LUKE 9:10-17 HIS PART AND YOUR PART2012 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 9:10-17 His Part And Your Part

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2012. A very famous story of the time that Jesus fed 5,000 people. And I've titled the message for this morning, our time together, His Part and Your Part.

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Because as we look at this passage of scripture, of course it is an amazing miracle, but we get to see the different roles that are played as this miracle takes place. We see the part that Jesus fulfills and what is his responsibility, as well as the part that the disciples fill and their responsibility.

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And I want to share with you six points this morning regarding his part and your part. Now this is usually, usually I have three or four points, so I know it's a little bit more, so make sure you get your pen ready, your paper ready, mark down these points, because these are essential points for every believer in Jesus Christ.

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Because these are things that pertain to all ministry which you and I are called to. Last week we talked about the subject of disciples. It's a subject we'll be looking at for several weeks to come here in chapter 9 of Luke. And you as a believer in Jesus are called to be a disciple. Called to be one who is obedient to the Lord after hearing from him that you walk with him in obedience. And

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And in doing so, you are called to ministry. You're called to participate in the work of the kingdom of God. You're called to participate in things like the outreaches. You're called to share the gospel with others. You're called to pray for people. You're called to be a witness for Jesus Christ to the world around you. It's what you and I are called to do and commissioned by the Lord to do.

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And so it's really important that we understand what is our part in the ministry that God has called us to and what is his part. And that's something we see displayed for us here in this passage. So we pick it up going back to verse 10 and 11. We find the first point and that is that Jesus receives people. Look again with me at verse 10. It says,

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And the apostles, when they had returned, told him 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, they followed him. And he received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who had need of healing.

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What we see happening here in verse 10 and 11 is, first of all, the disciples return. Now you might remember last week we saw Jesus send out the disciples. And he called them to go into the surrounding regions and to preach the kingdom of God. To deliver the good news of Jesus Christ.

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And so now they've come back. They've gone on the mission. They went and did what Jesus called them to do. And now they've returned and are giving the report to Jesus about all the great things that have taken place. So they're sharing with him the miracles that happened and the opportunities that they had.

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And Jesus said, you know what, let's take some time to just get away by ourselves. I want to spend some extra time with you one-on-one, just personally and individually. I want to be able to minister to you and hear all of these different things that God did as you were sent out. Now there's something interesting that I noted here in verse 10 because it says, "...and the apostles when they had returned."

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Now last week when we were talking about them, it was the disciples that were being sent out. And disciple means one who is a learner. It's one who is studying under a teacher. An apostle, on the other hand, the word apostle means one who is sent. And so these disciples, these students of Jesus, have been sent out by the Lord. And so as they return, they're going to be sent out by the Lord.

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They're called apostles. They're those who were sent by the Lord. Last week we considered the question, are you a disciple? And so that would lead then to the next question, are you an apostle? As we saw that disciples are those who are sent, and you as a believer in Jesus Christ are sent by God to accomplish his work and his purposes.

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So are you an apostle? Are you going out to do the things that God has sent you to do? And so Jesus sends his disciples out. He sends out his learners or his followers. But now they come back and he says, I want to spend a little bit of extra time with you.

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And so they get away. It says that they are heading towards a deserted place that's belonging to the city called Bethsaida. Bethsaida was a city that was on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. And so they got in the boat. They're headed toward this region that's not populated. There's not people around. He just wanted to get alone with the disciples. But then in verse 11, we see the multitudes find out.

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Now the Sea of Galilee, as we've talked about before, is not very big. Although it's called the Sea of Galilee, it's not an ocean. It's a freshwater lake. It's seven and a half miles wide. It's 13 miles long. It's not very big. In fact, from the hills around the Sea of Galilee, you can easily see from one side to the other.

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And so the multitudes, this is probably what they're doing, is they're seeing Jesus out on the water with his disciples. They're watching the boat. They're watching the direction that he's going. And they're running ahead. We learn from the other gospel accounts that they see him in the boat and they run ahead to meet him where he's going to land as they see the direction the boat is going.

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And so this great multitude knows where he's going. They know where they're headed. And so they meet him there at the shore. And what's amazing here in verse 11, it says that Jesus received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who had need of healing. I highlight this and I point this out because, well, have you ever...

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been interrupted or met people unexpectedly and received them reluctantly. You know, you ever had that knock on the door and you're like, oh, so glad you're here. But you're really not, you know. It's like, oh, I wasn't expecting that. It's an interruption. It's Jesus was on the way with his disciples to spend some time alone and

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But as they get to the shore, as they get off the boat, there's this multitude. And it truly is a multitude because we learn here in this passage, it's 5,000 men that are there to meet Jesus. I mean, this is a massive crowd with great demands. And it says that Jesus received them. Jesus receives people.

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when they come to him. This word receive, it means to accept an offer deliberately and readily.

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There's other words in the Greek with, you know, that talk about receiving, but it's not necessarily something that you do, you know, favorably. It's not something you do joyfully. You know, you receive it out of obligation or whatever. But this word receive it, it specifically means that it's a readily, it's a willing, deliberate reception.

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And so Jesus, as he's seeking to get away with his disciples, there's this interruption, this mass crowd that's making demands of him. And so he makes the choice. He decides. He deliberately says, all right, let's throw those plans out the window.

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Let's receive those whom God has placed before us. Jesus receives people. He's not receiving them reluctantly like, man guys, don't you know we're trying to get away. Well, I guess since you're already here, you know, I'll talk to you about the kingdom of God. No, no. He's excited. He's willingly, he's joyfully sharing with them the things of the kingdom of God, ministering to them, healing those who have need. Jesus

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receives people in john chapter 6 verse 37 jesus says no one who comes to me or and the one who comes to me i will by no means cast out jesus says look whoever comes to me i'm not going to cast them out i'm not going to push them away i'm not going to say get out of here the one who comes to me i will receive jesus says jesus receives people

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All kinds of people, all kinds of backgrounds, all kinds of upbringings, all kinds of sinfulness, Jesus receives people. And so this is what we see happening here. This crowd interrupts and Jesus welcomes it and he begins to minister to them. Well, as we continue on in verse 12, we see the second point for this morning and that is that the disciples present needs.

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Here is this crowd has gathered together. There's this big need that arises and the disciples now present this to the Lord. Look at verse 12. It says, When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to him, Send the multitude away that they may go into the surrounding towns and country and lodge and get provisions. For we are in a deserted place here. The disciples here do a good thing. They present things.

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a need to Jesus. But they also make a mistake. And it's a mistake that's important for us to consider so that we can learn from it. Because it is a mistake that, well, you and I often make as well. They present the need to Jesus, but they don't just present the need. They're also telling Jesus what he should do about it.

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They present the need, but also the solution. And I want to encourage you this morning, as disciples, our parts, as far as ministry is concerned, is to present needs to the Lord, but our part is not to give Him the solution for the needs that we are presenting to Him. You see, in the presenting of this solution to the Lord, there's some arrogance that's being demonstrated.

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It's arrogance to say, Jesus, we need to inform you of an issue that you don't know about. You probably haven't recognized this, but thank goodness we're around because we're thinking about these things. And we need to let you know about this issue, about this need that is here. And you don't have to worry about it or stress about it because we've got it figured out. We know how you can resolve this issue. So here's what you need to do. And you know, sometimes when we present needs to the Lord,

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We do it in that manner. Just in case you didn't notice, Lord, this is the situation. This is the need. But I've got it figured out. Here's how you can fix it. Here's how you can take care of it. You see, it's arrogance when we think that we see needs that Jesus doesn't see.

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And when we think that way, we are really considering ourselves to be more compassionate than Jesus. That we care more about the people and more about the needs of the people around us or the needs in our life than Jesus does. And that's dangerous territory to walk down because, again, we're presenting ourselves in arrogance.

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Saying, thank goodness you have me around to tell you, to inform you, to let you know about this issue and to figure out how to resolve it. And so the disciples do a good thing in presenting the need, but they take it too far. They make the mistake of saying, we've got it figured out. Here's how to handle it. Our part, as we consider things of ministry, things that God has called us to, our part is to present the need.

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He has called us to lift up those needs and those issues before the Lord. And so when you see needs, I would encourage you, present it to Jesus. But let Him work out the solution. You don't have to figure it out. That's not your part. And we'll see that as we go on here. The disciples, their plan, Jesus says, no, that's a bad plan. Let's get rid of that plan. Here's a new plan. Our part is to present the need. Now, here's the next thing though.

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When you see a need and you present it to the Lord, be forewarned, the Lord will probably want to use you to meet that need. You see the need and you say, Lord, here's the need that is there. And very often God will say, you be involved in meeting that need. You know, so many times

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We're easy, it's easy for us to spot needs, right? To see, oh, that needs to be done, that needs to be done, and how come they're not doing that? And, whoa, look at that need over there, look at that issue over there. It's easy for us to bring all those things up, but when we bring them up, sometimes, perhaps many times, it's not with a willingness to resolve it, to be involved in the solution, it's so that Pastor George can take care of it. George, there's a need in the bathroom, we're out of toilet paper, so I want to let you know that

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So that you can take care of it. Right? That's how we are many times. We present needs to the Lord. We present needs to one another. So that they can go do it. But when you present needs to the Lord. Understand that many times. Very often. You see that need. Because God has opened your eyes to see that need. And he's the one who's revealed to you. It's not that he never knew about it. You don't have to inform him. He's always known. Because he's God.

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But you now see that need because, well, he's opening your eyes. Because as you present the need to him, he says, great, thanks for volunteering. Because I want you to be involved in meeting the need. We're not informing Jesus. When we present needs to him, we're making ourselves available to him. We're not letting him know things he never knew. We're saying, here I am, Lord. I see this need and I want to be available to you.

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To work in that way. To be used by you in that situation. And Jesus may have you keep praying about it and that may be the part that you play, the role that he has for you. Or he may involve you in the actual work. He may provide for you resources to be able to address the need. He can do it in all kinds of ways, but that's up to him. The plan is up to him.

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Our responsibility is to present the need. And in doing so, we're making ourselves available and say, here I am, Lord. Send me. I'll go. I'll be part of your work in that situation. So the disciples present needs. Well, now as we move on to verse 13, we come to point number three, which is Jesus challenges his disciples. What does Jesus do? Well, first of all, he receives people.

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And when it's talking about his disciples, well, very often, all the time, you should expect that he will challenge you. Look at verse 13. It says, but 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. So the disciples present the need to the Lord. They say, Lord,

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You've been caught up in all this teaching and healing and stuff. And I'm sure you haven't noticed the sun's getting, you know, low. It's going to start to set pretty soon. And these people haven't eaten all day. And they can't... We're in a deserted place, you know. They're going to faint on the way if they try to go to the town, you know, much later. So you got to send them away real quick right now. Hurry up. It's urgent. Because these people are going to be in a terrible situation. And I should send them away right now. And Jesus looks at them and he says...

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You give them something to eat. Now, I try to picture myself, you know, being there in the midst of the disciples and I think I wouldn't be able to help myself. I'd be able, I would just bust out laughing right there. As Jesus says, you give them something to eat. And I'd start laughing and then it would kind of slowly fade away as I realized he's not joking. It'd be kind of this awkward, you're serious.

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What do you mean give them something to eat? This was really an impossible request. As Jesus challenges his disciples, you feed them. You provide for them. You take care of their hunger. Why was this such a difficult request? Why was this a challenge? Well, because we'll see in the next verse, this multitude had 5,000 men. But it's not just the 5,000 men.

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Matthew chapter 14, as Matthew records for us this same account, in verse 21 of Matthew 14 it says, there were 5,000 men besides women and children. So it wasn't just a multitude of 5,000 people. The multitude was 5,000 men. In addition to the 5,000 men, there were women and children. Now that's an unspecified amount. We don't know exactly how many this multitude was, but

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We only know that there were 5,000 men. So let's just guesstimate. Let's guess that there's probably one woman or one child per man in that group. And so let's just guess that the crowd is 10,000 people. That's quite a multitude. And so this challenge that Jesus gives to them is a real challenge. Because could you imagine Jesus looking at you and say, feed 10,000 people.

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This would be an expensive meal. In fact, in the Gospel of Mark, as Mark records this account, in Mark chapter 6 verse 37, when Jesus tells them to provide something for them, they said, this would cost 200 denarii. In order to feed a crowd this big, it's going to be very expensive, Lord. A denarius, plural denarii, a denarius was a day's wage.

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So they say, it's going to cost us 200 days worth of wages to feed this multitude, this crowd of 10,000 people. That's quite an expensive meal. So just for fun, I started to think about, well, what would we do if we needed to feed a crowd of 10,000 people? Well, I thought about Subway because we're talking about loaves and fishes, right? So you go to Subway, you get the $5 foot long meal.

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Let's say you give six inches of that footlong to each person. So you need 5,000 footlongs at $5 a piece. That's $25,000. $25,000 to give everybody in the crowd a sandwich. It's about 200 days wages, two-thirds of the year. Prices haven't changed all that much. So I thought, well, what about Little Caesars? Man, they got the $5 pizzas. Oh, that's good. So

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Figuring two people per pizza. And you think, well, that's kind of ridiculous. That's a lot of pizza, Jerry. Well, it says later on they were stuffed. They were filled. So let's figure everybody gets half a pizza. Same thing. 5,000 pizzas, $5 a piece, $25,000. This was an expensive meal. It was not a small thing as Jesus looks at them and says, you give them something to eat. Because they didn't have that kind of money lying around. What are we going to do?

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Go buy $25,000 worth of food to feed this multitude? Jesus, it doesn't make sense. Not only that, so there's a big crowd, it's an expensive meal, and they've got a small budget because they've only got five loaves and two fish. And even that we find from John chapter 6 in John's account of this miracle.

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We learned there in John 6 that the five loaves and the two fish was brought by a young boy. So it wasn't even their own budget. It was this little boy's allowance that they're spending to meet the needs of this multitude. So you can see the challenge here. You can see the impossibility. Big crowd, expensive meal, small budget. And Jesus says, you give them something to eat. Now also in John chapter 6, we get a little bit of insight about what's happening here.

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Because in John chapter 6 verse 6 it says, Jesus said this to test them for he himself knew what he would do. So this is a test. It's a challenge. He's asking his disciples to do the impossible knowing already in advance what he's going to do. So he knows how he's going to provide. He knows how he's going to meet the need. But since they volunteered...

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and said, hey, look at this need that's here. Jesus said, you give them something to eat. And so here they are faced with this immense task, a great cost, a great expense with no resources virtually to be able to meet it. And I would ask you this morning as we consider this, are you involved in anything with those kinds of proportions? What are you involved in that, well, it's a great task, it's

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Well, maybe you would describe it as you're in over your head. I'm sure if you could talk to Hector about the car wash yesterday, he would testify, yep, I was in over my head. It was these kind of proportions. I mean, there was a lot to do. There was a lot of organization, a lot required, and I didn't have the full capacity to be able to handle that. What are you involved in in these same types of proportions? Where the work is.

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where the requirements, where the expense is far greater than what you can handle. You know, I would share with you this morning that this is the way, this is an accurate picture of the way that I feel regarding what God has called me to. You know, in my call to teach and to pastor the church, we're about to celebrate eight years of that in May, and that's pretty exciting.

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But you know, over the past eight years, I've not come to the point where I come to a Sunday morning and I think, no problem. I got it. Yeah, I'm ready. Piece of cake. Now there may be times that I have felt that way and I've just forgotten about them. And if I did, those were probably the worst messages you ever heard in your life. But the task that God has called me to is far greater.

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Sometimes we look at ministries or we look at works and we think, you know, God is doing that because of that person. But generally it's the inverse of that. God is doing that because, well, it could only be explained by a work of God if he involves that person. I'm in over my head. I don't know if you know that. It might not appear that way from your vantage point, but I can testify to you, I'm in over my head. As I consider, you know,

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Teaching but then also pastoring and leading the church and you know the role and the responsibility. It's way over my head. I'm in over my head. I only survive because I got Holy Spirit floaties on. You know it just kind of keeps me on top of the water so I don't drown. It's the reality. This is the way that God works. Jesus challenges his disciples. He calls us to involve ourselves in things that we could not do on our own.

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That we're not qualified for. That we don't have the capacity to do. I've often quoted Pastor John Corson in this regard. He says, every Christian should be involved in something that will fail unless God is involved. He says, every believer needs to be involved in something in this way that it's going to fail. It's going to be a disaster unless God works miraculously. Because Jesus challenges his disciples. And so we need to get involved.

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And these things that require faith, that require this absolute dependence upon the Lord, otherwise it will utterly fail. And so that's true for me and the ministry that God has called me to. For you, well, it might be a little bit different. It's according to whatever God has called you to. So for you, you might feel this way regarding teaching Sunday school. And you feel, you know, God's been speaking to your heart about it and maybe even giving you some opportunities, but you

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You would say, well, I just, I don't know how to relate to these kids. And I don't know how I could share the Bible with them. I don't know how I could minister to them. I don't know if I could handle that. I don't know if I could make the time. And you just feel overwhelmed at this task or this call that the Lord has put before you. Or maybe it's with sharing with somebody. You know there's that person on your heart and they really need to hear about the love of Jesus Christ. So you've been praying for them.

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You see that need. You see how much they need the Lord. And God's prompting your heart to share with them, to speak with them. And it's very easy to feel, well, I'm in way over my head, to be overwhelmed.

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I can't share with them what I say. I don't know what to say. I don't know my Bible that well. This person's an intellectual and they've got all these degrees and letters after their names and I didn't graduate from high school. How could I go and share with them? How could I minister to them? I mean, it's just impossible. It's a big expense and I've got a small budget. I can't do it. I'm overwhelmed. Jesus is challenging you. He wants you to involve yourself in the impossible world.

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So that it's clear. It's him doing the work. So maybe it's teaching Sunday school. Maybe it's sharing with someone. Maybe it's praying for someone. And that can be very intimidating and overwhelming to some people. And it's like, oh no, I'll do anything else but that. That's just too difficult. Maybe it's to be a man or a woman of integrity in the workplace. And that's, well, that's an impossible task perhaps in your field. And yet, that's what the Lord has called you to. Are you in over your head?

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I would suggest to you, you should be. You need to be. Because Jesus challenges his disciples. Now, that being said, I am not suggesting that you go look for something impossible and then try to do it. That's the wrong way around. Here's what you got to do. Walk with the Lord. That's what the disciples did. They're just with Jesus. And as they're with Jesus, now he involves them and he calls them to an impossible work.

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To something that will fail unless God works miraculously. And so you don't have to go figure out, let me find something impossible, something difficult, and then, you know, let's try it. Just walk with the Lord. And in the process of that, He will assign you some impossible tasks, some overwhelming odds, some things that you think, there's just no way that I can do what God is asking me to do.

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Well, point number four as we go into verse 14 and 15 is that the disciples obey in faith. Look at verse 14. It says, for there were about 5,000 men. Then he said to his disciples, make them sit down in groups of 50. And they did so and made them all sit down. Here we see the disciples doing their part. And what is that part? To obey in faith. To obey in faith. I love verse 15. It says, and they did so.

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Jesus said do this and they did so. We saw this last week as well. Jesus sent them out and they went and they went in faith. They believed Jesus. They trusted Jesus and so they did what he said. Now Jesus knew what he was going to do. We saw that in John chapter 6 verse 6. From the very beginning he knew how he was going to feed this multitude but the disciples still didn't know.

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So Jesus says, group them up. Have them sit down in groups of 50. And the disciples obeyed even when they didn't have the whole plan. Even when they didn't know why they were going to be sitting them down in these groups. We talked about this last week as well. God rarely gives us the whole plan in advance. You know, he doesn't pull out a thing of blueprints and say, okay, here's how it's all going to come together.

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Here's the big picture. This is going to happen and that's going to happen and all these things over here and then these are going to tie in here and this great work of God is going to be done. Rarely, very rarely will God give us the whole plan or even the end result. Here's what he normally does. God says, take this step. And then what? Take this step and then I'll tell you the next step. And so you take the step and then God gives you the next step. And you take that step and God gives you the next step.

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Normally God works giving us one step at a time. The disciples didn't have the whole plan, but they obeyed. Jesus said, have them sit down in groups of 50. And again, if I was there, I would have been thinking, why? What good is that going to do? That doesn't help them get fed. We haven't figured out, Jesus, what we're going to do yet. What's the plan? But they obey. They just trust him at his word. And they'll say, okay guys, let's all gather together in groups of 50. Have a seat. Have a seat.

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What's going on? Well, we don't really know. We just know. Here's what Jesus said. Sit down in groups of 50. And then as the crowd does that, then he's going to do the next thing. You know, as I considered this point, it reminded me of the book of Acts chapter 8. You might remember the account of Philip, the evangelist there in Acts chapter 8. And Philip was being used by God to do a great work. I mean, people were getting saved. The Holy Spirit was coming down on people. There was just a mighty work of God that was happening. And he was being used by God to do a great work.

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As Philip was ministering. But in the midst of this great work that God is doing, the Lord speaks to Philip and he says, hey, go out to the desert. I want you to go away from all this great work that's happening. Go out to the middle of nowhere. And Philip, like the disciples, obeys. He just goes in faith. He doesn't know what the plan is. God doesn't say, okay, well here's the plan. Once you go out there, then this is going to happen and then I'm going to happen up here. No. He just says, go. Go into the desert. And Philip goes.

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And then, as Philip arrives at the desert, the Lord says, catch up with that chariot over there. As he completed step one, as he obeyed the first command, then the Lord gave him the second command. And so he caught up with the chariot. And there, if you're familiar with the account, you know, he overhears this Ethiopian eunuch. He's coming back from Jerusalem, back to his hometown. And he's reading the prophet Isaiah. And he doesn't understand what he's reading.

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And so the Lord arranged for Philip to go to be there, the right place, the right time, for him to be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that Ethiopian eunuch gets saved and gets baptized right on the spot. God did a good work. But he gave it to Philip one step at a time. And so the disciples obey Jesus, just like Philip did.

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Well, point number five we see in verse 16, and that is that Jesus provides. Look at verse 16. It says, 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 here, as the crowd is seated, the first command is obeyed. Now Jesus takes the little food that they have, that this boy brought. He prays over it. He gives thanks to God for it. And he broke the bread.

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And he began to give it to the disciples that they could set it before the multitude. How does Jesus meet the need here? Does he make the disciples figure out, alright guys, come on, come up with a good plan. How are we going to feed all these people? No, Jesus takes on that responsibility. He figures it out. And he provides miraculously. Listen, this is how Jesus works. He provides miraculously. He works miracles miraculously.

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He makes provision where there's seemingly none. Now again, these are things I said at the beginning that pertain to all ministry, to the things that you and I are called to. And so as we see needs around us, as God opens our eyes and we see that situation, that issue, that need, and we present it before the Lord, He's not expecting us to figure out how to meet that need.

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That's not our responsibility. He's the one who provides. Whether it be a physical need or an emotional need, a financial need, a spiritual need, He's the one who provides. And so it could be food, it could be clothing, it could be words that you look on that opportunity to share and you know there's need for something to be shared but you don't have the resources, you don't have the words to share. It's Jesus who can provide.

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The right words to speak. It's Jesus who provides the strength to do the work. The boldness to begin the conversation. Or whatever is appropriate for the need that he's opened your eyes to. Jesus provides miraculously. He gives the food to the disciples to give to the crowd. This reminded me of an account in 2 Chronicles chapter 25 with King Amaziah.

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King Amaziah, he was the king of Judah and there was a battle that he was about to face. And so in preparation for the battle, he takes a hundred talents, which was the money that they use in that time. And so he takes this large amount of money and he hires an army from the northern kingdom known as Israel. And so here Amaziah, he hires this massive army with a lot of money.

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And he prepares to go into this battle that he's facing. But then a prophet from God comes to Amaziah. And he says, Amaziah, here's what the Lord says. God says, he's not with the army from that northern kingdom. And if you go out with them, you will not be victorious. So you need to send them home. And I think it's really interesting, Amaziah's response. He says in 2 Chronicles chapter 25 verse 9, he says, But what shall we do?

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about the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel. What's he concerned about? The money. He's concerned about the money. Well, what do we do about the money? We spent a lot of money to secure this army for us. If I just send them home and we've lost all that money, what do we do about that? In other words, how can we send them home? We've already paid for them.

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It's just going to be a waste of money then. It's better for them to be with us in the battle. But the prophet of God responds to Amaziah and he says, the Lord is able to give you much more than this. See, the big thing in Amaziah's mind was the money. And the prophet says, no, no, no. That's not the big thing. That's easy. God could give you much more than that. That's not a big deal. God doesn't stay up late at night worrying and stressing about how he can get you some money.

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He can give you much more than that, the prophet says. And I don't know exactly why the Lord put this scripture on my heart, but I do know God is speaking to somebody about that. It's not about the money. And it's not worth it going forward in something that God is not a part of. Just because you've invested the money, you need to let it go. Send the army home. God's able to replenish. He's able to give you much more than that.

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Don't go forward in it just because you've spent the money. Jesus provides. You don't have to worry about that part of it. That's not your role. That's not your responsibility. He takes that responsibility. Remember in Matthew 6.33, Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things. What are all the other things? The provision, the necessities, the things you need.

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He says, I will add those to you. That's my responsibility. Let me handle that. You put me first. Well, finally, the sixth point we find, the last part of 16 and then into 17, and that is that disciples distribute. Here's our part. Here's our role. It's connected with the fifth point. Jesus provides, disciples distribute. Again, look at verse 16. It says, Then he took the five loaves and the two fish...

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Jesus took care of the provision. He took that responsibility, that burden. The disciples were only responsible for distributing it. They put their hands out. He put the bread in their hand. And all they were responsible for is just to deliver that to the multitude. They didn't have to figure out where it was coming from.

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They didn't have to, you know, summon the faith to work the miracle. They just had to take what Jesus gave them and give it to the multitude, to those who are in need. Warren Wiersbe in his book on being a servant of God says this often quoted saying, he says, ministry happens when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God.

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These things that we're looking at today pertain to all ministry and pertain to what you're called to. And that's what we see happening here. It's ministry. Ministry is taking place. Divine resources. Jesus is working this miraculous work, meeting human needs, providing for these people who are hungry through loving channels. These disciples who are distributing what Jesus gives to them to the glory of God. That's ministry.

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That's what you're called to. That's what I'm called to. Our responsibility, our role is to distribute what the Lord gives to us. And so when Jesus gives you the words to share, your responsibility is to share those words. When he gives you the prayer to pray, as you lift up the need before him and say, this person really needs someone to pray for them, the Lord says, thanks for volunteering. Go pray for them.

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You don't have to stress and think, well, how do I come up with the right words or the right prayer? I mean, it's got to be the right formula. No. He's the one who's going to provide that. You just pray. You just share what God puts upon your heart. When Jesus gives you the food to provide for that person in need, your responsibility is to distribute it. When he gives you the resources to meet that need, your responsibility is to meet that need. Disciples are never responsible to distribute what Jesus has not provided. Right?

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You're not responsible to meet needs that Jesus hasn't enabled you to meet. He might say, you feed them. And as you are obedient, he will provide the resources. But the burden of figuring out the plan, figuring out how it's going to come together, that's his burden, not ours. And so the burden is removed from us. This is so freeing.

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It's a great truth, but there's also a challenge here too because the question then is, are you distributing the provision that Jesus has given to you in the way that he has directed? Are you using the resources that he's entrusted to you in the way that he's called you to? Because sometimes God does give us the words to share, but we don't share them. It's the truth, right? It happens. Whether it's fear or whatever holds us back.

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Maybe we're intimidated. We feel like this is a big crowd and I only have two loaves or five loaves and two fish. We think the words I have, it's not very much. But listen, if Jesus has given you two words, then you need to distribute those words and you'll be amazed at how much God can do with those two words that he gives you. Jesus provides miraculously. Our responsibility is to distribute. Verse 17 says,

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So they all ate and were filled. And 12 baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. Here's the result. As Jesus did his part and the disciples did their part, the crowd, the multitude, 5,000 men, perhaps 10,000 people, they all ate and were filled. They were stuffed. They just celebrated a Thanksgiving feast is kind of the idea here. They just...

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They had to loosen the notch in their belt to be able to breathe after that meal. They were stuffed, miraculously provided for. Not only that, but there was leftovers. Twelve baskets of leftover fragments taken up after. Miraculous provision takes place as we're obedient to do what God has called us to do. And so again, these things are true of all ministry.

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These things are true of the things that God has called you to do and the needs that he's placed before you. And I want to just wrap up this morning by just reflecting for a second on our part. As we look at these six things, only three of them are our responsibility. And so what are those things? What is our responsibility? What is our role in ministry, in the work of the kingdom of God? Well, number one,

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Disciples present needs. Our job, our role, our responsibility is to just present requests before the Lord. To just present those needs. Whatever it is that we see. Whatever the situation is. It might be a particular person. It might be something in their life. It might be within our family. It might be something within the church. It might be something within the community or within the nation. It might be something physical or spiritual.

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Whatever it is, our role, our responsibility, our part is to present the need. We just lift it up to the Lord in prayer. And in doing so, we're saying, here I am, Lord. However you want to use me in this situation. You want me to pray for them for healing? I'll do it. You want me to give to them the provision that they need? I'll do it. You want me to share with them the gospel? I'll do it. You want me just to keep praying for them? I'll do it.

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As we lift up these needs, we're making ourselves available and saying, whatever you want. I want to be a part of your work in this situation. It's not our responsibility to tell the Lord how to do it. Well, God, if you just listen to me, you know, I've got it all figured out. You don't have to worry about this. Here's what you need to do. Here's the plan. No, no, no. That's not your responsibility. You don't have to figure it out. Just present the need. Here's the situation, Lord. However you want to use me, I'm willing to be used. And then, our part continues.

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with obedience. Disciples obey in faith. And so as you present the need to the Lord and you say, I'm available however you want to use me, then God, when He speaks, He will say, here's what I want you to do. Your responsibility isn't to figure out something, just hear from the Lord. And remember, He's not going to give you the whole plan. He'll probably just give you the first step. And it may not make sense to you, but that's none of your business really. Your responsibility, your part is

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Just obey. As the Lord speaks to you, as He gives you that first step, just take that first step. Continue to seek Him. He'll give you the second step. And then the third step. He'll lead you in the way that He wants you to go. And then finally, our role, our part, is to distribute what He provides. As He places things in your hand, distribute it. You don't have to make it just miraculously appear.

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That's His job. He'll take care of that. You don't have to figure out how to make it happen. You don't have to figure out the exact right words to share. Just offer to Him the little that you have. Let Him make the miraculous provision. And our job is to then just pass that on to those that God has placed before us. Let's pray.

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Lord, as we consider these things, we thank you, God, that you give us the opportunity to be involved in your work, to be involved in the kingdom of God, to be involved in things that have eternal value. Lord, thank you. We don't deserve the opportunity, but you've chosen to involve us in your work. And God, we also thank you that you've chosen to do the heavy lifting on our behalf.

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Lord, that it's not this great burden of we have to figure everything out. We have to come up with the fundraising. We have to come up with the plan. We have to figure out what to say. But Lord, thank you that it's really about this relationship with you. That as we walk with you, you're going to open our eyes to those needs that you want us to pay attention to. And Lord, as we lift up those needs to you, I pray that you would help us to be obedient as you give us the first step

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as you call us, to do things that may not make sense to us. Lord, help us to be obedient, to have that faith, to trust you and know that you've got it figured out even if we don't. And then, God, as you provide, Lord, I pray that you would help us to be faithful, to distribute that provision. Lord, that we would not then decide to keep it for ourselves. Lord, that we wouldn't back away because of fear or unbelief. Lord, that we'd be faithful.

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with those things that you've entrusted to us, to minister, to meet those needs that you've opened our eyes to. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.