God's Challange

God’s Challange

Mark 8

We all have times in our lives when we feel that God isn’t there. In the verses of Chapter 8 of the book of Mark give us a wonderful understanding of how we need to look at life in those times of drought.

Let’s start looking at scripture this morning:

Mark 8:1-10 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.” Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?” He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 Do you ever have too much month at the end of your money?

 We all go to God in petition; asking for things; but do we really believe He is capable of fulfilling our request?

 Why do we doubt God’s abilities?

We like to claim that we believe scripture to be true, if we do why do we have doubt in God when we read such miracles as this? This isn’t the first time Jesus did this, in Mark six he fed five thousand and both times He provided the need and then some.

Mark 8:11-12 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”

 Do you ever test God?

 Notice that at this question Jesus “sighed deeply in His spirit.”

 If you go to God to test God you are part of “this generation”

 The signs Christ has already given are sufficient to prove to anyone that is trying to search for Him that he is the Christ and that should be enough for anyone.

Let’s look at some more of Chapter 8:

Mark 13-21: And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “ It is because we have no bread.”

But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”

They said to Him, “Twelve.”

“Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?”

And they said, “Seven.”

So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

 Wow, when I read this I thought how stupid are these guys?

 What is leaven? It is what rises dough, or puffs it up.

 What was the “leaven of the Pharisees and heathens? What they could see, miracles.

 Jesus is saying that the Jews had been entrusted with the prophecy of Christ, He fulfilled that prophecy and still they needed “signs”

 But then my spirit showed me times in my life when I doubted God.

 I love Jesus’ response to His disciples, basically in today’s language Jesus says “Really, you have got to be kidding me”

 His response is basically “Not only do I provide but I give you more tha you need.

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.