INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Have you ever come home from a long day at work, just wanting to relax? Maybe you have put in many hours at the office or in the factory.
• On your way home, you envision a scene where you come home and put up your feet turn on the television and read the newspaper. Then you see yourself sitting at the table ready for a wonderful dinner that your spouse has prepared for you.
• Now you get home and as soon as you get settled in that favorite recliner the unthinkable happens. The phone rings. You reluctantly get up to answer the phone.
• Then you find out that you are going to have a bunch of unexpected company for dinner. Your evening seems to be ruined.
• Have you ever had that happen to you? How did you feel?
• This is a somewhat similar story as to what we find in our text with Jesus and His disciples today.
• It had been a rough few days, John the Baptist had just been killed and the disciples had just received the news.
• In verse 31 Mark says they were so busy they did not even have time to eat!
• They were all tired from all the teaching and healing that they were doing. The group was looking forward to putting their feet up and watching some football.
• Let’s set the scene with verses 30-33
• SLIDE #2
• Mark 6:30-33(ESV) 30The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
• Looks like Jesus is going to have some unexpected guests.
• Most all of us have busy lives. We sometimes get to a point where we guard our “free” time so much that we miss opportunities to reach out to lost people.
• Today from what is called the “Feeding of the 5,000” we will learn a lesson from the Master as to what we can do when we have unexpected “dinner guests”.
• Jesus will help us to see that these are opportunities not inconveniences. Sometimes when we least expect it, we will have opportunities to spiritual feed someone who is hungry.
• Let us examine verses 34-36 for our first observation.
• SLIDE #3
• Mark 6:34-36(ESV) 34When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
• First we see…
• SLIDE #4
SERMON
I. Have the compassion to open the door.
• How many of us would be irritated that someone came by and interrupted our time of relaxation?
• Jesus was not irritated over these “unexpected guests”.
• Jesus did not see these people as a “pain” or an “inconvenience”, He saw this as an opportunity to teach these people about the kingdom.
• Jesus felt compassion towards these people because He saw them for what they were, sheep without a shepherd.
• Jesus’ compassion for the lost helped him to open His heart to them. Jesus opened the door to let them in.
• Sometimes that is a scary thing to do. We will have little impact on people if we do not open the door of our hearts to them.
• Jesus could have told the people to leave, He could have directed the disciples to go to another location, but Jesus was willing to open the door and let the people in.
• How many opportunities do we miss because we do not open the door to people?
• I have to wonder how the disciples felt when Jesus did not send the people away. Were they happy about it?
• Our text tells us in verse 35 that it was already late and the disciples came to Jesus and suggested that He send the people home so that they could all get something to eat.
• I am sure those guys wanted to relax and eat.
• It is hard to tell if the disciples were concerned about the people or if they just wanted to get rid of them.
• Their own hunger must have been on their minds for Mark to mention it. Mark is writing much of His gospel from the perspective of Peter who was a part of this.
• How many times do we let our own agenda get in the way of opening the door for people?
• Jesus Himself has knocked on the door of many people, only to be left out in the cold by them.
• SLIDE #5
• Revelation 3:20(ESV) 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
• Jesus opened the door for all people; even the one who He knew would betray Him, Judas!
• Jesus knew that the way He would impact people the most is to invite them in. It takes a lot of love for people to let them inconvenience you. Jesus had that love and that is the kind of love that we are to have for other people.
• Jesus had a bunch of uninvited guests come to Him. What did He do, He invited them in and taught them.
• Let us look at verses 37-40 we must do after opening the door.
• SLIDE #6
• Mark 6:37-40(ESV) 37But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii£ worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.
• SLIDE #7
II. Be prepared to give them what you have.
• One of the interesting parts of this miracle and one of the things that gives the account more credibility is the fact that the disciples did not come to Jesus expecting a miracle to take place.
• Notice what they ask Jesus. “Send them away so that they can go buy themselves food.” This does not sound like a statement coming from people who had faith that Jesus was going to do anything.
• In John’s gospel account, when Jesus asked Phillip at the beginning of the scene as to how they would feed the people, Phillip had no expectation of a miracle.
• Many times we get afraid because we focus on what we do not have.
• You may be reluctant to open the door because you do not think you have anything to offer.
• The disciples wanted to send the folks away because their initial focus was on what they did not have instead of what they did have.
• When the disciples came to Jesus as it was getting late, they wanted to the crowd to go home and eat.
• When the disciples came to Jesus His response was eye opening to the disciples, “YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT!”
• Once again, the disciples looked to what they had and determined that it was not enough.
• They told Jesus that they did not have enough to do the job.
• Jesus then asks them what they had to offer to the crowd.
• Jesus could have waved His hands or called food down from heaven, but He did not. He expected the disciples to participate in feeding the 5,000 plus people.
• Jesus was telling these guys to set the table because they were going to have a great number of guests over for supper.
• Jesus invited the disciples to join in and help Him serve the others, He also invites us to join in and help Him feed the lost people in Sierra Vista.
• God does not expect the church to just sit back and wait for a few people to wander into our doors; He expects and invites us to join in the work of reaching and feeding the lost people of Sierra Vista.
• When we pray to Jesus about the lost people of our community, Jesus is in heaven telling us, YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT! When you are praying about a lost friend or family member, Jesus is telling you the same thing!
• Jesus had the disciples take what they had made them feed the people. Jesus could have had the people all come to Him, but instead, He invited the disciples to feed the people. They were not spectators!
• For the next part of our lesson, let us examine verse 41
• SLIDE #8
• Mark 6:41(ESV) 41And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.
• SLIDE #9
III. Jesus will multiply what you have.
• This was not the first time the food thing was mentioned. In John’s account in John 6:1-13, Jesus, when He saw the crowd coming asked Phillip how they could feed the group of people.
• Jesus was testing Phillip to see what he was thinking. Phillip doing what many people would do took stock of what they had on hand to take care of the people.
• Phillip saw the situation as hopeless. There was no way that the disciples with their own resources could possibly feed the people.
• Let us do the math, 5 loaves and 2 fishes. Over 5,000 people. Very small servings!
• In John’s account, when Phillip was taking stock of what they had, Andrew showed Jesus the food that he had found and even Andrew wondered out loud to Jesus just how five loaves and two fish were going to feed so many.
• Jesus shows us that He can take what little we have to offer to Him and multiply it.
• We are so inadequate, but with Jesus, we have all we need.
• Jesus can take us and can do great things for the kingdom with us.
• Too many times the church gets stuck in a rut because we focus so much on what we have, that we forget what God can do with it.
• Faith must learn to draw on divine resources!
• The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 shows us that with God small opportunities are in reality great possibilities!
• I am amazed that God can take what little I have to offer to Him and turn it into something useful for the kingdom.
• I believe in this church with God’s help we have all we need to reach this community; but it will take all of us offering what little we have to God.
• I am sure that at some point we have all felt that we did not have what we needed to feed the lost. We know the excuses. “I do not know enough.” What if I say the wrong thing?” “I will let the preacher do it.”
• Jesus will take what you have and He will multiply it so that you can do wha He has called you to do.
• Let’s conclude with a final thought found in verses 42-44.
• SLIDE #10
• Mark 6:42-44(ESV) 42And they all ate and were satisfied. 43And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
• SLIDE #11
IV. Jesus will fully satisfy your guests hunger.
• I love verse 42. THEY ALL ATE AND WERE SATISFIED!
• This verse says that they all ate. This includes the disciples.
• The disciples were satisfied because they ate and because they helped Jesus feed the people.
• When we serve Jesus we will walk away satisfied and fulfilled! In Jesus we find our purpose. When we have a group of people who find their satisfaction in Jesus, we will take this community by storm!
• The people came to Jesus and they left satisfied! Jesus fed them.
• Verse 43 tells us that Jesus so amply supplied the need that there were leftovers. The leftovers were gathered up so that they would not be wasted.
• Jesus will satisfy the emptiness you have inside that can only be filled with Him.
• Slide #12
• Matthew 11:28-29(ESV) 28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
CONCLUSION
• The feeding of the 5,000 left such an impression on the disciples that it was included in all four gospel accounts.
• We need to realize that even though we do not have enough on our own, that Jesus will double the recipe so that we can feed those who come to us and that the people we feed with the gospel will leave satisfied.
• The next time an unexpected dinner guest shows up in your life what are you going to do? Are you going to feed them or send them away?
• People are hungry for Jesus and the only way they will be fed is if WE FEED THEM!
• Are you trying to feed anyone with Jesus right now?
