Let me begin the second part by re-posting the scripture from part I. If you’re interested in my thoughts on this reading, you can find that HERE. Otherwise, this is the scripture the sermon was based on, Sunday. Pastor Kristen Lee only went to verse 10, but I’ve included through 12 because that single verse appeared in the closing comment for Week 7’s lesson, Discernment for Life, which you can find HERE.
1In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them,
2“I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.
3“If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.”
4And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?”
5And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.”
6And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people.
7They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well.
8And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.
9About four thousand were there; and He sent them away.
10And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha.
11The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him.
12Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Mark 8:1–12 (NASB95)
There are no coincidences. On Monday this week, our small group went to a local homeless shelter and fed them dinner. It seems appropriate, given the title of the message. We didn’t do that because of the message. We did that because it was our turn. We participate in that effort regularly.
On the whole, the church participated the previous Wednesday evening, Valentine’s Day, in bagging meals for Rise Against Hunger. They are an organization that provides meals to the needy in other countries. Church participation is in the form of assembling those meals. Pastor Lee reported those who participated over the course of three hours packed 13,300 meals. If you’d like to know more about them, you can go HERE. They are a worthy organization. I encourage your church to check them out and, if so led, participate.
In the sermon, Pastor Lee connected this miracle with feeding the 5,000 in Matthew 14:13-21. She didn’t read that passage, and I won’t post it here because the important connection is the miraculous one, the feeding of the multitudes.
Yesterday, I mentioned the Greek word behind being filled after eating from verse 8 above. She stated, “They ate until they were full,” merely to point out it wasn’t handing people a crumb and a single bite of food. It was a full meal.
She brought up Christ having compassion upon those gathered. He knew they had come from far away and would have a long way to travel to get home when they left. He did not want them to also be hungry for the journey. She tied this compassion to being aware of who is around us daily and observing their condition. We are to have compassion for the needs of those we encounter. That compassion should act where we can.
I broke down yesterday that in the feeding, Jesus specifically was looking for the food the flesh needs. Before tending to the Bread of Life the spirit hungers for, he took care of that which the body hungers for. I find that particularly poignant and obvious, or I think it should be.
Consider when we become hungry. In my case, low blood sugar causes me to become irritable cranky, and I can’t focus. For example, I made sure I ate breakfast prior to writing part II this morning because I tend to let my mind wander when I am hungry. I focus better when my stomach is full. I think this is the case with most people.
If there is a rumble in the stomach because we are hungry, little else matters until we can get some food in that empty space. It makes it very difficult to accomplish tasks well when we are famished. Jesus knew they would not hear the words he was about to say to them if they were hungry, so He fed them.
Pastor Lee’s point wasn’t about low blood sugar clouding the issue. Her point was that the disciples saw only a need and no way to fill that need. They didn’t believe there would be any food, or enough food, to feed so many. Her words were “abundant need.” The disciples didn’t believe it could be done.
Pastor Lee directed us to read verse 12 here. She didn’t read it but paraphrased the idea that those around Jesus didn’t believe while some sought a sign. A sign of what?
It occurred to me that they would only seek a sign if the word spread that Jesus was the Messiah. If Jesus were claiming to be the Son of God, the Pharisees would want a sign that was so. Jesus’ words in verse 12 indicate He already knows they won’t believe anything He does anyway, so He’s just going to do what He planned to do, which is feed the people.
The miracle of feeding the 4,000 isn’t done for that generation to believe He is the Christ, the Son of God. It is done purely to make it so those 4,000 people would be in the best frame of mind to hear and listen to what Jesus said. Very practical. Very taking care of the worldly flesh so the spiritual soul can be tended to.
Pastor Lee framed it with a really good question. This is the mindset of the disciples gathered around Jesus. She asked, “How can such an abundant need be met when we are in a place of such abundant scarcity?”
What does that question and the feeding of the 4,000 have to do with us?
She answered that question by suggesting there are two kinds of people when faced with a difficult problem they don’t see a way out. First, there is the person who goes into what she called “fix it mode.” I’m in this camp. That person begins to evaluate, plan, and execute incremental steps to address the problem in manageable pieces. The second type is the one who throws up their hands and says, “This problem is too big. Fix it, Jesus!” She suggested it isn’t an either/or but a both/and situation.
Pastor Lee suggested we should stop and look around to assess what we have at hand that can be applied to the problem. We should then pray to God for guidance. That last part, I believe, is more important than the first part because it is essentially seeking counsel from God on the course of action He thinks is right rather than the course of action we think is right. The reason for that becomes evident in this example.
Let’s say you see a homeless man on the corner with his cardboard sign asking for help. Should you give him money? What if he’s a drug addict and will only use that money for his next fix? What if he’s just looking to buy his next meal? How can you tell? The answer is you can’t. So, most often, we don’t give the man money. In fact, it is very likely we won’t give him anything at all. Did we take care of his earthly needs? Would he hear our evangelizing if we instead tried to tell him about the love of Jesus? Most likely not. He has a physical need that isn’t being met, but we probably cannot discern what that need is or how to best address it, but God knows.
So, what do we do about that man on the corner with the cardboard sign? That’s the part where prayer comes in, seeking counsel from God. God’s ways are the right ways, but we don’t always know how to apply His opinions to the situation at hand. Our prayer to the Holy Spirit is how we get His input on what we should do. It is how His plan for His children is to be enacted.
1Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
4But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
Isaiah 11:1–4 (NASB95)
It is the spirit of counsel from the Lord we are to seek. Pastor Lee wanted us to get out of the “scarcity mindset.” That’s the mindset that says we don’t have enough, aren’t capable enough, and don’t have the right people to make something happen. We should reject the tossing of our hands in the air when a roadblock to our purposes arises. Instead, we should approach the roadblock with the indomitable spirit of the people of God who believe that all things are possible when we are on His path, pursuing His goals.
26And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26 (NASB95)
That passage is in reference to the question from the disciples about who can enter Heaven when Jesus said the rich man will have a hard or impossible time. However, it holds true for all the tasks we think are impossible. If they are tasks on the path God has for our lives, then we need to diminish the scarcity mindset and take on the abundant mindset of God providing for His plan to His people.
Today, right now, enter into prayer and ask God what scarcity He plans to address where you see no abundance of resources? Perhaps this thing isn’t even in your life yet. If there is no abundance of need or scarcity you see or already seek a way to address, pray for the wisdom to know that opportunity when it crosses your path.