Our sermon text for this evening is Luke 9. The sermon itself will be focused on verses 10 through 17, but I'm going to be reading from the beginning of the chapter in order to provide some context for the sermon. So, Luke 9, 1 through 17, but focusing on 10 through 17. This will be our third meal with Jesus. It's a very familiar text when Jesus feeds the 5,000. One of the few miracles and stories that are in all four of the Gospels. And we bring in nuances of all the Gospels in the message tonight. And so Luke 9, verses 1 through 17. And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money, and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there, depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them. And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. Now Herod the Tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. And Herod said, John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him. On their return, the apostles told him all that they had done, and he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. And when the crowds learned it, they followed him. And he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. Now the day began to wear away, and the Twelve came and said to him, Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place. And he said to them, You give them something to eat. And they said, We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we are to go and buy food for all these people. For there were about 5,000 men. And he said to his disciples, have them sit down in groups of about 50 each. And they did so, and had them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up. Twelve baskets of broken pieces. Will you pray with me? Dear Lord, I ask that you would bless the preaching of your word here and now, that you would take your word by the power of your spirit and apply it to all of our hearts, that we would see what this miracle points to, that we would see your provision, your goodness, the way in which you satisfy us, and the way in which you provide for your ministry as you seek to accomplish your mission and your purpose, even to the ends of the earth, Lord. And so Lord, grant us attention, grant us expectancy, hope, and joy, and speak to us through your word. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Tell me if any of these situations sound familiar. You're at church, you lock eyes with your spouse who's hurriedly and excitedly coming towards you, and they say, hey hun, I just invited two families over for lunch, except you haven't even begun to think about lunch yet. Or maybe you've been carefully curating a party, you had all the supplies that you need, and yet you notice that more and more uninvited guests are showing up and eating up all of your food and drinking all of your drinks. Or maybe you're finally trying to sit down at the family table after a long day, but some overly comfortable neighbors stop on over. and you want to be a good, hospitable host, and so you respond with a mixture of outward politeness but inward panic. Of course you can stay. We've got plenty. Come on in. But the reality is you have no idea how much you have. In fact, you might have enough to share, but even if you do, will it be enough to satisfy? Will it be enough to fill up your guests? You want to serve, but there's this looming fear that you don't have enough to provide for and satisfy your guests. I think these types of scenarios are so often how we approach ministry. We want to serve others, but we're constantly focused on what we seem to lack. We feel we need to read another book, take another class, know our Bible better, or learn how to say the right words before we can go out and do real ministry. We feel we need to accumulate more, more training, more knowledge, more skill in order to have enough and truly minister well. And I think this feeling arises within us because at a very deep level, we simply feel inadequate for the ministry to which Christ has called us. And yet Christ has called us to this ministry. And so what are we to do? Well, this passage shows us that we need to reorient ourselves and our ministry efforts around the one who is truly sufficient, Christ. He doesn't call us to serve in places where we feel inadequate by mistake. Instead, it's a call for us to see that He has enough to provide for His ministry. It's not a call for us to somehow become enough on our own. And when we understand this, we minister not out of our strength, our gifts, our supply, but we minister out of the sufficiency of Christ. And in tonight's passage, we see the apostles confronted with their insufficiency. Jesus gives them an impossible task of feeding this crowd. And yet, through their inability, he shows them that he is the true power behind and source of their ministry. See, by feeding the crowd, Jesus shows that he is the sufficient shepherd who will provide for and satisfy his sheep. Jesus is the sufficient shepherd. He'll provide for and satisfy his sheep. And this is what the apostles needed to see in this moment to carry out their ministry. And I think it's what we need to see as well as we try to live faithfully Christ's call to us. And so we're going to look at this passage under three headings. We're going to look at mouths to feed, a miraculous provision, and a meal to come. So beginning with mouths to feed, our passage opens with the apostles returning home from the mission that Jesus sent them on in verses one through six. He granted them power and authority and he sent them out to exercise demons, to heal the sick, and to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. And he also sent them out with nothing but the clothes on their back and told them to depend on the hospitality of others throughout their ministry for food and for shelter. And it was a daunting mission, but as verses 7 through 9 show, it seems to have had great effect in the region and even reached the ears of Herod. And now imagine how the apostles felt returning back to Jesus after this mission. They would have been encouraged, they would have been excited about all the good work they were doing, but they also would have been exhausted. I think some of you who travel for work often might understand how they felt. Always on the move, lots to do, moving from one place to the next and longing to get home. The apostles are coming back ready for some much needed rest and relaxation, maybe even a spa day. And we see that Mark's gospel, Mark's telling of these events makes this clear in Mark 6, verses 30 through 31. It says, the apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and 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. Jesus takes them away into the wilderness just outside the town of Bethsaida for a time of rest, for a time of teaching, and for a time of prayer. But these plans are quickly interrupted. In verse 11 we see that a great crowd learns of their whereabouts and they go out and meet them in the wilderness. And I'm sure the apostles are getting nervous at this moment, that their sabbatical time might start to get interrupted. But maybe they assure themselves, well, Jesus has slipped through crowds before. We've made our way from these crazy crowds in the past, so maybe he'll do the same thing here. But what does Jesus do instead? On the second half of verse 11, it says, he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. Wouldn't it be great to hear the apostles' inner monologue in that moment? I mean, they were probably more than a little frustrated at Jesus at this time. I mean, what would compel Jesus to throw aside their much-needed time of rest? I mean, they had been working hard. They deserved this. Why would Jesus respond to the crowd in this way, right after he told them, hey, let's go to the wilderness and take a break? Well, again, we see the answer in Mark's telling of these events. In Mark 6, 34, it says Jesus looks on the crowd with compassion, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus welcomes this large, unexpected crowd, interrupting the apostles' rest because he has a heart that beats for lost sheep. Jesus's ministry is characterized by a desire to welcome, serve, and save the lost. And he ministers to this crowd all day until the sun begins to set. And at this point, the apostles are probably fed up. They look around, they see the sun is setting, they look at this great crowd, and what they see are a bunch of mouths to feed and bodies to board for the evening. So they see they're in the desert, they actually look up at the road sign and see that they're at the intersection of nowhere and nothing, and so they make their way to Jesus to give a suggestion of how to handle this crowd. And we see in verse 12, what they're essentially saying is, Jesus, they don't have to go home, but they can't stay here. We can't provide for them out in the wilderness. There's no food, there's no shelter, there's nothing we can do for these people. And it seems reasonable enough, but once again, how does Jesus respond? Verse 13, you give them something to eat. I mean, can you imagine? Matthew's gospel said that there were 5,000 men present besides women and children, which makes the actual number closer to 15,000 to 20,000 people gathered out in the wilderness. Back in May, Tiffany and I went to a concert at a venue that housed 23,000 people. It was a sold-out concert, and there were so many restaurants and vendors working the entire evening to make sure that everybody was fed. Jesus is telling these 12 apostles to feed a stadium. and they're flabbergasted. The second half of verse 13 says we have no more than five loaves and two fish unless we're to go and buy food for all these people. There's more than a hint of sarcasm in these words. See, they just got back from a mission where they were told to leave everything at home. So the tone in which they're saying these words is more like this. Okay, Jesus, you want us to feed them? Well, do you want us to take these five pieces of bread and these two fish and feed them? Or do you want us to go buy more food with that money you told us to leave back at home? I just, I can't figure out what it is you want from us. You know, why would Jesus put this responsibility on the apostles? Well, he's doing two things. He is showing them that if they are going to participate in his ministry, then it's their responsibility to feed the sheep. It's their responsibility to feed the sheep, but they are incapable of doing so by themselves. You see, by putting this responsibility on them, he is exposing where they functionally believe the responsibility and power for ministry comes from. Because notice the one thing the apostles don't do in response to Jesus. They spin out, they ask all these questions, they get sarcastic. But the one thing they don't do is ask for help. Why is that? It's the same reason why we don't ask for help. We dupe ourselves into believing that success and ability in ministry rests on our shoulders. Remember, the apostles just got back from a very successful ministry away from Jesus. Sure, he gave them the power and the authority, but as soon as they sent them out on their own and they started to have an inkling of success, Maybe it just went to their heads a little bit. Maybe it corrupted their heart just a little. And they started to think, oh, this is going well. Well, now it's up to me to keep it up, obviously. It's my responsibility to keep this ministry going. And to tell you the truth, I had to confront this exact thought this past week, past couple weeks while writing this sermon. I just couldn't crack this text. I didn't know how I wanted to preach it or have it come together. And I got really anxious and I got really discouraged. But what was behind that anxiety and disappointment? What was the heart that was fueling it? Well, many of you kind people at Harvest have been really encouraging of these sermons, of this series, and it was great encouragement. And yet, my heart took that encouragement and it transformed it into a command. Instead of simply receiving the encouragement, instead of simply, you know, taking it and moving on, my heart grabbed it and made a command that you need to keep this up. Brendan, it's now up to you to provide a good meal for these people each and every time you get up here. It's on your shoulders." And so obviously, I got anxious. Obviously, I got discouraged. Because when we start to believe for a second that any ounce of our ministry depends on any part of us whatsoever, then of course we're gonna be anxious, of course we're gonna be discouraged, because when we are the people who are responsible for ministry, we will only ever focus on what we lack. And I know that many of you feel this way too. We take our students out to the Boardwalk Chapel, and the most common fear that they have is that you won't be able to say the right thing. You won't have the words to say in that moment. Or even thinking back on last year's congregational survey, many of us expressed that we have little to no confidence in engaging with unbelievers or ministering well to them. I mean, we all feel insufficient for ministry in one way or another. But then, in response, we buy into the lie that that means we have to somehow become more, become sufficient in ourselves. And when we start to believe in lies like that, Jesus tells us to feed a stadium, not to crush us, but to remind us where the true power and provision for ministry comes from. See, Jesus' charge to feed this crowd understandably overwhelmed the apostles. In their minds, Jesus was asking them to do something impossible, something that was so far beyond their capability. And yet, Jesus does it for a purpose. He's not trying to crush them, like I said, but he's trying to move them away from self-sufficiency and toward greater dependence on Jesus. Jesus will empower and provide for his ministry through them. And he confirms this through a miraculous provision in the second half of 14, extending through the end of our passage in verse 17. In the middle of verse 14, Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces." This is one of Jesus' most famous miracles. Even non-Christians know that Jesus fed the 5,000, if you believe that sort of thing. And we tend to see the significance in this event in the sheer amount of bread and fish provided for the people. We look at the product of this miracle and we say, wow, what a miracle. What an act of God. And yet the deeper significance of this act actually lies elsewhere. You see, the crowd and the original audience would have had some very powerful Old Testament images in their mind as they sat and beheld this miracle. They would have thought about God's provision of manna in the wilderness for Israel. Or maybe they would have thought of 2 Kings 4, verses 42 through 44, where Elisha feeds 100 men with 20 loaves of bread. And we know they were thinking this way because in verses seven and eight and 18 and 19, they compare Jesus to Elijah and to prophets of old, which would have been someone like Moses. So we see these connections to Elijah slash Elisha and Moses. And yet there's one key difference between Jesus and these other figures. You see, Elisha and Moses only facilitated the provision, but Jesus produces it. Jesus is the source of this miracle. The multiplication of bread and fish are happening in and from Jesus and not merely through him. And this means that someone greater than Elisha or Moses has come. Somebody with power within himself to feed his sheep. And if that's the case, there's no more room for self-sufficiency because we have been presented with one who is all-sufficient. We don't need to worry about our lack in ministry because Christ will provide everything we need for the sake of His people. It's Christ's ministry through us. He provides, we facilitate. And we see that he doesn't just provide enough, but he provides more than enough. Verse 17, and what was left over was picked up. 12 baskets of broken pieces. Twelve baskets. One basket for each and every one of the disciples. A tangible, inescapable reminder that Christ is one who will provide for his sheep. He will provide for his sheep. And he will do it abundantly, even in the wilderness, even with little to no provision. These twelve baskets were a reminder to these apostles. And it's for this reason and because of this reality that Tim Chester says we need to have a theology of leftovers. This miracle calls us to live with the expectancy that God will take any ministry we offer others in his name, no matter how small, and will multiply it greatly. A theology of leftovers. It's a theology of abundance despite lack, as opposed to a theology of prosperity. And what's the difference between the two? Well, a theology of prosperity is ultimately self-centered and self-focused. If you ever hear the prosperity gospel, it tells you to sacrifice, but only because it immediately promises you that you will reap personal financial gain to the greatest extent. If you just sow this seed, you will have a larger bank account by the end of this year. It's ultimately self-fulfilling, self-focused. But a theology of leftovers is others-focused. It's a theology that's lived out by having eyes to see the needs of those who are weak, those who are disenfranchised, those who are helpless, and seeks to enter into those needs. It's a theology that offers what little it has and entrusts it to God to provide and provide abundantly. Not for our gain, but for the sake of others. And yet when we do so, we see that it blesses not just the recipient, but also the giver. Notice, it's the apostles who picked up the leftovers. As we bless others, God promises that we will also be blessed, and often in ways that we don't anticipate or expect. I mean, isn't it so often the case that when we are trying to bless somebody else, we are the ones who are ultimately blessed or ministered to in some way? We give up our time, our resources, our energy, and yet we seem to reap the blessings of joy, of fellowship, of sacrifice, of love, of thankfulness. We see that we are the ones ultimately ministered to, even in the very act of sacrifice. Christ takes these tangible things that we offer up to him, and he transforms them into spiritual, eternal riches. As A.W. Tozer says, any temporal treasure can be transmuted into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality. He takes our ministry, our service, our hospitality, and he makes it abundant. He uses these seemingly insignificant things to reap immortal and eternal blessings. He provides leftovers. And therefore, the encouragement to us is to give freely and to minister boldly. And again, this was a lesson that I had to learn the hard way this week. Lots of negative personal examples this week. Yesterday, Tiffany and I were in Kalamazoo, and we decided to stop in a coffee shop. And it was a nice coffee shop, these nice leather chairs, we were comfortable. And we looked outside, and we saw a man who had seen much better days. a man who was on a sidewalk bench, and he was actively using in public. And Tiffany turned to me and she said, should we offer this man a sandwich? And I so desperately wanted to help this man. And yet, I got caught up in my own head. I felt so uncomfortable with the distance between where I was in this cushy coffee shop and where he was using out on the street. And I was overwhelmed with this feeling that there was nothing I could truly do to help him. I thought of all these theological articles and arguments that, like, you must really help them the right way. You don't want to help the wrong way because then there's no point. And ran this rat race in my head until he finally got up and left, and it was too late. And we were driving home and I was crushed. I was ashamed. And I was talking with Tiffany about it because I realized that I was wrapped up in a theology of lack. I was focused on myself and unable to see this man who needed even the smallest token of ministry. And as we were talking about it, Tiffany turned to me and she said, you know, these situations make me uncomfortable too. And yet the reason why I try to move towards others in these situations is because I firmly believe that God can take even the smallest interaction, even a sandwich, and use it to prevent somebody from committing suicide or to draw somebody closer to Christ. Just one small thing can be used to move somebody to see Jesus. That's a theology of abundance. That's a theology of leftovers that God will provide even when we offer the smallest thing and entrust it into his hands to take it, to bless it, to multiply it. We are all insufficient for ministry, and that's the point. Christ is the power. Christ is the provider. It's his ministry, and he's promised that he'll see it through, even through the most unlikely and dire of circumstances. You see, this miraculous provision was just a foretaste for the apostles. We know how Christ was ultimately going to use these 12. Right? We continue, Luke also wrote Acts. And what happens in Acts? Christ takes these 12 and he uses them to spread his gospel to the ends of the earth. And we are the beneficiaries of that ministry. 12 guys sent out into the world and yet the gospel stretched to all the ends of the earth. And if he can do it with these 12 doubting, bumbling, nervous men in the wilderness, then he can take and use us for his kingdom too. But there's one final thing to notice about this provision. One final thing to see in this meal. And it's hidden there in verse 17. It satisfies. All ate and were satisfied. You see, these leftovers show that this is a very different meal than the manna in the wilderness. You see, back then, Israel could only gather enough for the day. If they gathered extra, it would spoil. And they had to wait on the Lord to provide day by day. And yet, here we see this provision of more than enough for today, but also for tomorrow. With this meal, we see that everybody has enough to be satisfied and then some. See, tomorrow is spilling over into today. And that this miraculous provision points ultimately to a meal to come, which is our final point. We're not going to be on mission forever. The day is approaching where thy kingdom will finally come. And what will that day look like? Well, it's going to look a lot like this meal in the wilderness. A large, undifferentiated mass of people reclining together, eating, drinking, and satisfied. As much as we can relate to Christ's provision for the apostles' ministry, we ultimately need to see that we are the sheep sitting down in that pasture, waiting to be fed. We need to ultimately resonate with Christ's provision for His sheep. See, we are the sheep who have been given a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb. That's what this wilderness meal points to. It doesn't point back to the manna. It doesn't point back to the 20 loaves and the 100 men. It points forward to that great and final feast that was envisioned in Isaiah 25, 6 through 9, our call to worship. On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food filled with morrow, of aged wine well-refined, and he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever. and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said on that day, behold, this is our God. We have waited for him that he might save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for him. Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. By providing this wilderness meal, Jesus is wetting the crowd's appetite for something greater. This meal didn't fully satisfy the crowd. They were going to be hungry again the very next day. But what they experienced was the type of satisfaction that leaves you wanting more. As with all good things in life, isn't it the case that we always want more than just that one taste? We were created and hardwired for a hunger for the good, and not just for a morsel, but for the whole enchilada. You see, it's not wrong to desire good things. It's not wrong to desire satisfaction. This meal clearly promotes both. But where we get off course is when we misidentify what's ultimately good and what will ultimately satisfy. So often our gaze rests on the good things of the world instead of the good God who provides these gifts. But this meal, this last meal envisioned by Isaiah, shows that God is the only thing in all of creation and beyond that could ever satisfy us completely. We know the world can't. We've already tried everything that it has to offer, and every time we are left feeling dissatisfied and longing for something more. But Jesus invites us to a meal that will finally satisfy. A meal where the Lord of hosts will be our host. A meal with people gathered from every tribe, tongue, and nation. A meal where God will swallow up death forever while we drink up the choicest of wine and gobble down the richest of food. A meal where our tears will finally give way to laughter and rejoicing. A meal of everlasting fellowship with our And only Jesus can provide access to this table. He has come to save and to satisfy, and his invitation is clear. Come to me, now I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Christ is the only one that can satisfy your hungry heart. And he invites you to come and believe in him alone for salvation. He was the lamb who was slain for these lost sheep gathered in the wilderness. And if you repent and if you believe, he promises that you will be satisfied. So come, behold the Lamb, sit at His table, and whet your appetite for the final feast He is preparing in heaven, even now, for lost sheep. Let's pray. Dear Lord, You are a God who provides and who satisfies. You are God who sent your son to provide access to you, to provide reconciliation with you, to provide a way to have everlasting life and a seat at that final banquet table where all of our tears will be wiped away, where death is gone forever, and we have nothing to do but rejoice and worship you. Lord, we thank you that your spirit has ministered to us and provided us with everything that we need. That even our faith to grab hold of these realities is a gift from you by your spirit. And Lord, we see so often that as we pilgrim throughout this life, as we seek to be obedient to your call and your charge to be faithful, to all the different ministries that you have called us to seek out, Lord, to live out before others, that we are so often combated with our inability, our insufficiency, our bumbling, our lack, And Lord, I just pray that you would direct our eyes away from ourselves and help us to cast our eyes on the shepherd who is sufficient, the shepherd who will provide everything we need because he's promised to provide for his sheep, and we know that he's provided for us. And so, Lord, move us away from ourselves, move us away from our anxiety, our self-loathing, our doubts, our despairs, and help us to rest on your provision and your satisfaction alone. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Will you please rise for our final song? Here, oh my Lord, I see thee face to face. And the final verse four will be acapella. Not the final verse, just verse four. ♪ Here would I touch earth and all things unseen ♪ ♪ Here rest with forever and eternal grace ♪ ♪ Let all my weariness upon thee lean ♪ on the bread of God. Here drink with me the royal wine of heav'n. Here would I lay aside eternal rest. ♪ Here taste the fresh, the calm of sin forgiven ♪ ♪ This is the hour of repentance, end of song ♪ ♪ This is the heavenly table spread out for you ♪ ♪ We stand, we sing self-prologue ♪ ♪ The brief white hour of fellowship with Thee ♪ ♪ I have no help but Thy Lord do I need ♪ Is enough, my Lord, enough in Thee? Thy strength is in Thy might, Thy might alone. Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave I love Go out with God's blessing on your life this evening. This is from Hebrews chapter 13. Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.