More than Enough

More Than Enough: The Abundance of Christ

Bible Passage: Mark 8:1–13

If you are wondering if you are having deja vu, you aren’t. This is the second feeding of a large crowd by Jesus in the book of Mark. It’s actually the second feeding in the last two chapters.

So what’s happening? Why include another one besides the obvious reality that it’s an incredible miracle?

Well remember how last time, we talked about how the disciples didn’t seem to get it. In fact, that’s exactly what the scripture says happened. Mark 6:52 “for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.”

So in some ways, it’s a reinforcing of the point they obviously were missing.

-I do this a lot as a coach.

-I do this as a dad.

-I have this done to me by some of the staff members…

But it’s also uniquely happening on the back ofJesus doing miracles in Gentile territory to and for Gentiles. We now see this happening somewhere in the Decapolis which is a region that is a mixed bag at best.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Decapolis

A term meaning “ten cities” that designates a group of Hellenistic cities predominately located on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River.

And they are a ways outside of one of these cities. To the point where Jesus is like… they could die on their way back to food. Which we will get to in a minute.

So we see that Mark is emphasizing that Jesus’ ministry continues to expand and be “FOR EVERYONE.” and can Jesus can be encountered “ANYWHERE”

Let’s dig in with that as the background and the foundation of what needs to be revealed to us this morning.

1. Christ's Compassionate Concern

Mark 8:1–3 NIV

During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

Notice the beginning of this passage - “another large crowd”

-These same crowds that are tiring Jesus and the disciples out.

It would be easy to be more bitter and resentful about them. Like geeze, do you guys ever stop needing things…

But the opposite is true about how Jesus sees the crowd he says, “I have compassion for these people.”

The Greek wording here is to be literally MOVED by the people. Like inside a person to be FILLED with compassion.

But notice what his compassion is for? Of course it’s for the people but it has an outlet:

-He’s probably taught them spiritually but now his compassion upon them is about their physical needs.

Jesus is aware of our needs and reacts with compassion.

Take that in for a minute.

It’s easy for us to regulate Jesus to some sort of spiritual shelf. But Jesus cares about ALL OF YOU. All your needs.

-You are hungry - he cares.

-You are stressed - he cares.

-You are tired - he cares.

-You are frustrated - he cares.

-You are depressed - he cares.

So in the WITH JESUS category… come to Jesus and he will have compassion on you.

In the LIKE JESUS category.

-When we care for people - we care in more than just their spiritual needs. That too. But if people are hungry. We don’t just give them a Bible and go - good enough. We help feed them.

-If someone is struggling to make ends meet, we don’t just send them our favorite worship song, we help them with a bill. Or get them a card for groceries.

-If someone is struggling their a loss of a loved one. We don’t just pat them on the back and say “God is with you.” we also sit with them.

Jesus’ compassion challenges us to trust Jesus in our times of need, knowing He cares deeply and will act for our good.

But it also challenges us to be LIKE JESUS.

These people won’t make it home if we don’t give them FOOD.

2. Challenging Our Doubts

Mark 8:4–5 NIV

His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?” “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied.

The hard part of Jesus’ compassion is that it sometimes seems so unrealistic and unfeasible. Even if he has shown up before.

Check this out… the disciples have seen Jesus do this before. Feed tons and tons of people in a remote place with nothing. And yet here they are going, “ummm…. your compassion is great, but it’s unrealistic.”

And the shocking reality of this is —— THAT IS LITERALLY US!

Your compassion is nice but… it’s unrealistic Jesus. It’s not feasible. Do you see all these people? How do you expect to do this? Like it was cool what you did before but I just don’t see it…

OUR PROBLEMS ALWAYS SEEM SO MUCH BIGGER THAN GOD.

How are you going to do what you’ve called me to? How are you going to come through in this moment? How do you expect to help?

Our doubts are real.

And not only that but maybe the opposite has been true in our life. That the last time you came against a big problem, you felt as if God didn’t show up. Or that he left you to drown. So you don’t feel like you have the evidence that he will do the impossible.

So you doubt…

But remember the story is not about some impossible problem and some human solution.

Jesus is the initiator of the divine solution. So don’t get it twisted. We don’t look at our problems and go - Here’s how you handle this situation for me God, and if you don’t handle it the way that I think you should, than you didn’t come through for me.

Who is the initiator of the divine solution? Jesus. He started this conversation. It flowed out of his own compassion and his solution is not what the disciples had in mind at all.

Could this be the case for you too?

Jesus’ probing question about their resources (seven loaves) invites his disciples—and us—into a process of trust and willingness to offer what little we have, trusting that He can multiply it beyond measure.

3. Cultivating a Grateful Heart

Mark 8:6–7 NIV

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.

Besides Jesus being the divine initiator of the solutions in our lives. He also models something here that I don’t want us to miss… Gratitude.

Jesus models thankfulness, teaching us to start with gratitude for what we have. Despite what we have NOT BEING ENOUGH. Do you see this?

Jesus isn’t giving thanks for all the multiplication — he’s giving thanks for the seven loaves. And then small fish.

Jesus also isn’t giving thanks SO THAT there will be multiplication.

The text is clear that he’s simply giving thanks for what He does have.

That is the posture we should have.

WITH JESUS - thankful that his presences is with us.

LIKE JESUS - thankful for whatever meager resources we do have.

The start of our posture to Jesus is a place of gratitude.

We are stewards anyways.

Everything we have has been given unto us.

ME—-> Kids quickly go to “it’s mine” — “that’s mine”

But kids don’t have jobs. Don’t have money that isn’t given to them.

The ice cream I buy my kids didn’t come from their work or their money. It came from me giving it to them.

Their rooms are not actually theirs. They don’t pay the mortgage.

We have a tendency as adults to do the same thing — “it’s mine” — “that’s mine”

“For the world is mine, and all that is in it.” -God in Psalm 50:11

The reality is - everything we have came from God. No matter how much you think you’ve earned it or achieved it or worked for it. Simply because at the start of the fuse, our live comes from God, our breath comes from God, every new day comes from God.

We are simply stewards.

A good steward understands that all that they have, has been entrusted to them. Nothing of any value is truly theirs.

What if we understood that in ALL OF LIFE?

-Church -Money -Kids -Time

-Problems -Burdens

A lot of our problems come from an attitude aiming what is not ours instead of being thankful for what we have.

-Anxiety, anger, coveting, stealing, murder, assault

-Almost entirely come from a lack of thankfulness and contentment-replaced by bitterness, anger, violence

We mismanage money because we think money is for ourselves and making ourselves happy

We mismanage churches because we believe the church is for ourselves and making ourselves happy

We mismanage our kids because we believe our kids are to be happy all the time.

We mismanage our time because we believe our time is for ourselves and making ourselves happy.

We mismanage our burdens & problems because we believe we have to get ourselves out of this. We are STRONG!

4. Celebrating Christ's Abundance

Mark 8:8–10 NIV

The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

All were satisfied with leftovers.

The Bible wants to tell us something remarkable. Christ’s provision is sufficient and it’s more than enough.

Now - it’s important we understand the trajectory of we will miss the actual point of the story. Jesus may have brought temporary satisfaction with the gifts, food, and miracles. But that’s not the source of satisfaction. The real trajectory of this parable is that Jesus is the BREAD OF LIFE…

Which Mark goes on to explain in the next passage, that will be covered next week.

John 14:6–10 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”

Jesus - show us the Father and that will be ENOUGH.

Jesus says —- I am the Father and I am enough.

Jesus is enough in our strengths

Jesus is enough in our weaknesses

5. Confronting Callous Unbelief

Mark 8:11–13 NIV

The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

After all this… guess what… there are some that still have callous unbelief. Don’t let that be you.

Jesus sighed deeply. Like the image is disappointment, like the father that says, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.”

We can be the people and be satisfied with the gifts.

We can be the disciples and be satisfied with Jesus.

Or we can be the cynics and be satisfied with nothing.

Give me a sign… bro, what are you even talking about… literally 4,000 people just shared a fish sandwhich and they aren’t hungry anymore.

And the lesson for us —- is the same can happen to us. When God shows up, we quickly dismiss it and move on. Or it’s not the way we wanted or it’s not how we expected. Or we just are so hard hearted and hard headed that we miss Jesus and his beauty.

Don’t miss it.

Let’s pray.

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How can we cultivate a grateful heart in our daily lives, reflecting Jesus' model of gratitude?

What does it mean to trust Jesus in our times of need, and how can we demonstrate this trust to others?

In what ways do we see Christ's abundance in our lives, and how can we share that abundance with others?

How can we ensure our hearts remain open to recognizing Jesus' presence and provision in our lives?

How does understanding Jesus as the 'Bread of Life' impact the way we approach our physical and spiritual needs?

What are some practical ways we can care for the physical needs of those around us, similar to how Jesus did?

How can we confront our own doubts and fears when faced with seemingly insurmountable problems?

What steps can we take to turn our attitude of scarcity into one of abundance?

How can we encourage each other to recognize and celebrate the abundance in our lives?

In what areas of our lives do we struggle with feelings of inadequacy or doubt in God's provision?