Faithful In Our Forgetfulness
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INTRO
INTRO
I want to ask us all a question. How many of us have failed at something important? Where you really let someone down, or your family down, or your friends? How did those people respond? How did you feel? As much as any of us would like to be a person who could always be counted on, truth is, we all fail at something sometimes. How do we think God responds to us in those moments? Mark is going to show us today, that Jesus Christ is faithful, even when we are forgetful. HE is going to show us that Christ is faithful to His people, even we aren’t! Three ways in this story that Mark displays Christ’s faithfulness. Because He is faithful, our needs are met, our sin is confronted, and our spiritual blindness is healed. Let’s stand for the reading of the word of God.
In those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He called the disciples and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a long distance.” His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed these people?”
那些日子，又有一大群人聚集，他們沒有甚麼東西吃。耶穌叫門徒來，對他們說：「我憐憫這一群人，因為他們和我在一起已經有三天，沒有甚麼吃的了。如果我叫他們散開，餓著肚子回家去，他們會在路上暈倒，因為有人是從很遠的地方來的。」門徒回答：「在這曠野地方，從哪裡能找食物叫這些人吃飽呢？」
OUR NEEDS ARE MET
OUR NEEDS ARE MET
Mark says that in those days there was “again” a large crowd. Again. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. When we read the story of Jesus feeding the 4,000, it’s easy to skip over it, because we just read about Jesus feeding the 5000. We’ve talked before how Mark is the shortest of all Gospel accounts, and so every word, every detail, every story is intentionally picked for a specific purpose. Why would Mark include this story which is so similar to the other one?
2 REASONS
Missiological: Gentiles Not Jews this time.
Theological
The second reason, which a reason we will camp out a bit more on, is theological. Let’s continue reading the story just for a minute. It says that vs 3-5.
If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a long distance.” His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed these people?” “How many loaves do you have?” he asked them. “Seven,” they said.
如果我叫他們散開，餓著肚子回家去，他們會在路上暈倒，因為有人是從很遠的地方來的。」門徒回答：「在這曠野地方，從哪裡能找食物叫這些人吃飽呢？」他問他們：「你們有多少餅？」他們說：「七個。」
Uh oh, here we go again! As you are reading this, you have to be thinking, disciples how hard headed can you be, how forgetful can you be! You just experienced this miracle only 2 chapters ago! How in the world could you have an experience like that and forget? How much are we like these disciples? How often have we experienced the power of God, the faithfulness of God, the work of God, only to find ourselves in some kind of crisis or problem, and begin to ask the same question “How on earth can this need be met?” “How in the world can this problem be overcome? Mark includes this story a SECOND time, because he wants you and I to know that even in our forgetfulness, Christ remains faithful. When I first started studying this text, I thought, man this sure is repetitive! And the truth is it is! Why? Because God knows how forgetful we are. This word “again” is so encouraging for us. It reminds us that what God has done in the past, He is faithful and able to do it again.
The Websters definition for faithfulness is: true to one's word, promises, and vows. That is faithfulness. The Bible declares to us that God is faithful!
Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands.
所以你要知道耶和華你的 神，他是 神，是信實可靠的 神；他向愛他和守他誡命的人，守約並且施慈愛，直到千代。
That means that God’s faithfulness is: the repeated action of God as He remains true to His word time and time again. And we need to be reminded of this.
‘It is a very great mistake to think that because we know a thing we need not be reminded of it repeatedly.Martyn Lloyd-Jones
So much of the Christian life boils down to the daily repetitive rhythms in our lives. Daily prayer, daily bible reading, daily fellowship with each other. This is how we grow, this is how we build our spiritual muscles. Many times we are looking for the magic formula to growth in the Christian life, but it comes down to our daily habits. The growth you and I need can’t come from one Sunday gathering, it comes from the daily meditation on the word of God, in prayer, and in fellowship with other believers.
One of the sports I am the worst at is golf. With golf you really have to practice your swing over and over and over again until it becomes muscle memory. Then all of the sudden you go out to the course and boom you can hit the ball.
It is the same with us. God wants us to be repeatedly reminded of His grace, of His love, of His provision in our lives. Don’t grow weary of the repeated rhythms in your life. Parents as you invest in your kids, do not grow weary, as you go to work and you continue to share the gospel with your friends, don’t grow weary, as you ask God in prayer, don’t grow weary!
Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.
我們行善，不要覺得厭煩；如果不鬆懈，到了適當的時候，就有收成。
The disciples find themselves in the exact same spot, in the exact same situation, not because Jesus is angry with them, but because He wants to REMIND THEM AGAIN, of How He is faithful to meet their needs, and faithful to provide all that is necessary for the mission of God.
What does God keep bringing you back to? What situation do you or I often find ourselves in? He wants us to learn He wants us to grow.
Jesus goes onto to ask the disciples, “how many loaves do you have?” We see here that they actually have more to bread to pull from than in the first story. In the first story they only had 5 but here they had 7. Jesus is reminding His people, that isn’t necessarily how much or how little you have, but it is what you do with it. You and I will go through seasons where we have plenty, and where we will have less. It is not about how much we have or how much we don’t have, but DO We take what Christ has given us and give it to Him, in order for Him to use it for His kingdom? This isn’t just finances, this is also our gifts. Do we take our gifts, our talents, however mighty or meek we think they are, and do we offer them as a living sacrifice in order that Jesus might use them to serve His people? Wouldn’t it have been silly, that instead of the disciples, seeing the need around them, instead of them giving their bread to Jesus, they thought, you know what “we got this”. And they began to cut up their bread into little tiny pieces and pass them out to the crowd? That’s what our resources with our power looks like. Silly and it leaves people wanting.
Watch what Jesus does. He takes the loaves and gives thanks. Jesus thanks the Father for what He has and what He is about to do. Church, how often do we thank God for what He’s given us. Or rather than thanking Him for what He’s given, do we complain on what we don’t have? How many of us have recently taken time to thank God for the way He’s made us, and the gifts He’s given us? Or do we find ourselves complaining that He hasn’t made us like someone else!?! Jesus took what was available and thanked the Father, because HE knew and was CONFIDENT that the power doesn’t reside in the supply of bread, but the in never ending supply of the Savior. The power to do God’s mission doesn’t reside in the supply of our resources NO, the power comes from the limitless power of God, THROUGH our resources. There is over abundance of Scriptures that call us to give thanks. To be grateful. To turn our hearts towards the Father and thank Him for the gifts He’s given us, and the way He’s made us. One sure way to NOT grow in Christ, is to be stuck in comparison and ungratefulness. Before I came to Christ, I used to steal things. Clothes, money, from stores and people, primarily because I wanted to project an image, because I believed that God made a mistake. I wanted to be better looking, have more money, because everyone else around me did. That is why:
“Comparison is the thief of joy” Even in the Christian life.
When we compare, what we are basically saying is “God you made a mistake. What you have given me, or how you’ve made me isn’t good enough” In Christ, we can joyfully give thanks for what the Father has given us, and how He has made us, trusting that He is faithful to use us and work through us in the way that He’s made us.
Then we see these gifts, the resources of the disciples were used to serve others.
He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. So they served them to the crowd. They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he said these were to be served as well.
耶穌吩咐群眾坐在地上；拿起那七個餅，祝謝了，擘開遞給門徒，叫他們擺開；門徒就擺在眾人面前，他們還有幾條小魚，耶穌祝了福，就吩咐把這些也擺開。
“set before them”. Jesus took what the disciples had and multiplied it in order to serve the people around them. Jesus shows us that HE is faithful to use our meager resources, multiply them in such a way that God’s people are ministered to. This means that every gift we have, every talent, every resource, ever training, it isn’t for us alone, but it to serve others around us. Your gifts aren’t meant to be stored away only for you to enjoy, but they are meant to be used so that everyone can enjoy and be equipped by them!
Did you know that the finest collection of antique violins are stored away in a farmers house in Europe. Since they are stored away they will not get any use. What kind of melody could be heard if these were brought out and played! These gifts have become museum pieces on display instead of gifts that can be used to be enjoyed by all. I do not want CityLight to be a museum where people’s gifts are simply set on display but never used. We want CityLight to be like a workshop, where God is making something beautiful and all of our gifts are tools that He is using to further His mission and equip His church. Amen?
What gifts or resources has God given you? Are you thankful for how God has made you? Are you continually placing those resources and gifting back in His hands? How are you using the talents, resources, that God has given you to bless and serve God’s people and those around you?
“God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply.” Hudson Taylor
OUR SIN IS CONFRONTED
OUR SIN IS CONFRONTED
The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test him. Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
法利賽人出來，跟耶穌辯論；他們想試探他，求他顯個從天上來的神蹟。耶穌靈裡深深地歎息，說：「這世代為甚麼總是尋求神蹟？我實在告訴你們，決不會有神蹟顯給這個世代的！」於是他離開他們，又上船往對岸去了。
I want to move quickly through this interaction. Mark allows us to see that the Pharisees and the Sadducees were not genuinely interested in the message of Jesus. This word “to test” actually means to tempt. And the only other place this word is used in the Gospel of Mark is used to describe the devil tempting Jesus. What does Jesus do? How does He react to their testing? Does He compromise because they are plotting to kill him? Does He compromise because He wants to be popular? No He is faithful to confront their sin. In the Gospels Jesus is displayed as one who seeks the lost sheep, or pursues all people, which is true!, but actually 41 times it is accounted in the Gospels that Jesus walks away from people because of their hard hearts. Here is one of those examples. Mark says that
Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.
耶穌靈裡深深地歎息，說：「這世代為甚麼總是尋求神蹟？我實在告訴你們，決不會有神蹟顯給這個世代的！」於是他離開他們，又上船往對岸去了。
What sign could these men possibly have wanted? Weren’t they there to see Jesus heal arms, heal legs, raise people from the dead? Weren’t they there or heard about Jesus healing people who were demon possessed? Wasn’t this miracle of multiplying bread and loaves enough of a sign? For most people yes. But these men were looking for a sign that would show them that Jesus would be the kind of Messiah, the kind of King THEY wanted. They weren’t looking for a sign to believe, but rather for an excuse NOT TO. The bible shows us that these men didn’t want a Savior for their sin, but a god to meet their desires. Let’s all be honest. This is how we are too at times. We want a God we can control instead of a God we surrender to. The Bible shows us, Jesus will not always be the King we want, but He is always the King and the Savior we need. Jesus confronts their sin. I know all of you believe that confronting sin is a good thing. I know this, because all of us have this thought “Oh I wish someone would tell so and so to stop doing that, or to do this.” And we all need it in order to grow, in order for their to be change. Jesus is faithful to confront our sin and the sins of our culture, because He alone has the hope for true change which is the Gospel. This is why miracles alone, signs and wonders alone, can not bring people to Christ. As powerful as they are, they are only signs that validate and give testimony to the message of the Gospel. I’ve prayed for many people, and they have experienced healing in their bodies, but would not submit their hearts to Christ. People must repent and believe in the Gospel. I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray for signs and wonders, God knows we need them and the power of the Holy Spirit, but more than bodies being healed, we need hearts that repent in faith. Christ shows us that HE faithful to confront sin, individually and culturally, by the message of the Kingdom of God.
OUR BLINDNESS IS HEALED
OUR BLINDNESS IS HEALED
But because Jesus is faithful, our spiritual blindness is healed. Look at this interaction with the disciples:
Jesus “gave them strict orders to beware the leaven of Herod and the Pharisees!” the teaching the unbelief, hypocrisy.
You would think since these are Jesus’ disciples they would be FAR removed from being tainted or touched by that thinking by that kind of unbelief. But Jesus knows the human heart, how forgetful we are. None of us are immune from falling into unbelief. None of us are immune for wanting to make our Kingdom ultimate instead of God’s. We must be on guard. Paul says in Acts 20 there are two things we need to pay attention to: our way of living and our doctrine. These are the two places where the enemy will infiltrate our lives and the church. BEWARE be ON GUARD. Are we lazy in this area? It’s easy at times to be lazy here, because we many times we just look at what everyone else is doing right?
A couple of years ago I was an airplane, and this airplane began have some pretty serious turbulence. How many get really freaked when there’s turbulence? I was looking around and it no one was doing anything. Calmly listening to their phones, reading their books, drinking coffee, talking, in reality you are in this steel tube 30000 feet in the air, and it’s shaking. But you know we don’t do anything in those moments? Because no one else is. Everyone else is calm, we’re calm. Many times we can treat holiness and the christian life in the same way. Hey, if the pastor is doing it, I guess I can too. If this big church believes this about the bible, well than I guess I can too. But Jesus is saying here to BE on your guard! Watch where false beliefs, and false living seek to infiltrate your heart.
But instead of focusing on the important thing, these disciples were discussing what? They only had one loaf! What? Twice in this passage the disciples show us how slow to understand they were. It’s encouraging. Because we are all too similar.
Jesus fires a series of 5 questions:
Do you not understand/comprehend?
Do you have hardened hearts?
Do you have eyes and not see?
Do you have ears and not hear?
DO YOU NOT REMEMBER?
Do any of you remember where these questions come from? Mark 4, when Jesus refers to those who are “outside the kingdom”. Here we have Jesus’ disciples not displaying characteristics of the insiders of the kingdom, but the outside? Point is that Jesus doesn’t leave them like the Pharisees.
What is the hope for these guys? These guys are forgetful, they are slow to understand, also we see as Jesus gets closer and closer to the cross, they aren’t very faithful either. What is the hope? What is our hope? All of us have blind spots in our lives, areas where what we know in our heads doesn’t always reach our hearts. We have areas that we are blind to.
Several months ago when we first began the church plant, Charlee Caudle wrote each of us a note of encouragement. I remember I was surprised that she did this all by herself, so I began to read it, and there was some really great encouraging things in the note, but the note ended with this.. “God’s not finished with you yet.” hahaha!
That’s the truth. Not one of us have reached a place where we can’t grow, can’t learn, ect. So, I will tell you what our hope is in the midst of our spiritual blindness. It is the ongoing faithful, healing , shepherding of Jesus Christ. This is why Mark ends this whole area with the healing of the blind man. In this story, it is strange because Jesus actually has to lay hands on this guys eyes twice in order for his sight to be fully restored. The first time the man just saw a blurred vision, then the second time his sight was fully restored. What connection does that miracle have with what just happened? Jesus is showing us, His disciples, that our spiritual blindness is healed in the same way, through the ongoing touch, ongoing shepherding of Jesus Christ. What if that guy went running around pretending that his eyesight was fully restored but it wasn’t? Major problems! Same for us, when we walk around in arrogance thinking we see things perfectly, bad things happen.
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.
我們現在是對著鏡子觀看，模糊不清，到那時就要面對面了。我現在所知道的只是一部分，到那時就完全知道了，好像主完全知道我一樣。
One day we will see fully and clearly, but until that day may we be people who run to Jesus for His continuous healing and touch, to remove the blind spots from our hearts. We need to ask for the conviction of the Holy Spirit and have people around us who can point out these areas.
Have you ever been driving and you are about to change lanes, and the someone says, hey look out, or a car honks at you, because you didn’t see them because that car was in your blind spot? Weren’t you thankful? In the same way let us be thankful when people lovingly point out areas where we have blind spots, or when the Holy Spirit puts His finger on something in our hearts, that we might repent of and grow in Christ.
Mark is showing us a Christ who is faithful even when we are not. A Savior who through the Gospel has covenanted to His people. Now in every religion we have all heard about gods who require our faithfulness to receive their blessings or benefits. But have you ever heard of a God, of a King, where His benefits, His blessings don’t depend upon your Faithfulness but upon His?!
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.
我們主耶穌基督的父 神是應當稱頌的。他在基督裡，曾經把天上各種屬靈的福分賜給我們：
if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
我們縱然不信，他仍然是信實的， 因為他不能否定自己。」 這話是可信的。
Through repentance and faith, every blessing of God, every affirmation of the Father doesn’t come because of our faithfulness, BUT THROUGH CHRIST, and THROUGH CHRIST ALONE!
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
WHAT: Mark calling you and me to remember and believe that because Christ is faithful, HE doesn’t change, even when we fail to understand and when we fail to perform.
HOW: I’ve already asked you above. But where has God gifted you, and are you trusting Him to use you? If you don’t know how God has gifted you we want to give you to take this spiritual gifts test(those in Christ)
If you are not a Christian, Jesus is faithful to confront those areas in your life that are holding you back from believing in Him. Are you responding to that through repentance and faith?
Finally, how are you actively asking the Holy Spirit to show you blind spots and unbelief in your heart? Conviction vs condemnation
WHY: Because Jesus Christ is faithful. This is why we believe great things for CityLight and Taiwan, not because we are going to nail it every time, but because even in our weakness, even in our forgetfulness and failures, Christ remains faithful.