Living Through The Nothings
Pt. 1 - Public Exposure
It is one of my least favorite words. Nothing. It is a word that reveals lack. It holds no element of promise. It contains no ounce of hope. Let me see if I can explain.
You share your heart for the one you love and the response is . . . nothing. No reciprocation. No run to embrace. No race to romance.
You spend hours working on your grand, earth shaking, world changing idea and you share it with a confidant . . . nothing. No response. No affirmation. No celebration! Nothing!
You spend hours prepping the sermon filled with hope, challenge, and insight and as you deliver it and call for response or action . . . nothing! No movement. No application.
The demand is there but the resource is not! The need is apparent the solution is not. A withdrawal is requested but there seems to be no funds. Energy is a must but the tanks are empty! Nothing in the cabinets. Nothing in the bank. Nothing in reserve. Relationship longed for but nothing. Nothing!
I hate the word. I hate the experience even more.
I wonder if maybe some of you are presently living through a nothing moment?
Expectations unmet? Dry when you expected oasis? Caring has become cursing. Wedding turned to war. Health lost to sickness. Healing only a desire. Nothing.
How do you live through that?
There are several "Nothing" accounts in Scripture that I think we would do well to examine and learn from this morning. If all your dreams are coming to pass and life is all fairy tale endings for you then you are not going to understand or need this series. But for the rest of us maybe this will provide some help if not hope.
Text: Matthew 15:29-34, 38
After Jesus returned, he walked along Lake Galilee and then climbed a mountain and took his place, ready to receive visitors. They came, tons of them, bringing along the paraplegic, the blind, the maimed, the mute—all sorts of people in need—and more or less threw them down at Jesus’ feet to see what he would do with them. He healed them. When the people saw the mutes speaking, the maimed healthy, the paraplegics walking around, the blind looking around, they were astonished and let everyone know that God was blazingly alive among them. But Jesus wasn’t finished with them. He called his disciples and said, “I hurt for these people. For three days now they’ve been with me, and now they have nothing to eat. I can’t send them away without a meal—they’d probably collapse on the road.” His disciples said, “But where in this deserted place are you going to dig up enough food for a meal?” Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”“Seven loaves,” they said, “plus a few fish.” . . .
Over four thousand people ate their fill at that meal.
The disciples find themselves in "nothing" moment and situation. Faced with a throng, multitude and mob of over 4,000 people (one version states 4,000 was the number of men only) they are put on the spot by Jesus. Jesus has a moment of compassion but He does so at the expense of His disciples. Out of nowhere He asks the disciples to resource His rescue and you guessed it . . . they come up with nothing. "I want to feed this crowd and I want you to not only serve them I want you to find the food necessary to do it!" And in face of the incredible need the disciples are left grasping for words and straws. Head down in embarrassment, feet kicking dirt, and hands twitching in realization that public exposure is coming! Jesus . . . I can't hear you . . . Uhhhhh . . . Jesus how are we supposed to have the resources necessary for this crowd? Where are we supposed to find this much food? And what do we have? Seven loaves or in other words NOTHING!!!!
There are a couple of things about this scene that speak to me personally that I want to share with you.
a. Jesus publicly exposes our nothing!
It was one thing to realize that the disciples didn't have the resources to feed the folks but to expose their deficiency, lack, shortcoming, and nothing publicly was something entirely different. He could have pulled them into a side hill (room) but instead right in front of God and everyone . . . here are thousands of people you guys do something about it. Talk about being put on the spot and exposed! Lack is looming over them! Losers! Jesus looks at them and explains His expectations for them and they can't live up to them. Talk about being called out. Talk about public problems.
Have you ever noticed that as hard as we try to convince everyone that we have it all in order and all together that Jesus has this nasty and necessary habit of publicly exposes our nothing? I hate that! I would rather be seen as competent and sufficient. I would rather be seen as whole and wealthy. I would rather be seen as powerful and proficient and over and over again Jesus' exposes our lack! Why? Does He get off on making us look like fools? Does it make His day to make us the target of ridicule? Why won't He allow us to hide our nothing?
I believe this account teaches us that Jesus publicly exposes our nothings so that we are not only forced to admit our lack but also so that we have to rely on Him rather than on any other substitute. I will say it again . . . we are too self sufficient for our own good. Faced with need, pain, hurt, sickness so often we suffer in silence and in isolation simply because we don't want anyone to know that we have nothing! We like to convince others that we don't need anything or anyone. And Jesus knows that if He doesn't pull the covers back and expose our nothing then we become satisfied and comfortable with lack and fill it with other things so that we don't have to address the need!
In fact, I believe one of the reasons He exposed their nothing publicly was that it required them to face the hopelessness of their own efforts. On their best day, most anointed day they would never be able to secure enough food for this crowd. Jesus knew that and yet He still asks them to try on their own. He set them up for to fail forward. By exposing their nothing He brings them to a place where they are forced to realize that on their own the situation was indeed entirely hopeless. (Slide 13) Could it be that the nothing you are facing is God's attempt to force you to quit trying to make it on your own? Could it be that God is trying to force you to learn to rely on Him? Could it be that God is trying to force you to learn to lean on others?
We only want to approach God and others from a position of power. But Jesus forces these guys to come forward in lack! It might do us well to be reminded that in our weakness His strength is made perfect. So does that then mean that in our strength His strength is absent? He will let you try to fix your relationship on your own only to fail. He will allow you to try to live on your own ability to make ends meet. He will allow you to try to fix your issue yourself. All in an attempt to get you to admit your need for Him!
b. Jesus exposes the lie of lack.
They try to put it back on Jesus. Where are YOU going to find food? Jesus puts it right back on them . . . What do you have? The size of the need overwhelmed the truth. Jesus exposes the lie of lack! Well really we have 7 loaves. How many of you know that very often we allow our nothings to keep us from doing something. (Slide 15) We cannot allow what we cannot do keep us from doing what we can do. If we are not careful, then we will allow lack to limit us! When in fact there is only one lack that can limit us . . . lack of faith! Although in light of the crowd they did have nothing, upon further review, they could do something.
And in the nothings we must remember that Jesus requires us to participate in our miracle. Our something may look like nothing because of lack but our something is probably the key to unlocking His supply!
The truth is in light of what you owe you do have nothing . . . but you probably have something.
The truth is in light of the condition of your marriage now you feel like you can do nothing . . . but you can do something.
The truth is in light of your physical condition you can't do what you used to do but you can do something.
The nothing season or moments in our life try to sideline us and stop us! The nothings try to get us to do nothing! If we are not careful "Nothing . . . can stop us now!" (Only you old folks will get that!)
This mindset is the reason people beg for what they need and buy what they want. Because when you start talking about your needs they are so great you feel like can do so little that you allow little to equal nothing. I am about to go all Southern Gospel on you and remind you that "Little is much when God is in it!"
This is why people who still have so much to offer will sit down on their gifts, wallow in pain, wallow in pity and give up because they only see the lack, the nothing and never see that they have something and Jesus can use it!
This was the place Peter came to . . . silver and gold have a I none . . . I have nothing . . . but my nothing won't stop my something . . . cause what I do have I give unto thee in the name of Jesus get up and walk. We seldom ever get to the what I do have. We seldom ever get to the seven loaves. We stagnate and fixate on the nothing and therefore we see no one healed and no one fed.
What can you do? Nothing! Really?
What can you give? Nothing! Really?
What can you accomplish? Nothing! Really?
What can you change? Nothing! Really?
Don't buy the lie of lack!
You are in a season of nothing but don't let the nothing keep you in nothing! The public exposure of living in the nothings is painful. However, you have to live through it and see that God is resourcing you!
