm 37 the Lord helps them and delivers them.

Notice why.

He helps them and delivers them because they've chosen to take refuge in him.

And it's like, why are why are you doing that?

It's like, because I have nowhere else to go.

I've chosen you as my refuge.

And he's like, because you've chosen me, I will absolutely come through for you.

And so this is his heart, this is who he is.

And we need to see him like this.

NT Wright says that this is the one of the hardest things for Christians to actually understand.

He says, um, he says, you never hear of people being rebuked by Jesus for asking too much and too frequently.

That's amazing.

He's never like, all right, I've had enough of your prayers.

They filled my ears, my ears have enough of your words.

Like Jesus never does that.

He's always welcoming those things.

He says, but many Christians fail to appreciate and to appropriate this personal concern that the Lord has for them.

Jesus is aware of and sensitive to their needs and is willing to meet those needs often in unexpected ways.

And I believe that there's this space in Mark where he's going, he is good.

And he has seen your need and he will start the he didn't wait to be asked, he has pursued them with goodness.

And he wants to do that for us as well.

He's excited to help.

That's the first thing that we see, a characteristic of Jesus.

The second is Jesus wants to use us and what we have to accomplish his plans and the incredible things that he wants to do.

He wants to use you and use me and use the stuff that we have, whether we have a little or a lot.

He wants to do that to do the incredible things that he just has plans to do in the world.

Again, you see this in verses five through one and then five through seven.

He says, Jesus notices they had nothing to eat.

And so the first thing Jesus does, he doesn't like, I'm just gonna conjure some food from rocks or whatever.

He's like, he calls the disciples and says, Hey, we have a problem, and I want to bring you into this thing that I'm about to do.

And then he asks them, What do you have?

How many loaves do you have?

And they said, seven.

Then he tells them, sit them down, he breaks them, and he gives them to the to the disciples to then pass out to the crowd.

He does it also with some fish.

And so Jesus is about to do this amazing thing, again, this incredible miracle that will be talked about.

It's 2025, it'll be talked about for 2,000 years.

He's about to do this amazing thing, and he's like, hey, before I get started, I'd like to bring some people into this thing so that my story is also their story, so that they actually get to be a part of this incredible thing that I'm about to do, that people will be constantly talking about.

I want you guys to be a part of this thing.

And that's the first thing he does: calling them.

NT Wright says in his commentary on this, he says, Jesus is concerned always to bring his followers into the work in which he is engaged.

And so the closer we are to Jesus, the more likely it is that he will call us to share in his work of compassion, healing, and feeding, bringing his kingdom work to an ever wider circle.

The Christian life, as a disciplined rhythm of following Jesus, love that line, involves becoming one through whom Jesus' love can be extended into the world.

This is what it's about, this is what it's like.

And Jesus doesn't choose anything other option.

He's like, I want my I could do this myself.

I don't I don't actually need you, but I want you to experience the awe and the wonder and the joy of doing something among people that you're gonna be sitting there passing out bread and being like, what the heck is happening?

And it's actually shocking.

They've done this before.

Like a couple months ago, they did this and they're still confused.

Like, I don't even know how that happened.

Maybe maybe Jesus found like a secret loaf behind a tree or something.

Like they have no idea.

And so even now, even though they don't understand, even though they're they they should have better faith in Jesus, like they should be better than where they are.

Jesus is like, still, I want to use you, imperfect disciples, as you are.

I want to bring you in to this amazing thing that I want to do.

And that's what he does.

To me, as a pastor, most people do not live in the church, do not live with a vision that God wants to use them profoundly in the lives of other people.

They do not live with a vision that God wants to use them in these incredible ways in the world.

And it's such a shame because that's what you see in this space.

Like the vision of your life is to be partnered with God, doing things in the world that might seem small or insignificant, but actually can do incredible things that shift and change people's lives and nations and cities and all the rest of it.

And so we're supposed to live with this idea that like he has a mission for the world and he wants to bless the world.

I think he just wants to use us to be a part of it.

Not because like we're we're incredibly gifted and we have a ton of stuff to offer, but because like I just want you to be a part of this thing.

There are things that I do with my son, like chop down trees, and I don't know, he likes it when I lift heavy things, so does Rainey.

But um but like there's there's this space, right?

Like in the in the in the middle of it when we're when we're doing something, like we do these escape rooms together, and and uh I could do it, right?

I could just do this myself.

I'm just I mean, not all of it, because they're actually pretty hard.

Um but there's these things that you could do and these clues that you could find and these locks that would be a lot faster if I just did it.

Honestly, once he gets his hands in there, I don't know where those hands have been, and then like it's gonna take a while, and like we're on the clock, like we got to go.

But when I remove myself from that thing and say, like, hey Teddy, come in here and do this thing, all of a sudden he's able to share in this joy that I could absolutely do, but that what he lights up with and what his heart is filled with in doing those things, I could have just done it.

But what Jesus wants us to experience is what I want Teddy to experience, like the awe and wonder of like we escaped the room and we did this thing together.

And in the back of my mind, yes, I'm going, like I would have, we could have, you know, we escaped with six minutes left.

If I would have just done it myself, we'd have been out here in 30.

Like it would have been a little bit faster, but the joy wouldn't have been there.

And so Jesus has this space with his disciples.

It's like, look, honestly, you're not gonna understand what I'm doing.

In the next verse, you're gonna be like, you're gonna be worried about bread again.

You're not even gonna fully get it.

But I still, even though that's who you are and you're struggling in some of these ways, I want to bring you into the joy of doing the stuff that I actually want to do.

I want to allow you to do things with your hands and with your eyes and your feet and your bodies.

I want you to be able to do things that make no sense.

You, this is impossible without me.

And so to do things that are impossible without me allows you to experience a joy that you could not experience had he not invited you into this thing, and that's what he's doing here.

He is seeking to invite us into the escape room and go, like, you can be a part of this thing and experience some of this stuff.

Many of us wonder, like, how could he use me?

I'm not doing anything important, I don't have influence, I don't have power.

Um, some of us actually feel the exact opposite, like, I got power, influence, all kinds of stuff.

But many of us, like, what can God do through me and what does he want to do through me?

And according to this passage, how could he use you?

It's like, you got any loaves?

Like, that qualifies you.

I have this conversation with Christians all the time.

Like, I don't feel qualified to lead that Bible study, I don't feel qualified to do this.

And it's like, if the disciples would have asked, like, I don't feel qualified to feed 4,000 people because I only got seven loaves, it's like, you're qualified because you have anything.

Just bring it to me.

You're qualified.

Just bring it here.

I have this um man in my life, his name is Mark McClendon, and um maybe one day we'll, you know, I don't know, maybe we'll meet him.

But uh I met him like genuinely one time.

He was a uh he pulled the short straw at Bethany Baptist Church and had to teach Sunday school for high school boys.

Um and so if you're ever wondering, like, who do they like the least, maybe that guy.

Uh, because he was put in a class um to lead kids like me, and I was bad, y'all.

It was not good.

And I didn't care, and I actually went only a couple of times, and uh, and he would teach, and um, we just did not care.

But he um was used by God in a profound way in my life.

So he just again just preached, he really taught and led discussions for high school boys, but he gave up one hour of his week to teach guys that do not listen to him and kind of make fun of some of the lessons that he shared, and just you know, spitballs at one another.

And he, but he's doing this thing, and it wasn't like his messages were shaking my soul and like moving with deep conviction in my heart or anything like that.

He wasn't a preacher, he was a lay person, pretty sure he was an accountant and like big, thick rimmed glasses.

And I'm like, bro, I'm not gonna, I haven't you have nothing to offer me.

But he was faithful to give one hour of his week to Jesus.

I'm just gonna give one hour of my week to Jesus, even though these kids hate me, make fun of me, don't listen to me.

I'm gonna give this one hour.

And then a year later, after hearing one of his messages, I'm drunk in my house because his messages weren't taking as root as maybe he wanted them to, but I'm drunk in my house, and my friend starts arguing about something with me, and one of his messages just rushes back into my mind and in my heart.

And I start arguing against my friend a theological point that Mark was trying to make.

To me.

And all of a sudden I'm like using his sermon to like argue back to this guy.

And we're both drunk.

It's stupid.

I don't even know why we're doing this.

But like it just, I could not shake the verse that he used was Romans 5:8 that while we are still sinners, Christ, God shows his love to us that while we're still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:8

And it was this thing that was just on repeat in my soul and in my heart.

And I woke up the next morning, I was completely convicted over my sin and what I was doing.

And I surrendered my life that morning to Jesus and was like, I'm going to do something completely different.

And it was like this, this, this one hour a week that this guy just consecrated to Jesus, was like, I'm going to do this even though they don't care.

I'm going to do this even though I could be doing other things.

I could, I'm going to do this even though.

And yet he used, Jesus used that little bit of loaf, that one hour, and it drastically changed my life.

And I found him finally on uh LinkedIn, LinkedIn for the win.

I found him on LinkedIn yesterday, and I was like, I want to tell him this story because I mean it's been uh 22 years to this point when he when I heard that message and my life changed in 04.

Um and so I just wrote him that thing and was like, hey, just so you know, like everything shifted for me like that morning based on something you did, you know, a year before of just being faithful to teach me the gospel.

Um and I hope he gets it in response, but I was like, I was like, I have a wife now, and we've been married, and it's going pretty well.

I got a kid who loves Jesus.

I was like, I grew up in a family that was primarily not interested in Jesus things, and now like you have changed the history and course of my family's life.

And I just want you to know that God has used you profoundly.

And so that hour that maybe you felt like was doing nothing has drastically transformed my life.

And now you preach to a couple of high school kids that don't listen to you at all.

I've preached hundreds of sermons, and I've been a pastor for 18 years and preached to thousands of people because you were faithful to do one thing one hour a week.

Like it's amazing.

Like, so what can Jesus do through a little bit of something that's like apparently he can do whatever he wants and he's going to accomplish whatever he wants through the little that we're willing to give him because he just chooses.

I want to use you, and I want to use the stuff that you have.

And so Mark is a huge gift in my life, even though I was only able to communicate that to him yesterday.

But one hour a week is all he gave, and Jesus changed my life.

And he wright says, the truth that our resources can seem and feel totally inadequate, that's Jesus' problem, not ours.

Our task is not to bemoan how few loaves we have for the crowd, but to offer them to Jesus, to do whatever he wants to with them, and these stories indicate well enough that he will cope with it.

This idea that, like, I don't have a lot to offer, how can he use me?

It's like, that's not your problem, that's his problem.

Just give it to him and let him figure it out.

And these stories seem to show that he will.

And so the question becomes like, if this is who Jesus is, what do we have?

I know some pastors maybe take this and be like, oh, we're gonna talk about money now.

I'm not talking about money, I'm talking about, I mean, Mark changed my life with one hour.

Like Jesus used a man one hour a week to do something drastic, and I'm so thankful because everything good in my life begins and starts and can find its the beginning of it from that man teaching the Bible to somebody who did not give one rip about the Bible.

And so he used one hour, and so what do you have?

Do you have a little bit of time to give to Jesus?

A little bit of, like I don't have a ton of time to pray, but I have a little bit of prayer to give to Jesus.

A little bit of service to serve the church, to serve my community.

I have a little bit that I can offer to him.

I have a little bit of friendship that I can spread around to a bunch of different people.

I have a little bit of wisdom that I could offer this one person.

I have a little bit of conversation.

I don't want to talk to people I'm an introvert, but I got a little, I got like five minutes of conversation throughout my entire day, and I will offer that to Jesus as a sacrifice on the altar of my introvertedness.

Um a little bit, a little money, a little generosity, a little hospitality.

I have a few meals I can give away, a few meals that I can spend with people who need to have somebody sit with them and be a friend to them.

The focus isn't on what you give, it's on who you're giving it to.

And if you give a little to him, it seems that he actually does a lot with it.

He will accomplish something with it.

And so who can he use?

Really, the question is what will you give him?

If you will give him a little of anything, he will use it to accomplish the plans that he has.

It's not up to you to come up with plans, it's up to you just to be faithful together.

Like, I'm gonna give you this little bit that I got, and he's gonna do it to change somebody's life.

Mark had no idea, he still to this day has no idea.

Like, I'm telling you, I I've shared about this man at every church I've probably been at and cried most of the time because I'm like, I should not have the life that I have, but Jesus used a very small thing in order to transform my life, and so it exists in our lives as well to give him something small in order to do something extravagant, and Jesus just wants to do that in us and through us and for us.

That's the second thing.

Third, third thing we see about Jesus and his character is that following Jesus will fulfill you better than you can on your own.

Following Jesus will lead to more fulfillment and more abundance than you can get to on your own, than you were able to experience on your own.

Again, you see this in the text.

How many loaves do you have?

Jesus asked.

Seven.

And they had a few small fish as well.

He gave thanks for them also, and they distributed it to the people.

And then notice all ate and were satisfied, and then afterwards the disciples picked up not seven loaves, not a few fish.

They picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over, and about four thousand were present.

If the disciples would have said, Look, Jesus, we got seven loaves, but honestly, those are mine.

Like, I'm hungry.

Like, I we've been out here three days, too, bro.

Like it's been a minute.

Like we're all so hungry.

Jesus probably would have said, like, okay, it's fine.

You don't have, I can do it another way.

Um, I'm not gonna force you to follow me, I'm not gonna force you to be obedient.

But if he would have said, if they would have said, like, these loaves are ours, we're keeping these, they would have walked away with seven loaves of bread and a few fish.

That's what they would have walked away with.

But instead, they choose to give him those seven loaves, and what they walk away with is seven basketfuls of food, which is to them probably a lot more than they were like, oh, I didn't realize.

Actually, I think you see some of that in the text here that Jesus asks very specifically, how many loaves do you have?

So they give him bread.

And I think as he starts multiplying the loaves, they're like, hey, we got some fish too, we didn't tell them about.

And actually, you see it in verse 7.

They said, and also they found some fish.

And they're like, oh my gosh, look, we didn't know we had these, Jesus.

And then like, what's he gonna do here?

Like they were nervous, we've got we've got to hold this back.

We'll give them the bread, but not the fish.

And then all of a sudden they start seeing what he's doing.

It's like, give them the fish too, man.

Give him the fish, give him the fish.

We want we want basketfuls of fish as well.

And so it was almost an afterthought.

And the reason is like they're just they're just like us.

They're like, we have a scarcity mindset of following Jesus.

Like, I think you're gonna lead me into a space that's less than where I can get myself.

And he's going, that's not how I live, that's not how I treat the people that follow me.

That's not the way that I deal with people who sacrifice for me.

And now, I prosperity preachers would say, like, so give them$50 and it's gonna blow your bank account up.

Like, that it doesn't work that way either.

They weren't thrilled about that, and that wasn't the sermon that was being preached here.

Give me seven, I'll give you seven basketfuls.

That's not what it is, and that wasn't the motive.

It was actually very hard for them probably to give that stuff.

But I do think that there's this space in us, like in following Jesus, what they see is like I gave him a little that could have fed me for maybe a day or two.

And what I walked away with was something far more abundant that they know again, probably I'm gonna have to give some of this away too, because that's just who Jesus is.

I'm always sharing my stuff.

But like they just he leads them into a fullness and into an abundance that they just on their own keep it to themselves.

You just stick with seven loaves.

But giving that stuff and following Jesus and being obedient to do what he says all of a sudden leads them into a space where they're actually experiencing an abundance and a fullness that they would have otherwise just missed out on.

And if they wouldn't have followed him, they wouldn't have figured that out.

This is important for us because I think we settle for less many times because we choose to follow our way instead of the way of Jesus.

We have this idea that, like, I think my way will be more abundant.

I know what you're asking me to do, I know what the scriptures command, I know what you want.

But that way seems like I'll lose my seven loaves.

And honestly, I don't, they're mine.

I don't want to lose them.

And what he's actually doing is going, I'm trying to call you into an abundance and lead you into a space where you experience more than you think is possible.

And that's why I'm asking you to do these things.

C.

S.

Lewis says that the idea of um striking out on our own and doing that kind of stuff is what Satan put in our heads to try and be our own gods.

He says, What Satan put in the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that we could set up on our own as if we created ourselves.

We could be our own masters and invent some sort of happiness for ourselves apart from God.

The reason why it can never succeed is this: God made us, invented us as a man invents an engine.

A car is made to run on gasoline, it would not run properly on anything else.

Now, God designed the human machine to run on himself.

He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn.

There is no other.

That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy or thinking that we can be happy on our own without bothering about religion.

God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself because there is no such thing.

And so this idea, the abundance that we're actually longing for, the things that we're holding on to in order to like make sure that our lives are full and rich and good, to like, I can't, I want to follow Jesus in these ways, but I can't do it in these ways because I might not actually experience the abundance.

I might lose more than I'm given.

The idea is like, no, actually, he's trying to lead you into a space that's far more abundant, to lead you into a space that's far more full.

And so when he asks for you to forgive someone, he is not calling you into a space like, but it so you're asking me to forgive them.

You want me to be a doormat for those people.

That's what you're asking me to do.

It's like, no, that might be what it sounds like, and it might feel like you're losing something like huge, but he's actually trying to lead you out of a space of unforgiveness and bitterness into a space of freedom, apart from the chains and the prison of actually being holding a grudge against those persons.

He's actually trying to lead you, and so he calls you to do that.

It's not like I'm trying to steal from you, I'm trying to bless you.

I'm trying to lead you out of where you are with seven loaves and lead you into a space where you have seven basketfuls.

That's what I'm trying to do.

When he calls us to reconcile, when he calls us to pray, when he calls us to give him our time, when he calls us to be generous, to sacrifice, to confess our sin, to repent, to admit that we're wrong, to say that we're sorry.

All these things that he does for us are for our good.

And so when he asks for seven loaves and they're going, I don't know that this is how am I gonna eat?

It's like, I will take care of you.

I will absolutely lead you into a space where what you wind up on the back end is better than what you started with, I promise.

And again, I'm not saying that like, so give him a hundred bucks and he's gonna give you a thousand.

I'm not saying that.

That's not that's not how that works, but there is a space where like he is a shepherd wanting to lead his people out into a space of abundance and in fruitfulness and in fullness and to hold on and go, I'm nervous, you're gonna lead me into a space where you steal from me.

He's like, then you're gonna stay with what you have and you're never gonna experience what I actually want to give you.

And so every time he calls us into a space, he is trying to trade us.

Give me the seven loaves, I'll give you seven basketballs.

I promise, in all of these spaces where I'm asking you to follow me, I will lead you into an abundance that you cannot find on your own.

And so those are the qualities that we see in this text.

Those three things.

And so, in line with what I had to do with the uh the sheet of paper and that marriage retreat, I want to look at like, okay, so that's that's who we see Jesus to be.

How should that shape us?

If this is who this the text says that he is, how should it shape us?

And I want to do it backward.

We started this way, we're gonna do it backwards this way.

So three, two, one, all the way back.

I just want to give you one thing from each one.

So, how should it um shape us?

Go to the next slide here.

There it is.

How should these qualities shape your relationship with Jesus?

So the quality is following Jesus will fulfill you better than you can on your own.

How it should shape us is follow him by doing what he says, which is not profound, but it's very simple.

What does it mean that following him will lead you into a space better than where you can get yourself?

Follow him.

Let him lead you, let him lead you into that space.

He's not trying to steal from you, he's actually seeking to do something better for you.

And so the question becomes like, what is that for you?

Where is he?

Where is this space in your life where you're still going, like, I don't know that I can follow you in this.

I know that you're asking for these things.

I know that you actually do want me to have that conversation.

I know that you do want me to come clean on that thing.

I know that you do want me to do this in my job.

I know that you do want me to do this in my relationship with that person.

And you've just been holding off.

And you're going, like, I just what what will happen if I do that?

It feels like what will happen will be worse.

And he's going, I promise, I will lead you into a space where actually where you wind up is far more abundant than where you started.

That's what I want to do with you.

I want your life to become a witness to the world.

Look at how he treats his sons and his daughters.

That's who we want you to be.

And so follow him.

He's not trying to hurt you, he's trying to lead you into a space of fullness.

Second.

Second quality, and Jesus wants to use you and what you give to him, regardless of how big or small it is.

The encouragement would be what should we do?

Give him the little that you have.

Give him the little that you got.

It's easy sometimes with stuff that we got a ton of.

It's not a sacrifice to give him those things.

Um there's just spaces in my life where I know I'm pretty good at like encouraging people.

I it's a spiritual, like, it's not a sacrifice to try and do that.

I can I can do that.

I'm I I'll just find something in your heart and in your life, and like, you know, I've been reading the room since I was three, so I can find a way to do that.

But it's not a sacrifice to do that.

People respond to it, and I really love that.

But a sacrifice for me, honestly, is to uh say something to Teddy when I when I lose my temper.

Because I don't want to be wrong.

Like I don't want to screw up for him.

Sacrifice for me is confessing my sin to Rainey, because I don't want to do that.

I don't want to I don't want to say, hey, here's some stuff I've done wrong, maybe you won't love me as much.

Like, I don't I don't want to do those things, it's a sacrifice to those things.

But every single time, there's been this little space where you actually give him just this little bit of what you have, then it actually blossoms into something far better.

And so give him the little that you have.

And again, I'm not necessarily talking about money, um, although that that could be a part of it.

But we need more Mark McClendons, Mark McClendon's in our time.

We need some people that just go like, look, I can give you an hour.

I can I see a lonely person, I'm gonna go sit with that person for 10 minutes.

That's what I got.

Like I have a little bit of my house that I can invite, I have a little bit of hospitality I can invite people into.

I have a little bit of time, I got a little bit of resources, I have a little bit.

Give him those things.

What do you have?

What little do you have?

We need more Mark McClendon's.

That Jesus is like, hey, they gave me a little bit, but I'm gonna double quadruple, I'm gonna make this thing actually really, really matter.

And it's gonna go far beyond what you think it'll do.

That's the second.

Give him what you got, the little bit that you have.

And then last, that he feels gut-wrenching emotion about you.

This is how he feels about you.

Gut-wrenching emotion about you and the stuff that you're walking through.

To me, what this should lead you to is to pray about everything at all times with expectation that he wants to help you.

Bring every single care, worry, anxiety, every single thing in your day, bring it to him.

He is on the edge of his throne going, I can't wait to help.

Like, I am so ready to move in to those spaces and actually do something for them.

That's how he sees you, that's how he feels about you.

And so the stuff that you're walking through as well in your life and your family and your personal experience, whatever, he feels deeply for you in a compassionate way, not in a shame-filled, well, you made your bed, you lie in it kind of way.

It's not that.

Gut-wrenching emotion about you.

Look, um, I'm a weird sleeper, okay?

I'm gonna share a little bit.

I'm a weird, I'm a weird sleeper.

It's an odd thing in my family.

I have a certain pillow that's square that I use, and um, you know, it's I'm just a weird sleeper.

I have a certain mattress that everybody needs to leave alone.

Uh I need the I need the temperature to be right.

I got sound machines, two of them, rolling in the room.

Um, I'm pretty normal in other spaces, but in sleep, I'm pretty weird.

Um But everyone, well, and everyone in my family is pretty gracious about it, and they they know that I'm a light sleeper, and so they they leave me alone for the most part, which is really nice.

But Teddy knows that at any moment he can wake me up in the middle of the night.

Like he has a privilege that Rainey doesn't even have.

The dog does it, the dog's gonna die.

Um but Teddy has a privilege, and he knows, like, hey, if you're ever afraid, if you ever have a nightmare, if you ever get lonely, whatever, like at any given moment, you are welcome to mess up my weird thing about sleep.

You're able to wake me up, you have that access.

And the truth is, like, it's because I splot Niesle my him.

Like, I'm like, I feel this gut-wrenching love and affection.

I feel it for Rainy too, but like she's an adult, she can probably take care of her own nightmares.

But like, there's a space, there's a space with Teddy that I'm like, hey, you never feel worried.

Never, because one time he did, and it made me so sad.

He was like, I didn't want to, I didn't want to wake you up, so I just dealt with my fear myself, and I'm like, that makes me want to cry.

Like, you have this space with me, you have this place where you can actually wake me up in the middle of the night and I'll never get angry.

Because I want him to know he has my unconditional, ready, available help to him.

That's that's what he has from me.

And I want him to know that he has that.

And so if I feel that way about my kid, how much more does the father feel about you and me?

And it's like, yes, you can, I care about this so much, but like you can wake me up, it's fine.

I want you to know that I love you that much, you have my unconditional help whenever you need it.

The father feels that a billion times more, and so he is ready to move into your story and to do something, he's ready to help.

He's actually searching for needs to meet.

He's not sitting there having to be twisted and wrestled into trying to care about your need.

He wants to.

He loves you, he is for you.

And the best way that we see this is on the cross.

Jesus met a need that we didn't even ask for.

No one was sitting there like, hey, Jesus, uh, I have like this real issue with sin.

I think it's separating me from the Father.

If you could come and have nails in your feet and your hands, that'd be really strong for me.

And uh take all my sin upon you, and then maybe we'll be good to go.

Like, he doesn't none of us were asking that.

Everybody's just trying to get rid of this man.

Like that's what they're trying to do.

And yet he shows up seeking to meet a need that nobody even knew that they had, that nobody's even asking for.

He saw it and was like, I want to move towards the world in love so that I could die for them, so that I could create a space where none have to perish if they believe in me.

And so that's who he is.

One of my favorite quotes from Greg Boyd is that Jesus' death on the cross is proof that our creator thinks we are worth experiencing a hellish death for.

In fact, it was for the, bless you.

In fact, it was for the joy of spending eternity with us that Jesus endured the cross.

In other words, the cross reveals our unsurpassable worth and significance to God.

If you don't live inside of that, you gotta figure it, you gotta ask for it.

You have to begin asking the Lord, let me feel the love that you have for me, because anything that would lead him to do this is worthy of experiencing.

Because he gave his life so that you would actually live inside this truth.

And if it doesn't get into your heart and soul and shape how you think he thinks about you and the access that you have with him, then he's sad about that, and you will miss out living like you're unloved rather than incredibly loved, unsurpassable worth and significance to God.

And so if you don't feel that about yourself, that he thinks that of you, ask him to help you to feel that way because he gave his life so that you would feel that way, so that any given moment you could step into a space with him and go, like, I need your help.

And he's like, I've been here for a minute, I've been here for a while, I am ready to step in.

Thank you for asking.

And so for us, I want us to do that.

He who did not spare his own son but delivered him up to us, how shall he not also with him freely give us everything else?

If he gave us his son, how much more willing is he willing to do the other smaller things that we have going?

And so that's who he is.

He is for you, you have unconditional access, and he loves you.

Let me pray.

Father, would you help us to trust in that?

Would you help us to believe that this is actually how you think of us?

That you don't look at us, asking you for things, inviting you into our issues and needs and going, can you just take care of that yourself?

Like you don't talk to us that way.

You search our hearts, you search our lives, you are looking for spaces to break in and to be kind.

You did it here, and if that is who you were, then that is who you are.

And uh so God, I just pray that you would help us to trust that you love us this way.

That you can use the stuff that you have that we have, that we just we just give it to you, you can use it.

And that you were trying with everything that you have to lead us into a greater abundance that you came to give, and you came to give us life and life in abundance.

And so, God, I pray that we would follow you in Jesus' name.