Ministry of Physical Needs

Mark 6:30–44 ESV

30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Pray

Intro

When I was younger, I enjoyed this short lived show that you may remember called Magic’s Biggest Secrets Revealed. The premise of the show was there was a magician who hosted it, who revealed secrets of famous magic tricks so that we, as viewers, would have insider details about how they pulled off these tricks. The host of the show was breaking the code of magicians to not reveal the secrets, so he wore a mask to hide his identity. For instance, in one episode, he revealed how to make a motorcycle vanish into thin air. They had their stage set up. He hops on the motorcycle, and rides into into a steel cage that was just big enough for the bike to fit in. He stays sitting on the bike and it begins being raised into the air by cables. As they are ascending, suddenly, fireworks go off and the cage collapses and nothing is there. The motorcycle and the magician are gone. Within seconds, the magician reappears and walks on stage from the side.

The host reveals the elements that it takes to pull this off. To begin with, there is not one, but two magicians. One was a body double but you only ever saw one at a time. Then he reveals that when the fireworks went off, a curtain inside the cage dropped to make it look like the bike disappeared and the body double ducked down. There was also a dummy cage around the cage that when the fireworks went off and it looked like the cage exploded, that it was just the wrap falling off.

You and I would classify this as a parlor trick. Nothing spectacular and nothing supernatural to it. But what we cannot do is classify what Jesus does in our passage as a parlor trick. This is nothing shy of one of the greatest displays of this deity in scripture. It is supernatural what he does.

None of the ministry of Jesus could be called a parlor trick. There were great supernatural parts of his ministry like healing, exorcising demons, and feeding mass crowds more than their fill with little amounts of food. But there are also natural parts of his ministry too. Like preaching and teaching, praying, and resting. There are two different classifications of ministry that we see Jesus do and we can emulate as well. That is physical ministry and spiritual ministry.

Main Point: Ministry is both Spiritual and Physical

In our passage today, we are going to look at 4 different requirements of ministry, all of which we are able to participate in with our every day lives.

Ministry Requires Rest

Who doesn’t love just stopping from the hustle and bustle of life and just relaxing for a little bit? The older I get, the more I appreciate rest. Rest from every day tasks is important. But so is rest inside of ministry as well. When you are helping people work through real life issues, when you are walking with people through addiction, when you are helping people come to grips with losing a loved one, it can put this heavy weight on you. This is why we need rest inside of ministry. The apostles come back to Jesus after doing the ministry work that he sent them out to do, and they give him and update. Then he gives them instructions of what they need to do next.

Mark 6:30–31 ESV

30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

You guys need to get away to rest. They have been doing great work. Mark 6:13 “13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.” I can guarantee they were tired and needed rest. And they couldn’t do it where they were at because of all the people there. They were being approached by so many people that they could not even eat.

I am trying to work on not telling so many personal stories in my sermons, but this one is hard to pass up. On July 13th, 2013, I had the privilege and honor of marrying my beautiful bride. For our wedding, we decided to have a family friend cook a full meal for our guests. We wanted to be generous and let them after our ceremony while they were waiting on us to finish up taking pictures. So when we finally arrived to the reception, everyone had already eaten. So, since they weren’t stuffing their faces with food, they decided it was time to come and talk with the bride and groom. Finally, after the reception was over, me and Brittany finally got to enjoy our wedding supper in my car after we went through the drive thru at Cookout. What I am saying is what Mark is telling us. When people keep coming up to you, you can’t even enjoy your meal.

Mark 6:32 ESV

32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.

So they go to the boat to get away.

Rest is pivotal to have impactful ministry. You cannot be giving people scraps and leftovers. Ministry is so important that we need to be in a rested state to be able to fully impact others with the gospel. This is our target. Build the Kingdom and Impact our Community. To do these things effectively, we must be rested. Ministry can wear us down. Sometimes, it isn’t even the big events that wear us down the most. It can be the small conversations and the mundane tasks that come along with ministry. These are important things too. So we must be rested. Ministry requires rest.

Ministry Requires Teaching

Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a teacher. I would argue that each and every one of us are. Maybe you don’t stand in a classroom and hold the captivity of others while you open God’s word and deliver a message. But, we are role models to others. People are watching you. They are seeing how you speak and act when you are not in the walls of the church building. They are comparing your profession of faith to the way that you are living your life. Some might even be trying to determine whether or not this Christianity thing is legitimate by watching you. We are teachers. We teacher others about our faith by our words and actions.

Mark 6:33–34 ESV

33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

The crowd figured out where they were going so they beat them there. We aren’t told how much rest the apostles may have gotten. Hopefully is was more than a cat nap. But Jesus noticed the crowd and did not avoid them. Instead, he went to them. I am so thankful that Jesus comes to us. Even when we didn’t want him to, even when we are stubborn, even when we may not want to hear what he has to say. Jesus comes to us.

He noticed though, that they were like sheep without a shepherd. Sheep need shepherds. They need them for protection. They make sure that they are eating and well nourished. What had happened is that these people were still more than likely going to temple when they were supposed to. But they had no shepherd. The priest had become mere employees of the temple. They were not concerned with the spiritual well being of the people. They were there to collect the money from the people, get their share of it, and go home.

How many churches may be operating like that. The pastor not caring for the souls of the people in his care. They are there to collect their paycheck. They do not care about the word being taught. They don’t pray for their flocks. They aren’t preparing the family meal for Sunday gathering so they have to throw together a quick microwavable meal for the people for when they show up. And the people are not nourished. I know that there are ups and downs of ministry. This most recent season of mine has required me to focus a little more time away from the church for the health of my family. But my heart for my family has not changed.

Yes, I have a heart for the physical needs of our church family. I am thankful for good, godly deacons that have been there to help and I know if I call them for some physical need in the church family, that they would do what they needed to try to take care of that need. But my focus is ultimately on the spiritual needs of the church. The teaching and preaching of God’s word. I am thankful that I have not had to put that on the back burner. If I needed to, I would stay up all night on Saturday studying to bring you a multi-course meal on Sunday morning. I never want to be the pastor who brings a cup of milk to a church who is expecting meat and potatoes.

This is so that you can leave here and be equipped out in the world. Ephesians 4:11–12 “11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,”

I am to equip you so that when you go out, you can teach God’s word. Maybe it is not you getting up in front of a group of people and teaching a lesson. Maybe it is grabbing lunch with a coworker tomorrow and starting off the conversation, “I want to tell you what our pastor preached on yesterday” or “I want to share with you a verse I read this morning in my bible”. This is teaching God’s word. And we are all commissioned to do it. Ministry requires teaching.

Ministry Requires Action

Don’t just sit there, do something. This may have been said to you before. If you work a job that has production goals, you know full well that sitting idly by while work should be done is not good. This is not only true in the business world, but it is true in the life of the believer. Ministry requires action.

Mark 6:35–36 ESV

35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

Jesus taught them to the point that they had been there so long, they were hungry. This wasn’t a 12:15 and the pastor had been going for 40 minutes type of hungry. This was a “Jesus had been preaching all day and it is getting late” type of hungry. So the disciples asked him if they should end the meeting so that the people could go to the towns around them to find food.

Mark 6:37 ESV

37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”

Maybe not the solution that they were expecting. Jesus says, “no, you feed them”. For this to really hit home, we need to look ahead and see that there were 5,000 men there. This does not include women and children. So there was possibly triple this number. The disciples did not have enough food with them to feed this amount of people. They thought that maybe they could gather enough money to go and buy some bread for them. 200 denarii was what they calculated it would take to feed them just bread. This amount is equal to roughly 8 months wages. This is a lot of money. And they were willing to go and spend 8 months wages to feed the people bread so that they could stay and listen to Jesus continue to teach. But Jesus had other plans.

Mark 6:38 ESV

38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”

5 loaves of bread, one loaf for each 1,000 men. and then two fish. This was in essence a happy meal. I say this because in the book of John he clarifies that this food came from a young boy. This would be the food that his mother had packed for him for the day as he went out doing things. But, the disciples obeyed Jesus. We see this level of faith from them. They knew that the logical thing to do would be either 1)send them on their way, or 2)go and buy enough bread to feed them. Jesus is showing them otherwise.

They needed to be obedient to God for this miracle to happen. If they were not obedient, this young boy probably would have went on his way with his loaves and fish and had them all to himself. But obedience will bring on this supernatural display of Jesus’ power for this great crowd of people.

Ministry requires action. Maybe there is something that God is calling you to do. It may be a small thing to try to get you to be obedient. It could be talking to your neighbor and building a relationship with them to be able to share the gospel with them. It might be something as big as starting a ministry to meet specific needs locally. Maybe God is calling you to be a teacher or a preacher. If we don’t have men that will step up and be teachers and preachers, the church will suffer. This requires action. Stop sitting on your hands. Don’t just sit there, do something. Ministry requires action.

Ministry Requires Meeting Physical Needs

Some of the greatest impacts for the gospel that a local church can make is when they are meeting physical needs. This opens a door into someones life. You are able to find out what they struggle with and what they believe. The ministry of physical needs is essential to the spread of the gospel.

Mark 6:39–41 ESV

39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.

Jesus takes the crowd and tells them to break up into smaller groups. And he takes the fish and loaves and blessed it and divided it up between them. He didn’t just give select people food. It says that he divided it up between them all. He didn’t find the hungriest ones and feed them. He didn’t find the most worn down looking ones and feed them. It says he fed them all.

Our churches address is not a mistake. God knew exactly what he was doing when he put us here. We need to be honest with ourselves. Yes, finances are limited and yes, it would be hard to physically feed everyone that is in our community. But God has a purpose for us. And that purpose it to do what we can to meet the needs of those around us. This might be fixing a meal for a family that is in need. This might be mowing the grass of someone who needs it. It might just be picking up some trash or switching some light switch covers for someone in their house.

But none of this can be done with us sitting comfortably by ourselves here in this building. In our story, Jesus did not wait for the people to come to him and his disciples. They went to the people. What are you doing to make a gospel impact with our neighbors right here in this neighborhood? Well, we are going to have an opportunity on Sunday the 27th right here. We are hosting a trunk or treat where people from our neighborhood are going to be willing to come to us. And we need you to be here. We need people to bring their cars and decorate them. We need people to help out with games. Maybe you are thinking that you physically can’t do these things. Well we need people who are willing to sit at a table and offer to pray with people. If you still have air in your lungs, God will use you and is not done using you. We are also going to be getting people beforehand to go to our houses and invite people to come. There are plenty of opportunities to help with this. We want people to be able to eat the spiritual food of Jesus.

Mark 6:42–44 ESV

42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

They all ate. I don’t need to explain what the word all means. But not only did they all eat, it says that they were satisfied. 5 loaves, 2 fish, 5,000 men, unnumbered women and children. Satisfied. Without Jesus they would have been hungry. But he fed them. More importantly than food, he fed them with his word. They were hearing truth right from the truth fountain.

Not only had they eaten and were satisfied, but they took up twelve baskets of leftovers. Mark gives us an extra detail, they were full baskets. Five loaves, 2 fish, 5,000 hungry men, and they take up 12 baskets full of extras. Brothers and sisters, this is no parlor trick. Jesus is not a magician. He is God. and what Jesus did in this moment is he proved that he can do a lot with a little.

What is your little that Jesus can do a lot with? Spurgeon said, “Come, then, weary hungry sinner. You have nothing to do but to take Christ.… Open your mouth and receive the food! Faith to receive what Christ provides is all that is needed”

Just as Jesus gives us food, we have a ministry obligation to be there for others. Ministry requires meeting physical needs.

Conclusion

Think back to what Jesus has done for you. How he meets both your physical and spiritual needs. Now think how you can do the same for others. There are always opportunities to serve others. You don’t even have to do them through the ministry of the church.

I want to end this sermon with a challenge and a charge.

Challenge - If you are here and have never truly believed that Jesus is your Lord and savior and surrendered your life fully to him, you have the opportunity to do that right now. (gospel pres) Repent, believe.

Charge - get more involved in ministry here at Immanuel. Many opportunities to serve; play music, visit shut ins, volunteer with outreach events like trunk or treat, teaching in a Life Group

You will not get to the end of your life and think to yourself that you spent too much time doing ministry.

Prayer