COMPLACENCY OR CHRIST? (Mark 6:30-38)
I admit to you that I was quite taken up by all the pomp and circumstance leading up to and shortly following Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ. Churches were snapping up and selling tickets hurriedly. Media presses were heavily addressing every fiber of the movie’s existence. Crowds were consistently and feverishly flocking to the theaters to view “The Passion.” I have seen the movie three times. Ironically and suddenly to my eye, just as quick as the church and world flocked to the theaters to see “The Passion”, folks quickly moved away from the Passion to watch other movies or do some other things or go right back to doing and living how they were before the movie. God illustrates to us that Jesus demonstrated his passion for the world. Where in the world is our passion? God asks us today where is our passion. Is the church testifying and bearing witness to the good news that Jesus saves? Is the church being the light of world and the salt of the earth? It seems as if universally the church just comfortable being all-alone by itself. It seems as if the church is falling from everything and not standing for anything. Ladies and gentlemen and boys and girls, I present to you today from this biblical text a question “do you want complacency or Christ?” The title of today’s message is “DO YOU WANT COMPLACENCY OR CHRIST?”
This passage of scripture is a very popular scripture in all Christendom. This scripture has probably been expounded millions of times. This setting is very popular in the Bible. The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle of Jesus that is reported in all four of Gospel writings. If I were just make it simple and plain for you it would go like this:
After the murder of Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptizer, Jesus calls his apostles to go to a desert place to rest awhile. A crowd starts following them here, there, and everywhere. Jesus notices that crowd is lost and confused. Jesus has compassion on the crowd. He teaches them. The day passes forward. The disciples come to Jesus and they tell Jesus to send the crowd away into the towns go that the crowd can get something to eat. Jesus tells the disciples to give the crowd something to eat. The disciples say that they do not enough to get food for the crowd. While looking upward to God and praying, Jesus takes two fishes and five barley loaves multiplies the little meal into a grand feast that feeds five thousand persons. That is jest of the story on the surface if we are looking at the text with our physical eyes. Remember that God is speaking to us today so brothers and sisters come with me as dig deeper into the text.
Jesus is calling us to rest. People in today’s world do not get enough rest. People get caught in and accustomed to complacency because they do not get any rest. People are too busy running or rushing everywhere and that all movement causes them not to rest. People run to work. People run away to work. People run to eat a meal. People rush to bed. People rush to get dressed in order to go back to work. Little time is spent on God. Little time is spent devoted to God. Little time is spent for God. Can we hear what God is saying? Do we know that God is speaking to us? If you do not know that God is speaking to you and if you do not know what God is saying to you, I tell you know that it is time for you to rest. Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are laden and I will give you rest for my yolk is easy and my burden is light. GOD IS CALLING THE CHURCH TO REST.
Brothers and sisters, now we can look at Jesus and the disciples’ retreat to the desert place. Jesus and the disciples’ trip to the desert place is not a cool, calm, and relaxed trip. This trip is one that is interrupted by the crowd. The crowd, in essence, sees Jesus and the disciples moving in the direction to the desert place and the crowd beats them to that spot. Why in the world is there an old-fashioned camp meeting happening in the desert? Do not they know that there are hanging around in the desert? The desert is an unkept place. The desert is an unmanaged place. The desert is a wild place. The desert is a dry place. The desert is a hot place. The desert is an isolated place. Then the Lord moved on my mind and told me that the desert is not just a geographical location. The desert can be anywhere you are. The desert can be your house. The desert can be your job. The desert can be car. The desert can be your mind. The desert can be a place of separation. God moved on me one more time and spoke to me saying, “Look at the text, William, you are forgetting the main person who is in the desert. Jesus is in the desert place.” My dear friends, there is no need for despair, disappointment, and depression while we go through our desert experiences in life because Jesus is there in the desert with us to embrace and empower us. Do not be foolish or misled. God knows where you are. Jesus promised never to leave you or forsake you if you are faithful to him.
Jesus saw these people in the crowd. Jesus saw that these folks were running to Jesus but not running for Jesus. Jesus recognized that these people were lost. Not only were these people lost but also their lives were so mangled and mired that they were living like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus, being that Good Shepherd that he is, moves on the crowd with compassion and teaches. Jesus seeing that the crowd needs godly focus and mobility in its life begins to teach it and lead it. Yes, there are some times when no one else understands what is happening with one but you are never alone. God is always there hearing, seeing, and being concerned about our livelihood and situations. THERE IS NO NEED TO BE STUCK IN COMPLACENCY BECAUSE GOD IS CALLING US TO REGROUP. We never have to travel life’s roads by ourselves. God is always ready to provide us direction by we must seek it. God amazingly loves and cares for you in spite of our backgrounds and communities, or circumstances.
Brothers and sisters, I am sad to say that as long as there is good and evil and a heaven and hell, there will always be a player hater amongst a crowd who avertedly or inavertedly attempts to block God’s blessing. The people were getting blessed with Jesus feeding them spiritual food but the disciples started getting concerned about the people needing physical food. The disciples started being worried about where the crowd was in relation to its proximity to the nearest food supply. Shake the haters off of you. Shake the dirt off of your feet. Brush the dirt off your shoulders. The world is looking for Jesus. Do not try to block Jesus. The world wants to be in the church. Jesus makes the difference.
Jesus makes a statement to the disciples, “Give ye them to eat.” Jesus is saying in other words, “Give them something to eat.” The disciples’ reply is short and sharp. Jesus the request you gave us is insensitive and impossible. There is no way that it can be done. We do not have enough money to buy them food. We do not have enough money to buy them any food. The request that you have of us is straight crazy.
We can view the response of the disciples ‘reaction to Jesus’ request in two ways. First, we can look at the disciples’ reaction to Jesus’ request as a cowardly response to react in a godly manner to human situation. The disciples are so overwhelmed at the human situation that they forget that Jesus, a supernatural God, is with them in the midst of the situation. They turn tail. They are attempting to run away from the situation. Secondly, we can look at the disciples’ reaction to Jesus’ request as an ultimate surrender of negative situation from the hands of humankind into the hands of Almighty God. However you desire to look at the disciples Jesus takes charge of the matter and divinely handles everything in balance.
So, far from being insensitive to those around him, Jesus is the good shepherd, sits the crowd down “on the green grass” and meets their physical need. Psalm 23-The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Led by compassion to teach them (for man shall not live by bread alone), Jesus in compassion gives bread as well as fish. Jesus takes a poor little boy’s lunch (two fishes and five barley loaves). Furthermore, his seemingly insensitive demand of his disciples reveals his confidence in them as under shepherds; and that confidence is under girded by his power to provide all they need for the task with plenty left over for themselves (twelve baskets of leftovers).
GOD IS CALLING US TO FEED PEOPLE BY LIVING A HOLY LIFE AND TESTIFYING. The church needs to feed people holistically. The church is not the building. The church is not people but it is not about you. Belonging to Christ, we have a responsibility to build up this Christian community. We have a responsibility to be productive members of this body. In the community of God, there are no big “Is” or little “Us”. Each person counts in this community. God gives each person spiritual gifts, talents, and skills. This Christian life is a life to be lived in and with community. The church is about the “called-out” ones and the one who called them out their messes. We, Christians are brought together by our sharing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God does not care about what side of the tracks we were reared. God does not care about whether we came from a poor economic background or a rich economic background. God does not care about whether we are male or female or whether we are Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American. Represent God to you best ability. The goal is to bring folks to Christ in hopes that their souls get saved. As long as you know that you are God’s children and that God has the best crowd in which you could fit.
Christ performs miracles in spite of church folks. Christ did not send the church to fail. Christ expects us to succeed. Victory happens in spite of whomever or whatever. We possess a freedom in Christ. We receive a salvation that cannot be understood by the world. We receive this freedom through salvation because of God’s grace and mercy via Jesus Christ’s life, death on the cross, and resurrection. We cannot earn this gift because God has already given it to us freely. All God requires of us in this daily process is that we have the faith to believe that God has genuinely and ultimately shown his grace and mercy to us. We, having this freedom in salvation, are free from the power of sin if we continuously embrace this notion. Through our embracing of this notion, we illustrate how we can be “in the world” but not “of the world.” We still will face persecutions, trials, troubles, concerns, and dilemmas but we can rise to stand victoriously over any situation. We are enslaved or bound to sin whereby we remain imprisoned. We live freely through the power of the Holy Spirit. We can the godly things and live in God’s will and way. GOD IS CALLING US LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AND TESTIFY.
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE TODAY: COMPLACENCY OR CHRIST?
