In our text today, we have one of Jesus' most well-known miracles. Jesus feeds thousands of people with only five loaves and two fish. It's one of the few events that we find in all four of the Gospels. And while there is no contradiction between the Gospels, we do find that there is information given to us in the different Gospels. I believe that's because they have different purposes in including this event in their Gospels. And I believe Mark is continuing to emphasize here how Jesus is training his disciples for the work of ministry that is before them. So we're in Mark chapter 6. and we're looking at verses 30 to 44. The apostles returned to Jesus, and they told Him all that they had done and all that they had taught. 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. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, And they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. And when he, Jesus, went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like a sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, This is a desolate place, and the hour is late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. 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? 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. Then he commanded them all to sit in groups. By hundreds and fifties they sat down in the grass. 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. And they all ate and were satisfied. And then they took up 12 baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men. Heavenly Father, we do come before you this morning. Lord, we pray that we are coming hungry to you, because we know that if we're hungry, you'll feed us. And you'll feed us with that which truly satisfies none other than Jesus Christ himself. Lord, we pray that the distractions that we might carry or the burdens, the things that are upon our minds, upon our hearts, the things that might take us away from your word. Lord, we ask that those things might be silenced. Instead, Lord, we pray that we would have the ability to focus on you, that we can focus on your word. Lord, we pray that we would gobble up your truth this morning, that we would be energized by the food that we receive, nourished spiritually. so that we might try what you have called us to do. Be gracious to us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. I didn't realize it at the time, but looking back now, I can see how God was preparing me for ministry, especially during my teenage years. I grew up in a Christian home. I liked going to church every Sunday morning. I liked going Sunday evenings. I even liked going on Wednesday evenings as often as I could. But in spite of all that, or maybe because of all that, there were three events that God used to shape my heart and my desires. Here's one of them. Back in high school, I went on three short-term mission trips. I went to Mexico City once, and I went to Jamaica twice. The Mexico City trip and the second Jamaica trip I took were very similar. They were construction projects. We went to assist a variety of ministries in building something. In Mexico City, we went to help them build an annex there at a local church. In Jamaica, we went to the Caribbean Center, a Christian center for the deaf, and helped them build some dormitories for students. But it was the second mission trip or the first mission trip that I took to Jamaica that I think was most influential upon me or to me. That trip was all about the ministry of the word. We were up in the mountains of central Jamaica and we were there for two weeks. The first week we were ministering in one local church. A week we were ministering in another local church. We did VBS in the morning. And I remember one of the guys in my group telling some of the kids that they would give them a doll hair for every leg hair that they pulled off my leg. So every day we came and the kids would try to sneak up behind me and rip one of them out. So we ministered doing VBS. But the thing that I liked most about this trip was the evening times. In the evenings, we had these open-air revival-type meetings. They set up huge speakers outside the church building that would just broadcast whatever was speaking. And so each of us students were expected at least once to share our testimony, to share what Christ was doing. And the other nights, at least for us guys, we were expected to hang out along the edge of the light. Because there were plenty of people that would be attracted to what was happening in the church, but they didn't want to actually come into the church. And so we were expected to engage. And if people stopped, hey, you need to come and hear what's being talked about here. Hope for your soul that's being presented in these meetings. And so it was at one of those times, one of these evenings, there was a young guy by the name of Dallas sitting there listening. And as I watched him, tears were just streaming down his face. And I got to see in that moment, I got to see the power of the word changing him right before my eyes. That was powerful to me. In our passage, the disciples have just returned from their short-term mission trip. They were tired, but they were also in cloud nine. They've been casting out demons. They've been laying their hands on people and healing people. They've been preaching repentance to people, and people have been responding. And now they come back to Jesus and they're telling Jesus, Jesus, wow, this is incredible what we just experienced. It's kind of like what happens when you've been separated from your family or from your friends for a while, right? What happens when you get back together? Hey, let me tell you what's been going on, right? That's what's happening. The disciples are coming back to Jesus and they can't wait to tell him about all the things that they've experienced. And Jesus says to them, in the midst of this, He says, hey, you know what? Let's get away. I know you're tired. I know you're worn out. Let's move away. Let's find a place where we can be alone together. Jesus is teaching His disciples here a very important aspect of ministry. Very important lesson. And this is the first point in your bulletins. There's an ebb and a flow to ministry. Ministry is not always go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, right? You get tired if you go that way. You get worn out. But neither is ministry necessarily work, and then rest, and then work, and then rest, and then work, and then rest. I know sometimes it might feel that way. Sometimes it might even be perceived that way. But the epitome of ministry is a little more nuanced than that. What is the purpose of resting? When we're resting, it isn't just simply to get away from work. That's often the attitude of the weekend, right? People see the weekend as, oh, I can get away from work and I can do what I want to do, instead of seeing the weekend as a chance to be refreshed. Look at the little comment Mark adds at the end of verse 31. The word for leisure means simply they had no way to spend time on something. They had no way to spend time even eating. And what happens if you don't take care of yourself? You burn out. You wear out. If all you're doing is pouring yourself out and you're not taking anything in, you're eventually going to run dry. So the question, where is it that we're fed? Where is it that we receive power and strength in order to minister? Where is it that we receive power and strength in order to continue living the life to which all Christians are called to live? I think Paul gives us an answer to this in Colossians 1, 28 and 29. This is what Paul says. Him we proclaim, warning everyone, teaching everyone, with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. That's the pouring outside. And then he says, for this I toil, struggling with all his energy, that he powerfully works within me. Powerful ministry comes not from within us. It comes from outside of us. It comes from God pouring his energy into us. It's God that energizes us for ministry. Now, where does this energy come from? How do we acquire it? Well, I think it is just simply this. It is having the Word minister to us. And where does that happen? What's the high point of the ministry of the Word? I mean, it begins in the preaching of the word. It is this sitting under biblical, expository, reformed preaching. But so too, maybe, say, your quiet times. Right? Your alone times with the Lord. That's where we find ourselves being energized for engaging people with the good news of Jesus Christ. When Jesus takes His disciples away, and He did this regularly, what happened? When He took them away, He took them away not to just be lazy, not to engage in recreational activities, He took them away in order to engage them in teaching them, in teaching them the Scriptures and of teaching them grace. He was having spiritual conversations with them. They're growing in wisdom and they're growing in knowledge of the Lord. So much so, they don't even realize how much they are learning. And Jesus tells them, after my ascension, I'm going to send the Holy Spirit to you. And the Holy Spirit is going to bring back to your mind the things that I've already taught you. Jesus is so super-loaded with knowledge and information that the Holy Spirit just brings it back out. It's kind of what the ebb and flow of ministry is, right? And pouring ourselves out, we are also taking into ourselves the Word of God and being re-energized, as it were, by His Word. But notice what happens this time. This time, when Jesus takes His disciples, Jesus and the disciples, they jump in the boat. Verse 34, look what happens in verse 34. When He saw a great crowd, You know, the Sea of Galilee isn't that big, is it? It's really the dimensions of it are only a little bit bigger than Lake Tarpon. And so if you're up on the mountains looking at the lake, you can see the whole lake. You can see the boats on the lake. You can see the people. You can see where they're going. And so the people, they recognize, hey, look, there's Jesus and his disciples. They're getting into the boat. Look where they're going. Hey, we can get there before them. We can get there and meet with Jesus. And so that's what's happened. People are racing to go and be with Jesus. And so when Jesus lands, he sees the people and it says there that he's filled with compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And so he begins to teach them many things. The second point in your bulletin, I think, is simply this. Ministry is a lifestyle. Sometimes people want to think of ministry as something that we engage in every once in a while. It's something that we engage in if the opportunity presents itself. It's something that we can do and then set aside. But what do we call people who choose to live the Christian life on Sundays and then on Monday through Saturday choose to live like the world lives? What do we call those people, right? Hypocrites, right? Hypocrites. And so while there is an ebb and flow to ministry, there is also a reality that sometimes God puts us in places to minister even when it seems like we're on empty. Because that's what He calls us to be. The Bible calls Christians servants, right? And some places the Christians are even called slaves. Other places we are called ambassadors. What would happen if our ambassador to the UN, I think it's John Bolton. What happened if he decided one day, no, I don't want to be an ambassador today, I want to go and do something else. Could we just set it aside? It would be absurd, he'd probably get fired, wouldn't he? As ambassadors for Christ, we don't have the option to decide, I'm going to live like an ambassador today, and not another day. All these terms, they describe not merely a duty, but they describe a lifestyle. First Peter chapter 3, in your hearts, honor Christ as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks of you for a reason for the hope that is in you. How are we to live? Always being prepared. Always being ready. That's the life we are to live. That's our lifestyle. Ready to give an answer. And when we look at our text again, what do we notice about the disciples? Were the disciples ready to engage in ministry? When they get off the boat, were they ready? I think the answer is kind of yes and no, because they've been receiving training from Jesus. They've been sitting under the amazing grace of Christ for a year and a half now. They've been soaking in the truth. They've been watching Jesus. They've been learning by example. They've gone, they've poured themselves out. So there's a sense in which, yes, I think they are prepared to get out of the boat and begin to minister to the people. At the same time, I don't believe they recognize their own preparation for ministry here. See, as the evening wore on, As dusk begins to fall, the disciples want to send everybody away. Time's up. Everybody go home. Lesson's over for the day. Have you seen some of the recent Snickers commercials? You know, Snickers candy bars. You're not yourself when you're hungry. Some of them are pretty funny. When people get hangry, that's really not a very good word, right? It's an annoying word, but when you're hungry, you get angry, right? They're not much fun to be around. Look at verse 31. Remember, the disciples don't even have time to eat. They're so busy ministering, Jesus says, OK, we're out of here. We're going to go off by ourselves where we can be refreshed. They go off by themselves. They get out of the boat, and here are all the people again. goes right into ministering them. But the disciples, it's like the frustration is building up and building up. When can we get rid of these people? And finally, evening comes and he says, OK, it's time to go. Get out of here. We're tired of dealing with you. The disciples were trying to disconnect, weren't they? I think it was their stomach, though, that was driving them, not their heart. And I can tell you, I can raise my hand and say, yeah, I've been there, right? I've been guilty of this, or I've been tired, and there have been opportunities to minister to people, and I said, you know what? Let's try this another day, because I don't feel up for it right now. Have you ever wished you had more opportunities to engage people? You ever wish? Man, I wish I could put myself in so-and-so's situation. It seems like they're always talking to people. Greg and Paula, how is it that you're always finding people to minister to? I think the reason for that is... As we live a lifestyle of service to Christ, we begin to recognize opportunities that are already all around us. In our text, we see Jesus addressing the deficiency in his disciples. Jesus turns to them. He turns the question right around on them. And he says, no, you give them something to eat. Don't send them away from here. You meet their needs. When Jesus looked at the crowds, He didn't see them like the disciples did at this point, did He? When Jesus looks at the crowds, He sees them as sheep without a shepherd. What do we know about sheep without a shepherd? How long are they going to survive? They're easy prey for the bears, the wolves, the lions, whatever animal, whatever predator wants to come along. Sheep without a shepherd are easy pickings. The disciples don't quite get this. They argue with Jesus. Philip answers Jesus over and John, you know, it's him. Perhaps a little bit of a snarky attitude. He says it would cost 200 denarii. Remember how much a denarii is? A day's wage. So we're talking almost two-thirds of a year's worth to feed these people. Jesus, even if we had that much money, which we probably don't, even if we had that much money, how are we going to find that much bread at this time of day? So Jesus responds, well, what do you have? What we have next is not merely a miracle where people's earthly needs are met, but I think what we have here is a miracle that is an example of what ministry looks like. And as I looked at this miracle from this perspective, not of Jesus feeding the 5,000 and the perhaps 15,000 women and children that were there. As I looked at this, not of Jesus feeding the masses, but from the perspective of Jesus teaching the disciples See Jesus kind of laying out four steps for ministry. I think the first step of ministry begins with desire. Jesus looks and he sees and he has compassion on the people. His heart went out to them. In Luke chapter 7, Jesus is approaching the city of Nain. And there's this funeral procession coming out of the city. And there is a single mother there. at the head of this procession, right? And it is her only son that has died and they are carrying him to the gravesite. And Jesus looks and he sees her and his heart goes out to her and is filled with compassion. And he goes and he raises her son from the dead. What is compassion? I think compassion is sympathy, pity, concern for others who are suffering. And we only see those who are suffering if we are looking for them. If we're not looking for people who are suffering, we're not going to see them. If we're not looking to bring the grace of Christ to those who need it, we're not going to see those around us who do need it. So compassion is a desire to see suffering brought to an end. This is where ministry begins. Second, ministry involves giving what we have. The amount we have to give really doesn't matter, does it? What matters is that we give what the Lord has first given to us. What is available? Sometimes we'll be so concerned, I wish I was like them, then I could engage in ministry, all the while we miss out what the Lord has already given to us in order to minister. Jesus told a parable about three servants. Each of them were given some resources, some talents. And if you remember the story that Jesus told, the first two servants, they took those talents and they put those talents to work. And then they were able to show how those talents had multiplied. But the third servant, he was given his talent and he didn't touch it. He didn't put it to work, he put it in the ground, buried it. And he was condemned. Incidentally, he was condemned not merely as a bad servant, but as being no servant at all. So Jesus asked his disciples, what do you have available? What has been provided to you with which you can meet the needs of these people? And they say, oh, I don't know. Right? And then they begin to survey. They begin to look around. They begin to consider what has been providentially provided. And they say, oh, we got five loaves of fish. and five loaves of bread and a couple of fishies. This takes us to the third step in ministry. That's putting our resources into Christ's hands. Verse 41. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up into heaven and gave thanks. Ministry isn't so much about what we do as it is about what Christ does. If we focus on ministry, it's all about what I'm doing, we're gonna burn out, we're gonna wear out, we're gonna get tired of it, because we realize we are insufficient for the thing which we're trying to do. We can't heal people of their sin sickness. We can't help, we can't deliver people from their lack of faith, but Christ can. And so what we are called to do is to direct people to Christ, to give them Christ who is the answer. It's not so much about what we have, it's about what Christ does. As Ron sometimes is quick to say, right? He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. If He owns that much, surely whatever deficiencies are in us, He can more than make up for. Let me give you a couple of verses to help shape your perspective on what you actually have. John 3, 27. Person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given to him from heaven 1st Corinthians 4 7. What do you have that you did not receive? Right. So when we first consider what it is, have we first recognized that everything I have has already been given to me? Right. There isn't anything that I have in this life that is not the result of the benevolence of God. In fact, we talk about the stewardship, right? Issue of Christianity. We're called to be stewards. A steward is, I'm taking care of that which is in my possession as a steward because it belongs really to Him. James 1 verse 17 every good and perfect gift is from above Coming down from the father of lights in whom there is no variation or shadow due to change Every good and every perfect gift is from God The five loaves the two fish God is provident provided it First Peter 4 10 and is each has received a gift Use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. You know, we really only have to offer what we ourselves have received, isn't it true? What we receive from Christ, what we recognize as coming from His hand, are the very things that are beneficial to us. I mentioned that one of the key events in my life that God used to shape me was that second short-term mission trip to Jamaica, another key event that took place when I was in eighth grade. Our church did an annual youth service on a Sunday night each fall. And during this youth service, the youth group was expected to do all the elements of the service, including the teaching and the sharing. And so on this particular year, each of the small groups were expected to get up and share a little bit about what they were learning. My group chose to talk about one of our memorial services, 1 Corinthians 10 and 13. And it was my responsibility to share with them about what I had learned in that first phrase of that verse. That first phrase is this, no temptation has seized you except what is common to man. So I can remember going to my pastor, going to Pastor Bob and talking with him about it. He gave me three words, explanation, illustration, application. So I wrote those down in my Bible and sent to work and wrote out a paragraph for each of those words. Thinking about this word seizing. No temptation has seized you. And so I thought of the Vikings. I don't know if the Vikings ever actually did this, but back then I talked about the Vikings, how they would lay siege to a town. They would surround it. They would isolate it until they could finally break the walls down or break the people's will and then destroy the town. Sometimes temptation hits us like that, doesn't it? Where it seems like temptation is all around us. It seems like it surrounds us and there's no way to get away from it. Anger, lust, pride, greed, control. Sometimes it feels like it is so heavily upon us that no matter where I go, I'm never going to get away from it, so I'm just going to give in. What I said then, and what is still true today, is that no matter what temptation comes at us, it's not fake to us. You don't face any unique sins. The things that you are dealing with, those temptations that are weighing heavily upon you, is nothing new to the human race. Others have been there, others have dealt with it, others have come through it without giving in to it. And more than that, we have a Savior, don't we? We have a Savior who has been tempted in every way like we have, and yet without sin. So there is a way to stand up under it. What I learned in that youth service is that God is giving grace to me in my study of His Word. And therefore, He's also equipping me as I study His Word, as I apply His Word to myself, He's also equipping me to pass on that grace to others. Christ gives to us all sorts of graces. Not only for the good of ourselves, but also for the purpose of the good of others. Here, this leads us to the fourth step of ministry. Obedience. After Jesus thanked God for the food, He began to divide it. And who did He give it to? He gave it to the disciples, right? Jesus didn't give it right out to all the masses. He gave it to the disciples and He expected His disciples to be obedient with what He had given them. He expected His disciples then to give to others what they had received. And what was the result of this ministry? The people were satisfied. They ate and they were satisfied. Not only were their stomachs full, but I think their hearts were filled too. God is good. If you want to see the goodness of God, I think the place to go is ministry. Engage in spiritual conversations with people. Engage people in their life, in their hurt. And bring to them the grace of God. And then you'll see, wow, God is good. Proverbs 27.7 says, one who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry, everything is sweet. Are you hungering and thirsty? Are you looking at others who are searching, hungering for something? They're the ones to bring Christ to. Isaiah chapter 55, 1 to 3, Jesus says, Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And he who has no money, come and buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread? Why do you labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently and eat what is good and delight yourself in rich food." And what is that? He says, incline your ear and come to me. Hear that your soul may live. I was on a bus returning from a church camp in Colorado. Again, this was probably back in eighth grade. The weight of conviction was really bearing down heavily upon me. It was John chapter 4 verse 20 that the Holy Spirit was pressing upon me, which says, If anyone says, I love God, but hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And I felt the weight of that. How could I say I love God if I hated my brother? Now, if I was counseling myself back then, I might have been tempted to tell myself, oh, that's not really hate. You're being too hard on yourself. But the weight of conviction was that my love and compassion for my own brother and my family was not what God was commanding of me or expecting of me. I was not loving him as I should. So I went and I sat down next to this other girl in the youth group. She was a senior. She was someone who I thought had it all together, who knew the truth. I don't have a clue what she said to me. I had tears coming down my eyes. All I knew is that when I went back to my seat, my soul was satisfied with Christ. I had been forgiven, washed clean. When Christ gives us grace, And it's the grace that satisfies. We're satisfied with Him. And it isn't until we are satisfied with Christ that we begin to see the abundance of what He has given, right? It wasn't until they had finished eating, until they were full, that they began to pick up the leftovers and said, wow, there is more here than we could have ever eaten. It was when everyone was done that they collected the leftovers and discovered there's 12 baskets full. We can never eat so much that we would expire or use up the fullness of His grace. There is always more. There is always more. When we talk about ministry then, I think it comes down to this. In spite of all that we've received, recognizing that He has given it to us, we can never use up all of God's grace and goodness towards us. And when we have that in mind, then there is no end. We can give away everything because we know that what He has to supply is more than enough to satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. And in Christ, and in Christ alone, that's where we find our satisfaction. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do pray for more opportunities to minister. But beyond that, Lord, we pray that we would have a hunger for more of You. We pray that we would have a greater desire for You in our life, for You filling us and satisfying us. Lord, we know that if we come to this place, no matter how much we give away, how much we pour ourselves out for others, that in so doing, we will find more and more grace. For your grace is sufficient. Lord, we pray that we would delight ourselves in you. Not in the things of this world, not in the things that this world has to offer, we pray, Lord, that our eyes be set on you, that the hunger of our heart would be for Christ and all. Make that happen to us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.