Always More Than Enough

Take your Bibles and open them to Luke chapter 9. Luke chapter 9 and find verses 10 through 17.

! That's our text for this morning. Luke chapter 9 verses 10 through 17. Let me go ahead and read God's Word.

And the apostles, when they had returned, by the way, remember last time they'd been on a short-term mission trip. When they returned, they had report time, showed some pictures, gave a little testimony.

Well, they didn't show any pictures. When they returned, they told him, told Jesus all that they had done. Then he took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.

But when the multitudes knew it, and they always seemed to know it because they followed him everywhere, they followed him and he received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who had need of healing.

When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to him, send the multitudes away that they may go into the surrounding towns and country and lodge and get provisions, for we are in a deserted place here.

And he said to them, you give them something to eat. And they said, we have no more than five loaves and two fish unless we go and buy food for all these people, for there were about five thousand men.

Then he said to his disciples, make them sit down in groups of fifty. And they did so. Made them all sit down.

Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled.

The twelve baskets, twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. Familiar story?

Pretty familiar. If we're familiar with any of the great miracles of the Lord Jesus, we're certainly familiar with this one. It's one of the famous ones.

I want to begin, though, with a quote. Someone has said, and I'm going to listen to this very carefully, someone has said that with Jesus, less would not satisfy, but nothing more could be desired.

Now think about that for a moment. Anything less than Jesus will never satisfy you, right? Never satisfy you.

But when you have Jesus, then nothing more could be desired. Do you believe that? I believe that that's the primary purpose of this passage.

I know the miracle is there, and it's awesome, and certainly it gives testimony to the supernatural power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we know all about that part of it, but the primary message is, I think, the point of that quote that I just gave you.

Let me just spend a little bit of our time, though, kind of setting up the whole scene for the miracle. Now I know it's all set up for us there in the passage, but you know that this miracle is found in other places in Scripture, some of the other Gospels, and so just kind of bringing them all together.

Let me just see if I can describe the setup for one of the greatest miracles that Jesus ever performed. You might be amazed, by the way, to know that this is the only miracle of the Lord Jesus that is recorded in all four Gospels.

The only one. That's kind of amazing, isn't it? I guess it's one of two if you want to count the resurrection, and I think we ought to count the resurrection. But where he performed miracles, this is the only one that appears in all four Gospels.

All right, so let's set this up in our minds. You, again, and I mentioned this a moment ago, you remember that we looked last week in that passage where Jesus sent the disciples out, and they went on this short-term mission trip, you know, and he sent them out, and verse 6 says that they went through the towns of Galilee, that would be in the region of Galilee, and they went everywhere doing what?

Preaching the Gospel and healing. It says preaching the Gospel and healing everywhere. All right, we looked at that last week. And if you've ever participated in a short-term mission trip, then you know how physically and spiritually and emotionally drained that kind of work can be.

And so the apostles, it's pretty clear, the apostles were absolutely worn out, wrung out. They were wiped out. And that is, of course, partly why we have in verse 10 Jesus taking them, and he went aside, the Bible says here, privately into a deserted place, a place of privacy, a place where they could be alone, away from the crowds, where they could have some rest and relaxation.

Mark's account even has Jesus saying directly to his disciples, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.

Because that's what they needed, right? And so that's why he did that. Partly anyway, but I think there's another reason why he did this. Because Jesus himself not only needed rest from time to time, but in this particular instance, Jesus needed time alone for reflection and prayer.

And especially at this particular time in his life. Because we learn from Matthew, now Luke kind of mentions this, but we learn directly from Matthew, in Matthew 14, that Jesus had just been told about the death of John the Baptist.

That news had just come to him. It was very fresh. Herod, remember, had had John the Baptist beheaded. And who was John to Jesus? He was his cousin.

He was a member of the family. And so Jesus, of course, loved John in a very unique way, special way. And Jesus also honored John's ministry.

We know that from Scripture. Jesus even said of John the Baptist, he said that he was the greatest prophet who ever lived. And Jesus also knew that John was the forerunner of the one who would announce his messianic ministry.

And so with John's death, the news of John's death, that was a signal, very clear, very direct signal, or even a reminder to Jesus that his death was coming very soon.

And so he just needed time. Time to reflect upon these things. And that's why we have in Matthew 14, 14, the Bible saying that when Jesus heard it, heard what?

About John's death. that he departed from there by boat to a deserted place. And the other Gospels tell us that he took the apostles with him. So we're just kind of setting up the story here for this great miracle.

And so, though Luke doesn't really tell us this, Matthew, Mark, and John, all three of them tell us that the disciples went by boat. They traveled by boat to this deserted place. The destination was, the Bible says, Bethsaida, which was located just a couple of miles, a few miles north of the, on the Jordan River, north of the Sea of Galilee, at that point where the Jordan empties into the Sea of Galilee.

So just a short little trip by boat. Now all four Gospel accounts record that a great multitude not only discovered where Jesus was going, but they followed him there.

Followed him. And according to Matthew and Mark, they followed Jesus not by boat, but by foot. They walked there. And Mark even tells us that the crowd got there before Jesus and the disciples arrived.

And actually this is believable because it would have been a really short walk around the northwestern side of the Sea of Galilee. And the boat, Jesus' boat, would have been in view all of the time.

And so there was no way that Jesus and the apostles were going to escape the notice of the crowds. And so they followed Jesus there. Now why did they follow him? We might insert here.

They followed him, not, the Bible says, in fact, Mark, Matthew, Mark, and John, all three of those Gospel accounts tell us that the crowds followed Jesus not because of his teaching, but what do you suppose?

His miracles. Yeah, and ultimately his food. His miracles. That's why they followed him. Now, the story's not told yet. I mean, I've not told the entire thing yet, but that, I think, helps us to settle this up in our minds, gives us an adequate setup for this tremendous miracle, great miracle.

But I need to say to you at this point that there's much more here than just a miracle, okay? Don't just focus on the miracle. And the miracle speaks a great deal to us, a tremendous message to us as we shall see.

But don't just think this is all about a miracle. There's something more here, even though it was a great miracle. The passage is about the all-sufficient Christ.

That's what this is about. Other miracles that Luke records for us and the other gospel accounts record to us certainly speak about the sovereignty of Christ, and certainly that's the case here.

But the main point is the sufficiency, all-sufficiency of Christ, that when it comes to this life, and really beyond, but especially in this life, Jesus is always more than enough.

Amen? Let me say that again. In this life, Jesus is always more than enough.

Amen? Right now, I've kind of led you down a path. Are you really sure about that? We say amen to something is because we really believe it.

And it is our experience. But do we really believe it? And I think maybe even before we get into the passage, examine your own outlook on life as a believer, and then tell yourself or realize to yourself, you don't have to tell me, is Jesus really more than enough?

Do you really believe it? For example, apply that to what you have in your life. Most of us have a lot. I mean a lot. Compare to most of this world, we have a lot.

We're millionaires compared to most people in this world. And so just, for example, apply that that Jesus is more than enough. Apply that to what you have in life.

Do you love what you have? Do you love it perhaps too much? And do you love it so much that holding on to it is more important than anything else?

At least more important than it should be. Or is Jesus really enough? And better yet, apply that to what you don't have, but want.

We have that list, don't we? List of things we want, what we desire in life. And so compare this to that. Do you desire to have more of something other than Jesus?

Just be honest. Or is Jesus enough? And maybe even better than that, and here's the real clincher, apply that to what you have lost.

what you have lost. And we've all lost things, lost people. Is that loss more precious to you than Jesus?

Or is Jesus more precious than anything you've ever had and lost? Interesting, isn't it?

And it's a difficult issue. I'll be the first to admit it to you. I'm talking about the issue of the all-sufficiency of Christ. It's a difficult thing to work out in our minds and now that we're really thinking about it in terms that I have just presented it.

It's a difficult issue. But we can learn something about that in this passage. And I would also say to you that this passage really teaches us more than just the all-sufficiency of Christ for us personally.

I would love for us to camp out there, but it speaks really more to His sufficiency as it applies to our ministry to others.

And that's really where I want us to focus this morning. Now, I dealt with this about is Christ enough for us personally because we need to come to grips with that.

But the focus really is more on is He enough for us as we minister to others?

So that we can very resolutely, very confidently, proclaim to others that Jesus is enough for you. He's enough.

And so this is what we need to learn this morning from this passage. It is His sufficiency, you see, that enables us to minister to the needs of others.

And those needs are all around us. And so when it comes to ministering to others, and we've all been called to do that, then inadequacy is what defines us.

But sufficiency is what defines the Lord Jesus Christ. that's what we need to learn. There are three things that we need to do when it comes to ministering to others.

considering Jesus, considering Jesus, first we must share His compassion. compassion. That's number one.

to share His compassion. to share His compassion. That is compassion for people. And we see that displayed here in this passage so profoundly.

And not just here, but in many places in the gospel. The compassion of Christ for people. And so when it comes to ministering to others, and again, we've all been called to do that, then we must first of all share His compassion.

His compassion for people. Now, given the set of circumstances here from the passage, could you have done what Jesus did? Or would you have? Now, we know for what purpose Jesus retreated with His disciples into that deserted place in some place around Bethsaida.

We know why He did that. For reflection, for restoration, for relaxation, for recreation, for rest, and all those things. In fact, Mark tells us that Jesus actually wanted to get away from the crowds.

He actually wanted that. And Mark tells us why. In Mark 6.31, the Bible says, because so many people were coming and going that they, that is Jesus and the disciples, did not even have a chance to eat.

He said to His apostles, based upon that, come with me to a quiet place and get some rest. That's what Jesus wanted. It was His desire to get off into a quiet place, to get away from the crowds, to get away from the people.

And that's very clear from the Bible. But, of course, when they got out of the boat there near Bethsaida, guess what? The crowds were already there. They were there to greet Him.

They were there waiting for Him. Now, what would you have done in that case? You're tired, worn out, you're in great need, desperate need of rest.

What would you have done? Well, what did Jesus do? Verse 11 says, He received them. Now, that's putting it mildly.

And I guess that's the best we could do with our English language. He received them. Some versions have welcomed them, but it was much more than that. The Greek word here is the word dekomai, which doesn't mean anything to most of us, but it means to, literally, to take hold of with the hand.

Now, that's interesting. And it's very visual, isn't it? That is, when Jesus got out of the boat and there are the crowds, the multitude, He welcomed them warmly.

He actually physically received them. We can kind of picture that. He got off the boat and He's already got His hands around them and He's gathering them unto Himself.

That's the meaning behind this. Some, again, have translated this, welcome. He welcomed them. Now, the idea is not that Jesus, you know, got out of the boat and saw the crowds and thought, oh my, well, this is what it is and I'll just do my best.

You know. I don't think there was any look of reluctance. Now, I'm just trying to think how I would have reacted and I might have gone on with it and preached and ministered but I think it would have been pretty easy to read on my face that, listen, listen people, I'm dead dog tired and not with Jesus.

He welcomed them so that they, I believe the crowds, they had no even thought, no notion whatsoever that Jesus was too tired to care for them, to minister to them, to see them.

They got no indication from Him that maybe they were being a bother, maybe imposing upon Him. I've had people say to me, see, I know you're a busy pastor or I'll get out of your hair right now, I know you're tired and busy and I'm thinking, well, do I look like that?

And apparently I do. Not with Jesus. Not a bother to Him. And why? Why did Jesus receive them in this way?

Well, Luke doesn't really give us any details about it. Doesn't tell us anything about it. But Mark does. In Mark chapter 6, verse 34, the Bible says that when He saw a great multitude, He was moved, listen to this, moved with compassion for them.

because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. That explains it all right there. He was moved with compassion. Now, this too is really, really a deep kind of emotion the Bible's talking about here.

Moved with compassion is from a single word in the Greek text. It's one of those big mile long ones. Splagnizomai. You just write that down. And just thankful you're not sitting on the front pew up here.

It might have spat on you. But what it means is tremendous. And at first you're going to think, well, I don't know. Because it means to be moved in your bowels.

Ugh. That's not what you're thinking. You have to understand the Hebrew culture. And to the Hebrews the bowels the bowels were the location or the seat of love and compassion.

That is, to them in very simplified terms that's where you experience those deep feelings of compassion and love for people. The Bible speaks of the bowels of mercy.

Now, that's King James. That's the idea. Splagnizami. I mean, it was deep inside of him. When Jesus got out of the boat, he looked at the crowds and he was suddenly moved, overcome with compassion that he could feel deep down inside of his guts.

In fact, those would be the terms we would use. Guts. Damn in the gut. All right. I'll get away from that word. I like the way Alexander McLaren put it.

He said, Jesus was moved with pity. They seemed to him not merely a mob of intrusive sightseers, though they were, by the way, many of them, but rather they seemed to him like a huddled mass of unshepherded sheep.

Wow. Do we see our world that way? Do we even see our part of the world that way?

It's easy to go someplace like China because that's very visual, very obvious. You can't help but feel down deep in your guts.

These people are just a huddled, kind of a huddled mass of sheep without shepherd, a shepherd. No direction, no hope, nothing.

Do we see our world that way? See, this is self-denying, self-sacrificing, compassion for people. And Jesus was physically and emotionally worn out as were the apostles, but he welcomed them with open arms, he taught them the kingdom of God, and he ministered to them through healing in this instance and he fed them.

He did all of these things as a response, as a response to his compassion for them. And who, and here's the point, who witnessed this?

Who witnessed this? This extraordinary compassion? The apostles did. And by extension, we witnessed this.

In this passage, we're witnessing the compassion of Christ. And so Jesus is our example. He is our model, our model for ministry, a ministry that every one of us have been called to.

Now, it does seem beyond us to be like that, right? Do you have a sense of that? I mean, when you put it in those terms, this seems beyond us and possible.

But understand, Jesus' eyes could see deeper than ours. That is part of the explanation why Jesus could always do this, and we sometimes can't or won't toward.

Jesus' eyes could see deeper into the lives of people, into their set of circumstances, into their need, their lostness, their hopelessness.

He could look deeper into their lives, and because he could see deeper, then his heart responded more lovingly and compassionately.

So does that leave us out? leave us with no hope of ever sharing his compassion? No, because the key is that if we will live our lives closer, nearer to Jesus, then we might begin to see what he sees in the lives of people, the people that are all around us every single day.

We might begin to see more of what he sees. At least we would see enough to share his compassion, compassion for people. I would insert here at the same time we learn something about his compassion for us here.

Because if Jesus could have this kind of extraordinary compassion for a crowd of people he did not even know, I mean from a human perspective, he didn't know them.

if he could show this kind of compassion for people he did not even know and had absolutely no relationship with, if he could do that, then we know that he has compassion for us.

Deep compassion for us. And so this is the first thing when it comes to ministering to others, and we've all been called to do that. Some of us on a long-term basis, some of us vocationally, some of us as just leaders and volunteers in various aspects of the ministry of this church, but for all of us in specific times and instances we are called upon to minister to other people.

So if we're going to do that then we must share his compassion. Second, we must secure his provision. And this is getting us deeper into the meaning and the message here in this particular passage, the message of this miracle.

We must secure his provision. Now here's an important reality. It's one thing to feel compassion for people. It's one thing to do that.

But it's quite another thing to always have what they need. Right? Isn't that where the challenge is? And we might even be able to say that it's really a small, kind of a relatively small step when it comes to sharing the compassion of Christ for people.

It's a small step for that. Because we're the people of God. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Jesus lives in us in that sense.

And so it ought to be very natural for us to be compassionate toward other people. We of all people should have a tendency toward compassion.

But compassion for those in need without provision is pretty empty.

You know, it's just pretty empty. It's pretty meaningless. At least it is to those who are in need. Because they need something. They don't need just your feelings of compassion.

They need something. So that's quite another thing, isn't it? And the disciples learned that, I think, also in this passage. And we can learn it too. Let's look at the story again. It's pretty incredible.

all day. I think we can assume that all day, I mean, after they got off the boat and Jesus begins teaching and ministering and so forth, all day the disciples, I think, have been watching Jesus, ministering to the needs of this mass of people.

And I can imagine, and I think it's safe to imagine this, that as the day was wearing on, they began thinking, you know, we're getting hungry.

hungry. And these people are surely getting hungry and there's no food, no place to get food, no place for lodging.

I mean, certainly not enough food to feed this many people. And so what are we going to do? And they're thinking this, you know, as the day is wearing on. And they develop a plan.

They, in fact, make a very, I think, sensible suggestion to Jesus, given the circumstances. In verse 12, they said, send the multitude away. I'm not being ugly here.

I mean, they're just really asking Jesus, why don't you dismiss this crowd for a time? They may go into the surrounding towns and country and lodge and get provisions for we are in a deserted place here.

I'm not being ugly. I don't think we should criticize them for not anticipating a miracle at this point. Maybe that's your thought. Maybe we're thinking negative thoughts about these apostles.

And we want to say to them, don't you know who Jesus is? Don't you know that he could take care of this with a miracle? And we only say that because we have already read about the miracle. We shouldn't criticize them too much.

And it's interesting, really, when you look at the gospel accounts, that no matter how many miracles they saw Jesus perform, they never seem to be expecting another one. Have you ever wondered about that?

And I think we need to cut them a little slack because, you see, in their travels with Jesus, there was always a kind of mixture of the miraculous and the natural.

So much so that they never really knew what was going to rule at any given moment. And I think we would be the same. And then you add to that the obvious thing, their faith was feeble.

Jesus even said it was. And are we any different? I don't imagine we would have been any different in that given circumstance.

Do you think that our, that your faith, my faith, our faith is any less feeble than that of the apostles? I don't really think so. And so it was a reasonable question.

What was Jesus' response? His response really caught them off guard. He said in verse 13, you give them something to eat.

I don't think they were expecting that. Do you think? Even if in the back of their minds they thought, well, maybe Jesus will perform some kind of miracle, even if that was the case, and I don't think that was the case, they certainly were not prepared for Jesus to say to them, really by way of command, you feed them.

You feed them. And really any thinking person at the time, and even, even for us today as we see that, read that, you know, this command would not only be unreasonable, it would have been absurd.

Absurd. Jesus, in fact, John's account brings this out a little bit more forcefully than Luke does. In John 6, 9, the disciples said, well, there is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish.

So John tells us where they got the food. But, listen to what they said, or they asked, what are they among so many? Translation, that's absurd.

and even unreasonable. But the question is valid. What are they to so many people? It's a valid question.

But we need to understand something here about, something vital about the message of this to us. What we need to learn here.

Jesus certainly knew that the disciples could not feed all these people. don't think for one moment that Jesus thought they could do it. They could pull it off. He knew.

By the way, Luke says that the crowd consisted of how many men? 5,000. About 5,000 men.

And he's very, very deliberate about that. Very clear. Very specific. 5,000 men. Now, I think there were some women there that day.

Don't you think? I think we can assume that there were women there and children too. We already know there was a little boy there with a sack of lunch.

He's not counting them. There could have been as many as 15,000. Maybe as many as 20,000. Maybe more. We don't really know. We know there is at least more than 5,000. That's a lot of people.

Even if you take the lower number. And Jesus knew that the disciples could not feed all of those people. And also, I would say that Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do.

He knew it all along. He knew it. But what's he doing here? He's going to do more than just meet the need of these 5,000 or 20,000, however many there were.

He's going to do far more than just meet their need. What he's going to do is teach his disciples and us a valuable lesson about ministry. You see, when Jesus told them to feed the crowd, he was really wanting them to realize their inadequacy, their insufficiency.

They even admitted it. Remember? We have 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. What is that to so many people? Exactly! That's the whole point.

And so here's the lesson for us. Jesus lays upon us specific points of service.

and he does so in order that we may discover how impotent we are and how totally lacking, totally inadequate we are.

That's why it's always gratifying to me when I approach someone in the church and say, well, you know, I really want you to consider serving in such and such way.

And it's gratifying to me to hear them say, I don't think I know how. I don't, I can't do it. I'm just not strong enough or smart enough for whatever they say.

And that's exactly the truth. And whether God has laid upon you some, you know, long-term kind of ministry, Sunday school teacher, deacon, or something, something else, or whether it is just simply the day in, day out opportunities that the Lord brings to you for you to do ministry.

And that person is looking to you for help. Regardless of the scenario, the Lord lays upon us, brings into our path specific points of service in order for us to discover that we don't have it.

We don't have it in it. We may have all the compassion in the world, but we don't have the provision. Now that doesn't mean then, of course, that we are to decide to avoid those opportunities.

And that's the whole point here. It is just simply that we are to recognize that we don't have, we're not adequate. We're not adequate.

And so if you will look, you know, with compassion on people, the Lord will bring some of those people into your life and He will say, you feed them. You minister to their need.

You give them an answer to their problem. People come to you with a problem? An issue in their life? And God says, you counsel them.

You give them the biblical answers. You teach them. You lead them. And you say, Lord, I mean, you know what I have to offer.

How little it is. How small it is. You know that, don't you, Lord? I can't feed them what they really need. I can't minister to their real need. I don't have the answer to their problem.

I can't solve those things. I don't have the right counsel. I don't know what to tell them or what to do for them, how to meet their need. And if we would have ears at that point, we would hear the Lord say to us, that's right.

You don't. And your resources are inadequate. I can't tell you how many times that I have been in this similar situation to the apostles as your pastor.

And the Lord says to me, He says, you feed them. Whether we're talking about the weekly duties of this pulpit ministry, or some counseling event, or some grieving church member, or some member that is confused about some point of doctrine, or it's some point of leadership in the body, or it's some issue that threatens the health and well-being of the congregation, whatever it is, God says, Don, you feed them.

You feed them. And I say, I don't have it in me. And God says, That's right. I'm glad you realized that.

I tell you, Chris, our youth pastor knows all about this. Jonathan, he knows all about this, experiences this all the time.

Great task that God has put before us, whether it's ministry to an individual, or to the entire congregation, there are times, many times, when we just ask, now have it.

I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. These people are looking to me for an answer, and I don't have it. And we need to be honest.

Hear God say, that's exactly right, you don't. I think deacons experience this. Some who've been deacons for years.

Mike, you know this. Deacons who've been in that ministry for a very short time especially. Huh? Collie, don't you know?

Faced with the ministry, ministry, and I just don't have it. I don't have it. I don't know how. And that's the first step that we must all take.

Because every one of us have been called, every one of us, been called to minister to the huddled masses of unshepherded people. people. And so, if we'll learn that first lesson, that we are totally inadequate, then we must turn to the all-sufficient one who is Christ.

He's all-sufficient. And so, the first thing we must do, and you can just get this right from the text, right from the story. First thing we must do is to hear and obey His word.

We're going to secure His provision. For a task in ministry that is beyond this, impossible, then we must hear and obey His word.

That's the first step, and that's exactly what the disciples did. In verse 14, then said, Jesus said, this is His word to the disciples, make them sit down in groups of 50, and they did so.

They obeyed. They heard His word and obeyed. That's the first step. If we're going to be able to minister to those when we don't have the resources.

We must hear and obey His word. Second thing we must do is give to Jesus everything we have, no matter how meager it is. Isn't that right here in the passage?

Verse 16, then Jesus took from the disciples the five loaves and two fishes. I mean, their resources were small. I mean, their resources were grossly inadequate for the need.

I mean, clearly. But they turned their resources over to Jesus. It doesn't take much thought to figure out the lesson here for us.

Certainly no explanation for me. It's all I have, Jesus. It's all I have, but I give it all to you. And then third, the third thing we must do is to trust God and act by faith.

So, we realize we're inadequate. That's the first step. God says, that's right. And then we hear and obey His word.

And we continue to hear and obey His word. And then we give everything we have to Jesus. And then third, we trust God and act by faith. We walk by faith. John, verse 16, then He took the five loaves and the two fish and looked up to heaven.

He blessed and broke them. So, He took their resources, blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to do what? To set before the people.

Do you think any of this made any sense to these disciples? I mean, it doesn't even make any sense to me. You know, they had five loaves of bread and two fish, but there were thousands of hungry people, and Jesus says, okay, have them sit down in groups of 50.

Well, I don't know why, but we'll do it. They're probably thinking, what? But nevertheless, thy word. And so they do it.

And then Jesus takes that little boy's sack lunch, and by the way, I don't think it was even enough to feed him, and He blesses it, and He starts handing it to the disciples to then give to the people.

And they're thinking, what? What? This can't work. You think they might have been thinking that?

But what are they doing? They're doing it. They're trusting Jesus, and they're acting according to faith. They had no idea how this was all going to work out.

Never in their wildest dreams would they have expected this. Do you see the lesson for us? To acknowledge our inadequate resources, to give what we have to Jesus, no matter how meager it may seem to us, and hear and obey His instructions, His word.

Do what He says do. Trust Him. Act according to faith. Not according to human understanding, because it almost never makes any sense humanly.

But they acted according to faith in the all sufficiency of Christ. And what did they see? tremendous miracle. Tremendous miracle.

And that leads to the final point. There are three things we need to do when it comes to ministering to the needs of others. Share His compassion, secure His provision, and third, see His satisfaction.

See His satisfaction. Remember my quote from the beginning of the sermon? With Jesus, less would not satisfy, but nothing more could be desired. That is the ultimate lesson of this passage, this great miracle.

A lesson that we need to learn, can learn, should learn personally for us in our relationship with the Lord, but it's also a lesson truth that has I think great ramifications for ministry.

Look closely at this miracle. Verse 16, He took the five loaves and the two fish. So He started with what they had.

And looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, the loaves and the fish. And so what is He doing? He's setting it apart, sanctifying the disciples' limited resources, sanctifying it for His divine use.

that I think is what this is talking about. Now watch this next part very closely. And gave them, blessed and broken pieces, gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.

That's how it's translated in the New King James. And I think pretty close to the King James. And the full meaning, let's fair closely, the full meaning of this is a little bit lost in this particular version.

That's why you need to go back to the original language. Or at least read those who can do that. Find out a little something about the wording here.

Because it's more than He just gave it to them. The New American Standard is the only very, well, New Living Translation also brings this out, believe it or not.

But the New American Standard captures this perfectly. Because it really takes it and gives us a very literal literal translation of the wording here. And so it reads this way.

He blessed them and broke them. That's the loaves and the fish. And, listen to this, kept giving them. to the disciples.

Now, this is really neat. The word is didomai, and it means to give. But it's the form of the word in the Greek grammar that is important.

I won't get into that. It's active. It's an active verb. And it means continuous action. Now, this is important.

And it's very visual. Because here, here's what it conveys. That the pieces of the bread and the fish were multiplying under his divine touch.

So he's breaking it, and the pieces are in his hands, and he gives them to the disciples. He continues to break, and he gives them to the disciples, and he keeps on giving them to the disciples.

It's a continuous thing. And so here is the idea. Each time the disciples came back to Jesus with empty hands, they always found Jesus' hands full.

This is a tremendous, tremendous miracle, tremendous lesson. I don't have to, do I really have to explain that lesson for us?

Our hands are always empty. Now, when he fills them, we need to give. And our hands are empty. We go back to Jesus, his hands are always full.

It's a continuous pouring out of his provision as long as we keep going to him for it. It's a tremendous miracle.

A miracle that day with physical bread and fish, but it's a miracle that keeps being done, by the Lord, constantly, for his servants.

willing to serve him and minister to people. Really, the lesson gets even better and it comes toward the end of the passage.

Verse 17, so they all ate and were satisfied. They were filled, satisfied.

satisfied. You see, his satisfaction of their need, it's just so clear. And then what?

Were he surprised by what comes next? And 12 baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by the disciples. He more than satisfies.

He is more than enough. More than enough. Now, it was not hard for him to perform this miracle.

It was the easiest thing in the world for him to take this sack lunch, these loaves of bread and a couple of fish. It was the easiest thing in the world for Jesus to break that and multiply it and perform this miracle.

The question is not, does he have the power, does he possess the power to provide everything that I really need? That's never the question. Now, hopefully you don't have that question.

It should never be the question. He possesses that power for us personally and our own personal needs but also for our need as we serve others, as we minister to others.

There's no question he possesses that power. The question is and always has been, do we believe that his provision is enough?

Do we really believe that he is enough? That he is enough more than enough? See, with Jesus, with him, less would never say this story.

Less than him. but with him, nothing could be desired. . Thank you.