Take Another Bite (2)

Story about Kate…while ago, Ashley & I were talking around the campfire w/ someone close to us about all things to do w/ life, everything from cars/movies/football/music…eventually we started talking about faith…talked for a while & then they asked a very incisive question…“okay, so if I give my life to Jesus - what's next?”

I immediately realized, that's an extremely significant question - and every person should be asking this question of their faith journey… what's next? beyond giving my life to Jesus & securing spot in heaven? Or maybe getting baptized and going to church/serving/giving? what's next for my life? If I’m really going to follow Jesus, then what does that look like for me? what happens to my life? What’s Next?

EXPOSITION (1.5/5)

As we were talking this through, my wife actually described a story in Scripture from an angle that was new to me…

Let me paint this picture for you… Imagine: you’re a Jew in 1st century, hot summer day, worked 10-hour shift, robe & turban, tired/haven’t eaten, you see crowd of 20,000 marching on after this preacher…now this preacher doesn’t sound like other preachers & he’s engaging…on top of that, he’s healing people…you’re engrossed, you have to see what he’s all about… so you join the crowd & begin to follow this preacher from Galilee- Jesus…

Stay Hungry (7/12)

John 6:1-5: 1After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias…you kidding me?…while he crossed, they went around…2A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4(It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration)… family dinner… but they didn’t care what they had to interrupt… 5Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?”… love this… two things I love here…

1) I love Jesus’ compassion- actually 1st story in all 4 gospels…Matthew & Mark say Jesus had compassion on them

But 2) I love the hunger of the crowd, not physical but spiritual…nothing was going to stop them, they had to be in the presence of Jesus… they’ve seen him work/heard him speak, but they just have to experience it for themselves… they’re hungry/famished/crave for Jesus to move in their lives…

Anybody here ever been that hungry for God? Hungry for his presence? His touch? His word? To experience his love?…Story about Kindergarten…that’s how desperate/hungry we need to be…don’t care what we look like/ppl say/ how it affects reputation…we need to feel an insatiable hunger to experience Jesus…a yearning to be in his presence

God wants to do miracles in your life… wants to transform you…make the depressed-joyful/greedy-generous/ prideful-humble/broken-whole/abused-pure… but it’s your hunger that makes you a candidate for a miracle/TF… not your gifts/talents/knowledge/experiences/resources… it’s your hunger that makes you poised for a miracle

So listen, Stay Hungry…hunger and thirst for the Lord…don’t be satisfied w/ little taste…starve for Jesus over everything else… don’t fill yourself w/ anything other than Jesus… let him be your sustenance/portion…nothing else!

1st-when we stay hungry, we’re admitting our constant need for God… admitting that we can’t fill ourselves/solve our problems/feed our souls/provide for our needs… God, we need you- your word/spirit/church/ppl/nourishment…

2nd-when we stay hungry, we prepare ourselves for God’s miraculous touch…we’re setting ourselves up for a miracle

Surrender It All (Leftovers in the Hands of the Master) (7/19)

& that’s exactly what the crowd is doing… John 6:6-10: 6He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. 7Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” 8Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9“There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” 10“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.)…It’s about to go down…b/c of their hunger, the crowd was poised and prepared for a miracle… but now, they are positioned for a miracle…

This is the set-up for a miracle…Jesus hasn’t done anything yet…he could’ve- he has all the power in the world…but he chose not to exercise it yet…b/c he needs something: he needs someone to surrender to him/trust/put their faith

This boy surrendered everything he had, positioning himself for a miracle…in God’s economy, Surrender Always Precedes Victory…want to see victory in your marriage? Surrender it. Finances? Addiction? Sin? Anxiety?

No matter what it is, victory only comes from surrendering it into Jesus’ hands… Story about Leftovers… while leftovers in my hands may be nothing good, leftovers in the hands of a master can be something amazing… your past may be broken/life ruined/marriage shattered/career destroyed/innocence gone, but in the hands of the master, you can be restored and healed… God can do miracles in your life! He can transform your life!

I’m here to tell you today: Surrender It All…surrender every area of your life… God wants to transform your life… give up control/submit your will/surrender your power…trust Jesus to take it from here…put every area of your life in the hands of the master and he may just make it better than anything you could imagine…

Whether you don’t know Jesus/just gave your life to Jesus/or have known him for years- this is for you… there are areas of your life right now that you’ve been holding on to/unwilling to relinquish control… you know exactly what it is… stop trying to fix it/figure it out… let it go/surrender it to Jesus/give it to him… set yourself up to watch God do something miraculous in your life/to watch God transform your life…

Take Another Bite (10/29)

John 6:11-13: 11Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

Absolutely astounding/staggering… Jesus took Eggos and Swedish fish and fed 20,000 people… imagine walking into a packed Colonial Life Arena w/ a Lunchable… passing out ham & crackers… this is insane/phenomenal!

Our God is so good! He’s always protecting/loving/providing/caring for us… but I don’t want you to miss this: the miracle isn’t just that Jesus fed everyone, but that he fed everyone until they were full…

Jesus is not the god of the nibble/baby bite/app, doesn’t just give us a peek into his presence/taste of his power/shadow of his grace/inch of his love… no, we serve a God who goes above and beyond… who wants to give us exceedingly more than we could ever ask for… who wants us to be whole, full, satisfied, overflowing with love/hope/joy/purpose…

Here’s what that means: you don’t have to leave the table hungry… come hungry! But don’t leave hungry!

Story about McD’s… Caroline (7) & Charlie (5)… this is a great picture of how many of us come to God’s table…

We serve a God of abundance, & he wants us to eat as much as we want…but he won’t force it on you…which brings us to a very important question… I can imagine it… sitting 20 rows back and Philip hands you some bread and asks “how much do you want?”… what a powerful question, I’m going to ask you the same thing: how much do you want?

How much of this Jesus thing do you want? hope/purpose/power/blessing/Jesus? Do you just want a bite or two, or do you want to experience the fullness of life that Jesus has to offer? full life of love, grace, joy, peace? are you comfortable w/ just a nibble? just giving your life to Jesus (I'm going to heaven) or more/baptism/reading Bible/ serving/leading? giving or do you want the full/overflowing life Jesus has for you?

I'm here to tell you today- no matter where you're at… whether you’ve not bought into this whole God thing at all or whether you've followed Jesus faithfully for 70 years… there's more to eat! There’s more at the table! There’s more for your marriage/family/career/friends/relationship with God…& God is calling you today to Take Another Bite…

Start reading Bible-TAB/pray in morning-TAB/join a team-TAB/join a group-TAB/start leading-TAB/share faith-TAB/stop sinning-TAB/get accountability-TAB/go to counseling-TAB/start tithe-TAB/invite-TAB

You don’t have to keep pecking at your food like Caroline/stop nibbling…be a voracious consumer like Charlie/ devour all that God has for you/it’s time to eat!

Your relationship with Jesus was never meant to hold you over/be stale… it was always meant to be deeper, richer, more beautiful, more exciting, enthralling, intimate tomorrow than ever before… do you want to know why? Because he never runs out… he is the never-ending, always-overflowing, endlessly loving God and he has more for you!

Here's what that means: every one of us here today has another bite to take… a next step to take…

APPLICATION (2.5/31.5)

Truth is, no one can take your next step for you…may be hard/difficult/painful…only you can take another bite…I can’t do it for you…it’s like a choose-your-own-adventure book (remember those?), God has a plan for your life & it’s incredible/wonderful but only you can choose if you’re gonna walk in it…you get to choose your own adventure

Will you walk on your own path or in the steps Jesus has for you … Psalm 37:23 TPT: "The steps of the God-pursuing ones follow firmly in the footsteps of the Lord, and God delights in every step they take to follow him."

Doesn’t matter how big/small the step/even which step it is…he delights in every step you take closer to him…so my question is simple: what is your next step today? salvation/baptism/bible/share faith/give big/confess sin/serve/ group/lead/start a ministry/missions? everybody here has a next step-take it & watch God do the miraculous/TF ur life

CONCLUSION (1/32.5)

As I close- brings to my original story- “okay so if I give my life to Jesus, what's next?” – an abundant life with Jesus

John 10:10 TPT: I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect— life in its fullness until you overflow!… giving your life to Jesus isn't the finish line, it's the starting place… it’s where true life begins… Jesus doesn’t stop at new life, he wants to give you a full, overflowing, abundant life

I encourage you… stay hungry/crave spiritual nourishment… surrender every area of your life to Jesus… take another bite/don’t leave food on the table/don’t leave hungry…& God will give you a full/overflowing/abundant life…

Prayer… salvation prayer… Amen.

KNOW (BOTTOM LINE): Jesus wants to give you an abundant life.

DO: Take another bite – a next step.

FEEL: Happy, inspired, capable

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