More Food for Your Faith
Matthew 15 29-39
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Feb. 1, 2009
*How much faith does God want you to have? He certainly wants us to have saving faith. On top of that, God wants us to have more faith, even great faith. And there is good news for us tonight in this miracle. Jesus feeding the 4,000 can feed our faith. Notice four things in this story that can feed your faith tonight.
1. First of all, feed your faith on the Lord’s compassion.
*We can see it in vs. 32, where Jesus said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
*Why did the Lord miraculously feed these 4,000 men, plus thousands more women and children? -- Simply because He genuinely cared for these people. He had compassion on them. Thank God for being compassionate and kind! God cares for people like you, and He wants you to know it.
*There is another wonderful story of the Lord’s compassion in Luke 7:11-16.
11. Now it happened the day after that (Jesus) went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.
12. And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.
13. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep.’’
14. Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise.’’
15. And he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
16. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us’’; and, "God has visited His people.’’
*God is full of compassion for people, and the best place to see that is on the cross of Jesus Christ! Jesus loved us so much that He died for our sins. As Paul said in Rom 5:8, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
*Thomas Pilgrim told the story of a little girl named Charlotte. One day she went with her grandmother on a shopping trip to the city. When Charlotte got home, her parents asked her what she had seen and how she liked it. They asked her if she had been afraid of all those people and cars as she crossed the street. Charlotte said, "No. The big policeman held up his hands and all the cars stopped and we crossed over."
*And Thomas Pilgrim said: Jesus the carpenter had strong hands bronzed by the sun. His hands were the hands of God lifting up a fallen humanity. Early in His ministry Jesus was in the Decapolis, the ten cities around the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The people brought to Jesus a man who was deaf and dumb, and "they begged Him to put His hand on him." With those hands Jesus miraculously multiplied the bread and fish in this story. Later Jesus healed a boy possessed by a spirit which caused him to fall on the ground. Jesus "took him by the hand and lifted him up." A woman was brought to Jesus and accused of adultery by a mob. But Jesus knelt down and with His hand wrote in the sand. When they put Jesus to death they drove great nails through those hands of (compassion) and kindness. And when he rose from the dead He said to His disciples, "Behold my hands." (1)
*God’s is full of compassion for us. We can see it in His hands and His heart. So feed your faith on the Lord’s compassion.
2. But also feed on the disciples’ confusion.
*Listen again to vs. 32-33:
32. Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.’’
33. Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?’’
“Where could we get enough bread to fill such a great multitude?” That is a mind-boggling question, if you think about it, because no more than a few months earlier, Jesus had already fed 5,000 men plus women and children. And He did it all with just 5 loaves and two fish. All of the disciples had seen that first miracle of multiplied food, but they still had a long way to go when it came to faith.
*Even Peter, James and John needed more faith, and eventually they got it. This reminds us of both our need and our potential. We need more faith, and thank God we can get it, especially through the Word of God. As we see in Romans 10:17, “faith comes by hearing the word of God.”
*The great preacher, D.L. Moody once said, “I prayed for faith and thought that some day it would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith didn’t seem to come. One day I read in Romans that ‘faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” I had up to this time, closed my Bible and prayed for faith. Now I opened my Bible and began to study and faith has been growing ever since.” (2)
*Through the Word of God we have the potential for much more faith.
-That’s great news, because the time will come when we need more faith.
*Here’s part of an article about Pittsburgh defensive end, Aaron Smith:
-Aaron turned to the Lord a decade ago as a Steelers rookie. He and his wife were having difficulty putting down roots in the new city while also dealing with the pressures of athletic stardom.
*The reporter said that when Aaron looks you square in the eye and declares how liberating it is to know sports fame is not the most important aspect of his life, you must believe him.
*In October, doctors discovered leukemia in Aaron’s 4-year-old son, Elijah.
-When this 6-foot-5, 298-pound dad heard the diagnosis of his son’s condition, it hit him so hard he said he wanted to vomit. And Aaron said, "I couldn’t have dealt with this challenge without my faith."
*The Smith family does not ask God for football miracles. Instead they have been praying for their son, and they are most grateful that after chemotherapy, young Elijah is strong enough to join his sisters in Florida for the Super Bowl tonight. (3)
*We will need more faith, and thank God we can get it, just like the early disciples who were so confused when the Lord asked them to feed that crowd. Feed your faith on the disciples’ confusion.
3. But also feed on the Lord’s capability.
*All things are possible with God! How could we ever doubt the Lord’s power?
-We see two great examples in these verses
*First look at vs. 30&31:
30. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them those who were lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.
31. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
*“They laid them down at Jesus’ feet.” What a great place to be! -- At the feet of Jesus. -- This is the best place we can be. The more we sit at the feet of Jesus, the more we will see both His compassion and His power.
*Then we see the miraculous feeding in vs. 34-37:
34. Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?’’ And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish.’’
35. And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.
37. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.
*These Scriptures remind us that all things are possible with God. One of preaching web sites I use conducts surveys from time to time. This week the survey question was: “Have you experienced a supernatural miracle in the last month? 62% said “no,” but 38% said “yes.” (4)
*All things are possible with God!
-And, of course, the greatest miracle of all is the miracle of the cross.
-The miracle of all of our sins and all of our guilt being laid on Jesus.
-The miracle of His resurrection.
-The miracle of us receiving a total pardon and everlasting life, when we receive Jesus as Savior and Lord.
-The miracle of the ever-present Christ through the Holy Spirit.
-And the miracle of a home in Heaven. -- All through the power of God.
*Feed your faith on the Lord’s capability.
4. But also feed on the overflow containers.
*In vs. 37, this story finished with an abundant overflow: “So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.”
*This reminds us that the Lord always has a super abundance. He is able to give us more than enough.
*Guy McGraw tells of a man named Sam who had a great desire to do something for the Lord. He used to cut out pictures from cards and magazines and match them with appropriate verses and poems. Then he would give these simple gifts to people he felt would be blessed by them.
*Sam found a picture of Niagara Falls, but for a long time he could not find the right poem to match. Then he heard a hymn written by Philip Bliss, and Sam knew he had the match for Niagara Falls:
-Have you on the Lord believed?
-Still there’s more to follow.
-Of His grace have you received?
-Still, there’s more to follow.
-Oh, the grace the Father shows, still there’s more to follow.
-Freely He His grace bestows, still there’s more to follow.
-More and more and more and more, always more to follow.
-Oh, the matchless, boundless love, still there’s more to follow!
-That’s the abundance we have in Jesus Christ! (5)
*The Lord always has a super abundance. And He is able to give us more than enough. Nick Vujicic has surely tapped into God’s spring of overflowing abundant life. Here are a couple of pictures of Nick.
(These were found at www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/index.php)
*Maybe you have seen part of Nick’s testimony on You Tube. He is a 25 year old man, born without arms or legs. You can read about him on his website: lifewithoutlimbs.org. Here is part of his testimony:
*My name is Nick Vujicic and I’m 25 years old. I was born without arms or legs and given no medical reason for this condition. Faced with countless challenges and obstacles, God has given me the strength to surmount what others might call impossible. Along with that, the Lord has placed within me an unquenchable passion to share this same hope and genuine love that I’ve personally experienced with more than two million people all over the globe.
*Traveling extensively over 19 nations, I’ve been extremely humbled by the continuous opportunities that the Lord has given me to share my testimony along with the hope that I have in Jesus with people in so many nations and situations. My greatest joy in this life is to introduce Jesus to those I meet and tell them of His great desire to get to know them personally by allowing Him to become their Lord and Savior. God has used me to let people know in countless schools, churches, prisons, orphanages, hospitals, stadiums and in face-to-face encounters with individuals how very precious they are to God.
*Secondly, it’s my pleasure to assure them that God does have a plan for their lives that is purposeful. For God took my life -- one that others might disregard as having any significance -- and filled me with His purpose and showed me His plans to move hearts and lives toward Him. Understanding this, though faced with struggles, you can overcome too. (6)
*I want to have faith like that! -- And we can have faith like that. Feed your faith on this wonderful miracle from the Word of God. Let’s also ask the Lord for more faith right now. And if you have never received Jesus as Savior and Lord, why don’t you take that first step of faith tonight? Call on the Lord to save you, and He surely will.
1. Adapted from ChristianGlobe.com sermon “The Man from Galilee III: The Touch of His Hand” by Thomas Pilgrim - Matt 8:14-17
2. SermonCentral illustration contributed by Bruce Howell
3. “God doesn’t play favorites” - By Mark Kiszla - The Denver Post - Posted: 01/30/2009 12:30:00 AM MST - Updated: 01/30/2009 01:08:17 AM MST
4. http://www.sermoncentral.com/polls/displayResults.asp?PollId=85
Created: 1/26/2009 - Total Votes: 184
Have you experienced a supernatural miracle in the last month?
Yes 38% -- No 62%
5. SermonCentral illustration contributed by Guy McGraw
6. SermonCentral illustration contributed by Steve Miller - Pictures and other information found at http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/index.php
