Working With Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Jesus is inviting you to work with Him
Jesus is always working!
Do you have a desire to be used by Jesus for great things?
Everything I will tell you about today is centered around TRUSTING JESUS. Having faith in Him and His power and love.
This is in the Decapolis. This was likely a mostly gentile crowd!
Remember the woman who begged for Jesus to heal her daughter. She said, even the dogs get the scraps off the table. Now Jesus is feeding them all at the table!
Look
Look
for people Jesus desires to serve
1 In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them,
2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.
Compassion: to be affected deeply in one’s inner being, especially in that aspect characterized by sympathy and compassion. In the bowels.
“three days”: Jesus has been spending time with these people teaching. More than just an hour or so.
We need to be more observant about the people we see every day and how Jesus might be working in their lives. He has placed us in their lives to participate in that work!
3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.”
Jesus’ heart for people is not for them to serve His needs but to serve them. Its costly for Jesus and us. Not for the people we serve.
Look for people Jesus desires to serve
Share
Share
your concerns with Jesus
4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?”
“desolate place”. Desert or wilderness.
Much of the time, the call to work with Jesus is within a very impossible situation. A hard and lonely situation. Dark and desolate. Hunger, heartache, confusion, abandonment. etc.
Jesus doesn’t rebuke His disciples for their concerns and logical observations. He listens.
Jesus loves you and doesn’t get mad at you when you share your concerns about what he is asking you to do.
It seems impossible, but has Jesus provided in a similar situation?
Share your concerns with Jesus
Listen
Listen
for Jesus’s directions
5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.”
Jesus asks a question about what it is the disciples have on hand.
Jesus can do infinite things with what we bring to the table.
6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people…
“Directed”: Authoritatively command.
“given thanks”: express gratitude = Jesus was giving thanks for a SMALL AMOUNT provided for a LARGE AMOUNT of people.
Jesus PROVIDED/ Handed the ministry resource to the disciples. He transformed what they brought to Him.
Jesus will transform what you bring to the table. It is His provision and He will hand it to you.
Listen for Jesus’ directions
Obey
Obey
the directions Jesus gives you
6 … and they set them before the crowd.
7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them.
“Few small fish”: Sardines or fish scraps.
“blessed them”: Invoke God’s favor. Calling for God to do positively towards the thing being blessed.
The things Jesus has directed you to do that you are to obey are BLESSED.
This can give us confidence to obey. Take risks. Get uncomfortable.
Think about how simple it is to set food before people…
Take the simple steps. One step at a time. Whatever is in front of you. You don’t have to worry about what is going to happen after this.
“what do we do after we feed them?”
Thats for Jesus to take care of. We just do the simple obedience.
Obey the directions that Jesus gives you
Watch
Watch
Jesus abundantly satisfy
8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
“Satisfied”: They ate until they were not in need of eating anymore. They were full.
“left over”: There was an abundance of extras after everyone had eaten.
Whatever the current need… like your real eternal or physical need… When Jesus provides… HE PROVIDES WITH MORE THAN YOU NEED. He may multiply the simple or the scraps. But He will multiply it. He will satisfy you and he will leave you with extra.
9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.
FOUR THOUSAND!
now it makes sense why the disciples were freaking out…
I know that serving 1 person can cause you to freak out.
If Jesus can take care of the ministry to 4000, he can sure enough handle the ministry to 1.
10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
Jesus has more work to do!
Jesus is inviting you to work with Him
Look
Share
Listen
Obey
Watch
RESPONSIVE TIME
Closing Prayers
Jesus, please open my eyes to see you working.
Jesus, who are you inviting me to serve with you?
Jesus, please tell me, very soon, what our first step is.
