Now, let's read from the Word of God. We're in Mark chapter 8, and I will read Mark 8, 1 through 23. This is God's Word. In those days, the multitude, being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, I have compassion on the multitude because they have now continued with me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come from afar. Then his disciples answered him, how can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness? He asked them, how many loaves do you have? And they said, seven. So he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to set before them. And they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish, and having blessed them, he said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Now those who had eaten were about 4,000, and he sent them away. Immediately got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha. Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, testing him. But he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation. And he left them. And getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then he charged them saying, take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, it is because we have no bread. But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up? They said to him, 12. Also, when I broke the seven for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up? And they said, seven. So he said to them, how is it you do not understand? The reading of God's word. If you've been with us over the past few weeks, there should be something that seems familiar about today's passage. Today we read about the miraculous feeding of a great multitude, 4,000 people fed by Jesus with only a few loaves and a few fish. And you might be thinking, but wait, didn't we already just recently have a miraculous feeding of a crowd? Yes, we did. There are two distinct miraculous feedings of the multitude, a multitude. In fact, if you're familiar with Mark, you might have started to notice other repeated incidents up to this point, starting at Mark 4, 35, all the way up through Mark 8, Two different mass feedings using bread and fish. Two different miracles in the middle of the sea with just Jesus and his disciples and tricky weather and water conditions. Two different conversations about bread. Similar but distinct deliverances from disease and demons. Two different conflicts with the Pharisees. Is there an underlying purpose to this repetition, to these repeated events, or is it just repetition? If you look carefully at the transitions of the texts that stitch together each of these different scenes, the geography references reveals something very interesting and significant. Commentators widely agree that Jesus seems to run the same course of ministry twice, runs the same course twice, once in the land of the Jews, and then once through the land of the Gentiles. There's a miraculous feeding in Galilee, but there's also a miraculous feeding outside the bounds of Israel. There are healings and casting out of demons for Jews, but there are also healings and casting out of demons in Gentile lands. Jesus seems to bring the same message and the same methods to insiders as well as to outsiders. He does it again for outsiders. And as he does with his disciples present and seeing him do all of this, as he does that, something is also going on inside their own hearts. Jesus is working something in them, in the midst of all this. So let us examine our text today, and as we look at it, we see three things. A heart of Christ, Christ's heart of compassion. Christ's heart of compassion. And then we see the hearts corrected by Christ. The hearts corrected by Christ. And then thirdly, the heart changed by Christ. So Christ's heart of compassion, the heart's corrected by Christ, and then the heart changed by Christ. We start with Christ's heart of compassion. This is in verses one through 10. These verses describe this similar but distinct feeding of a multitude. Mark 6, the first feeding, Jesus fed 5,000 men, and presumably there were even more women and children in that crowd. Now here, the second time, Mark 8, this feeding is similar. He feeds 4,000 people, likely 4,000 men and women and young people, but it's different in various features. For instance, verse five, Jesus starts with only seven loaves instead of five loaves to feed thousands. Verse eight, another difference, the leftover bread after everyone eats and is full, it's seven large baskets, different kinds of baskets, much larger ones, and also a different number, seven of them. instead of 12 smaller baskets, the leftovers from the first feeding. The setup of this whole mass feeding is also different. In the first feeding, Jesus was teaching a crowd for a long afternoon and into the evening, and then he fed them. In this incident, this second feeding, verse two says, they've been staying with Jesus for three days, it's like a mini seminar, three days of hearing his teaching, and then he feeds them. So these are some of the differences. Now let's look at two similarities that show a compassionate heart of Christ. First of all, first similarity, Jesus' heart is again deeply moved for the people, deeply moved for the crowd in front of him. In the first feeding, Mark, 6, 34, Jesus sees the great multitude and it says he's deeply moved with compassion for them because they're like sheep without a shepherd. In this second mass feeding, Mark 8, 2, Jesus called his disciples to him and he says, I have compassion on the multitude because they have now continued with me three days and have nothing to eat. The teaching is done, but if I send them home without physical food, some of them will faint on the way back home. Verse three, some of them have traveled from a long way. So in both feedings, Jesus uses this same word for his emotional motivation towards the crowd. He has compassion. He's deeply moved by the needs of the people in front of him. The Greek word here is almost solely used, as you read through the Bible, is almost solely used to describe the compassion of Christ or the compassion of God towards people who have great needs. Jesus sees a mass of people who need something to eat and he longs to feed them. Now, here's why this is especially notable. This second feeding, the feeding of the 4,000, this is in Gentile territory. It's set in the place that Mark 7.31 describes, regions that are outside the borders of Israel, regions that are heavily populated by outsiders, by Gentiles, by unclean people. Peter, in Acts 10, says, you all know it's unlawful for Jews to associate with such people. They're unclean. They're commoners. So it's true that even in these surrounding lands, these lands that are outside the boundaries of national Israel, there were large pockets of Jews in every place. There were Jews there. But Mark seems to be taking pains as you work through each chapter, Mark seems to be taking pains to show that Jesus is doing the same thing among Gentiles that he does among Jews. And Mark, as we noted last week, he's anticipating that the readers of his book will not only be Jews. He is anticipating and expecting and and hoping that some of the readers of the Gospel of Mark will be Romans, will be Gentiles. It's going to be read by outsiders. And that's why he does things, and this is noted by commentators throughout the book, he does things to explain to Gentiles the way of Jewish thinking, the way of Jewish practice. For instance, last chapter, Mark 7, that's why he translates Hebraicisms. and explains them for people who are not Hebrews. That's why Mark, when he's trying to select from this catalog that would fill the earth with books about the sayings and the doings of Jesus, he selects healings and deliverances of Jews, and he selects healings and deliverances of the same sort among the Gentiles, and for Gentiles. Last week, we saw two of them, the Gentile Syrophoenician mother, the deaf man who was around the Gentile region of Decapolis. So here, Jesus is looking at this crowd of 4,000. It's likely of mixed ethnicity, mixed cultural backgrounds, mixed religious backgrounds, and looking at them and seeing their need. The heart of Jesus is filled with compassion for Jew and Gentile alike. And Mark is expecting that as the outsider is reading this, or hearing this text, he's expecting that as this outsider, if you get yourself into the mind, is listening. He's finding himself. He's finding herself in this crowd of 4,000. Jesus was moved with compassion on the shepherdless Jewish crowd of 5,000. Jesus was moved with compassion on the hungry mixed Gentile crowd. And so the reader, the listener, is tracking along and says, Jesus was moved with compassion for my people. Jesus has the same compassion for all peoples. Now secondly, see how Jesus has not only the same compassion, but the same blessings for all peoples. In the first miraculous feeding, Jesus multiplied bread and fish for Jews. In this second miraculous feeding, Jesus again multiplies bread and fish for a mixed crowd of people. He treats them equally. he has the same blessing for them. Just as Jesus equally casts out demons for Jews, he also casts out demons for the Gentiles who come to him and ask. And just as Jesus equally heals sick Jews, Jesus equally heals sick Gentiles who come and ask. So Jesus equally teaches and feeds hungry Jews and hungry Gentiles. Jesus performs an identical ministry with identical compassion and identical blessings both to the Jews and to the Gentiles. Mark is telling his readers, Jesus is the same Christ for all peoples, for the Jews and for the Gentiles, for the righteous and for the sinners and the tax collectors, for the clean and for the unclean. His heart is moved in the same way for all peoples, and Jesus brings the same good for all peoples. Now let me offer an application of this for everyone here today. Jesus is seeking you. Jesus is seeking you, no matter how different you feel from everyone else, even here in this room. Jesus is seeking you. Does this place with our practices, our conventions, does it seem foreign? Do you feel a little out of place in this group of people or just in life? Do you feel out of place where you are in the circles in which you live and work? Maybe, maybe whoever you are, You feel like you're a member of the minority living among a majority people. Or maybe it's the other way around. Maybe you're a member of the majority people, but you're placed among many different minority peoples, and you feel out of place. Jesus is seeking you in this mixed multitude. He crossed the water to get here. Maybe you feel different politically. You're politically conservative, and you feel like you're among people who are more progressive. Or maybe you're progressive, and you feel like you're around people who are more conservative, and you feel out of place. Or maybe you feel consciously more educated or less educated than the group of people around whom you live or worship. If you're more rural in your sensibilities or more urban in your sensibilities, you're part of this mixed group of people and you feel out of place. Jesus is seeking you, no matter how out of place you are in this group. Jesus kept traveling further and further out and further out to find all people and to bring his compassion and his good to them. And he's moved with compassion for your needs. He offers the same good to you. He is the same Christ offered to you for Jew, for Greek, for rich, for poor, for the accomplished and for the average. and for the below average. Jesus has come to you equally this morning. Mark wants you to taste that about Jesus, the person of Jesus. Jesus went deep into outsider territory. Jesus purposefully struck up conversations and relationships with the unclean. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. He healed foreigners. If you are not a believer, you're listening to this, maybe you're weighing Christianity but you're held back from it because you see a lot of differences between you and the people who are around you, either here in this room or just in the general picture of Christianity that you're starting to take in as you investigate Christianity. You're held back because you feel so different from the people around you. Jesus is for all people. And if you're a believer, Here's what you're being urged to do with this. Seek the outsiders. Seek the outsiders just as Jesus did. Seek people from different lands, different ethnicities, different backgrounds, including the unclean, the tax collectors, and the sinners. Keep expanding your boundaries just like Jesus did. Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ for all people. Now, we've looked at Christ's heart of compassion. Now, let's look at the hearts that are corrected by Christ. The hearts that are corrected by Christ. This is in verses 11 and following. Which hearts are corrected by Christ? There are two groups here. The Pharisees' hearts and the disciples' hearts. The Pharisees' hearts and the disciples' hearts. Let's start with the Pharisees' hearts. Verses 11 and 12, we have conflict. Conflict, the Pharisees, those who are the respected, the learned practitioners of the conservative religious establishment, they come looking for Jesus, but they're looking for a quarrel. They're looking for a quarrel with Jesus, verse 11. Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with him. They're like people who come to Preaching, they come to hear preaching because they're looking for what they disagree with. They're looking for the problems in the preaching. You will always be able to find fault with human sermons, but there's no fault with Jesus' sermons. But here they are, quarreling with Jesus, and that should turn a light on. You will find fault in what is said in this pulpit. We don't want it to be that way, but you will find it. You can't find any fault with what Jesus has preached or taught. And here they are, they have found fault with Jesus. What's the nature of their quarrel? Verse 11, it says, they're seeking from him a sign from heaven. They're seeking a sign from heaven, testing him. That word, the Greek word for sign, it's not talking about miracles. They already knew that Jesus did miracles of healing. He did miracles of casting out demons. They do not dispute that. They don't dispute that Jesus was doing miracles, that he has power. This word sign, it almost has a technical sense. In this context, a sign is something that links a person to God. A sign is something that links the person to God. So they're not asking for a miracle. They're asking to show that the miracles are from God. And these men are set on this. They want to know, you'll recall, by what authority is Jesus doing and teaching these things? What's the authority? Is this coming from God or not? Is it coming from the devil? Is this just worldly power, sorcery, evil? That's their charge against Jesus in Mark 3. You'll remember what they said. They said, by the ruler of demons, he casts out demons. Mark 6, 2, they're asking, where did Jesus get these things? Where did this man get these things? Where is this stuff coming from? And this is the question for you today. Is Jesus legitimate? Are these things taught about Jesus legitimate? Will I be on the wrong side if I follow him? Will I be disappointed if I become a disciple and I join with him? Am I actually following God if I follow Jesus? Is Jesus the son of God? Now, will Jesus give them the sign that they demand? Verse 12, but he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation. No, Jesus will not give them the sign, the proof they demand. Why? Why? Why not give them the sign, the irrefutable proof that Jesus is of God, sent by God, the Son of God, the Messiah from God? Why won't he give them the sign? It's because their hearts are hard. It's because their hearts are hard. As you read through the book of Mark, there are numerous, wonderful, astounding themes. One of the recurring themes in Mark is the heart of people, the inner person. Your heart is another word for your inner person. We're not just thoughts. We're not just bodies. We're not just matter and molecules. You have an inner person, and that is the place of your inner desires, your feelings, your loyalties and allegiances, whom you identify with. And if your heart, if your heart isn't right, It doesn't matter what Jesus says. And if your heart isn't right, it doesn't matter what miracles Jesus does. You won't be convinced by it. Recall Mark 4, 15. These are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. Remember the healing of the man's hand in Mark 3. Why did the Pharisees look at a miracle in their very eyes? They weren't hearing a report of it. They weren't watching a video. They were there in the room. He healed the man in front of their eyes and it made them hate Jesus. It says, Jesus. looked around with them at anger, and he was grieved at the same time because of the hardness of their hearts. If your heart is hard, it doesn't matter what Jesus says or does, it will not convince you. If your heart is wed to other things, the praise of man, the pleasures of this world, the cares of life, remember the sower and the seeds, Any word that Jesus speaks, it's not gonna take root, it's just gonna die out. So even miracles will not persuade as we see with the Pharisees. Now, if you don't have a heart to perceive, miracles will not convince you, words won't convince you. The scary thing is, you can have a heart that is spiritually hard, spiritually dead, and still be like a zombie. engaging in all kinds of outward, seemingly good, seemingly religious acts. And that was what the Pharisees were. The problem wasn't that the Pharisees were part of the conservative religious establishment. That wasn't a problem. The problem was that they were hypocrites in the conservative religious establishment. Their hearts were far from Jesus, and that is what Jesus said about the Pharisees. Mark 7, he answered and said to the Pharisees, well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites? As it is written, this people honors me with their lips. But their heart is far from me. He's saying to them, your words sound good. Your words are confessionally sound. Your words are theologically orthodox, and that's good. But your heart is far from me. Your lives don't match up with what you say you believe. It's hypocrisy. So Jesus rebukes them, and it grieves him. It grieved him in Mark 3, verse 12, it grieves him again. He sighed deeply in his spirit. A hard heart, a hard heart that resists the claims and the calling of Jesus is very sad, and it's troubling. And we again see how Jesus is moved by sinners. So Jesus corrects hard-heartedness in religious people, these Pharisees. Let's turn to the other people whose hearts Jesus corrects, his disciples. Verses 13 through 21, he corrects the hearts of his disciples. So what's going on here? Verse 15, Jesus is still thinking about this troubling interaction, this troubling dispute that he had with the Pharisees. And as he's mulling it over, He tells his disciples, take heed. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. And beware of the leaven of Herod. What's Jesus saying here? Jesus is telling his people, be careful that you, that you don't fall into the teaching and the outlook of the Pharisees. The doctrine of the Pharisees, it says in Matthew. And be careful that you don't fall into the outlook and the practice of Herod. Now, what's going on here? Earlier in Mark, we saw this weird coming together of enemies. We saw the Pharisees and the Herodians coming together against Jesus. After seeing Jesus heal on the Sabbath, Mark 3, 6, joined these two together. It said, the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Jesus, how they might destroy him. The irony is that the Pharisees, who were very particular about who you can associate with, who you will be part of, The Pharisees were not natural or theological allies with those of Herod. The Pharisees were pro-Israel, anti-Rome. The Pharisees were deeply observant in religion. On the other hand, those of the party of Herod, they may have been present in synagogue. They may have verbally given some allegiance to Judaism. But Rome, political power was their religion. You'll recall several weeks back when we delved deep in Mark into the actions and the motivations and the life of Herod. He was power-seeking, he was politically pragmatic, and he was uncommitted to God. in his ways, he was unclean morally. These two parties came together against Jesus. And so here, Jesus warns his people, be careful, be careful. You are susceptible to being corrupted by the leaven of the hypocrisy and the hard hearts of the Pharisees. And be careful, you are also, you are also susceptible to being corrupted by the leaven of Herod Now, how could the disciples, how could the disciples be corrupted by the ways of Herod? Two things, and this harkens back to our sermon where we looked at Herod in more detail. You could have a heart that is given to the pleasures of life, or you could have a heart that is set on political power and influence. You'll recall that Jesus, in Mark 7, verses 20 through 23, he said it's the heart, it's the heart that produces the sins of Herod, the adulteries, the murders. Herod's heart was not set on God, but it was set on pleasures. And Jesus warned the disciples about this. We also need to be warned. We, as disciples of Jesus, can drift into having hearts that are set on pleasures or on political power. We need to be warned. I'm concerned. I'm concerned when I see believers, myself included, I'm concerned when I see believers overly worked up. about elections, about candidates, about political debates, political campaigns, political majorities, political minorities. Yes, be informed. Yes, be involved. Yes, vote. But beware the leaven of Herod. Beware. Here are some questions to test if you're infected with the leaven of Herod. A few questions. The first one touches on anger. Anger. Does my anger flare up when I talk about candidates, parties, and policies? Do I rage when I discuss the right interpretation of political events? If so, that's an indication of whose justice I think ultimately prevails. It's an indication of where I think justice ultimately will come from, of this world. I'm thinking it's of these parties and candidates. Okay, some questions about our fears and our hopes. Questions about fears and hope. Does my heart soar based on a person or a law being enacted? Do I fall into despair and worry and fear if my party or policy doesn't pass? Well, if so, that might indicate where I actually think life and refuge ultimately come from. And it shows that I may have placed my hope for where life and safety comes from, and it's this world, ultimately. Some questions that speak about hatred and divisions. Do I divide from fellow believers, fellow Christians? Do I divide from them if they hold different political views? Do I find them stupid, intolerable? Well, if so, maybe it indicates what I actually think unites the body of Christ. not the Holy Spirit, not union in Christ, but union for parties and platforms. But Jesus is also addressing something else with his disciples here, not just the warning about the leaven of the Pharisees or the leaven of Herod. Jesus addresses something else. Verse 16 all the way through 21, Jesus strongly admonishes his disciples about something else. Verses 16 through 21, what's going on here? It's back to the lesson of the loaves. Back to the lesson of the loaves that we covered several weeks ago. In the first feeding of the multitude, Jesus tells his disciples, people are hungry, feed them. And they replied, how could we do that? It takes more money than we have. We don't have the resources. And then Jesus shows them in that first feeding of the 5,000. He can easily multiply the little that we have and feed the 5,000 plus. Then this morning, the second feeding of the multitude, verse four, Jesus says, these people have been with us for three days. We need to feed them before we send them back home. Verse four, the disciples are again at a loss. How, how can we satisfy these people with bread? Here in the middle of nowhere, we're in a food desert. Where are we gonna get this kind of bread? Then Jesus again multiplies the little that they have to feed 4,000. Now here, in verse 14, this is the third time. The third time the bread comes up again. Same story, third time. Verse 14, the disciples themselves forgot to pack food. And now they're hungry. Maybe they're a little bit crabby. Who forgot to pack enough food? They only have one loaf. among a dozen plus men. And again, they have the same question. We forgot to bring enough food. Where will we get enough bread? If this was baseball, this is their third time. This is the third pitch as they're at the plate. And this is their third time that they swing and they miss. They completely whiff again. But they're not out. This is a teaching moment, as we call it. Verse 17, now before I read these words again, I'm gonna warn you. The tone, the tone of Jesus that you assign to these words, it will reflect your view of Christ, your knowledge of Christ, your conception of what is Jesus like. The tone that you assign reflects that. Is Jesus frustrated here? Is Jesus angry? Is Jesus sarcastic? Is Jesus troubled and tender? Well, recall that in the feelings of the demanding, the needy multitude, Jesus is deeply moved with compassion. And recall with that the quarrelsome hypocrites, the Pharisees, said in Mark 3, he had anger, but he was also grieved. And here, in our chapter, he deeply sighs in his spirit before he responds. What does Jesus say when, once again, his own disciples don't learn the lesson of the loaves? He only asks them questions. He only inquires of them. Mark 8, 17, but Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up? They said to him, 12. Also, when I broke the seven for the 4,000, How many large baskets full of fragments did you take up? And they said seven. So he said to them, how is it that you do not understand? What's their problem? Verse 18, do you not remember? They don't remember, they forget. Verse 17, do you not understand? They're slow. They're slow. They're not gifted students. They can't put it together. They get confused. But there's something here, something here for those of us who admonish other people. There's something here for those of us who correct other people. You correct your daughter. You correct your son. You correct your spouse. You correct your brother or sister, fellow member in the church. Are you tender with them? Are you troubled, but you speak without venom? Are you inquiring when you correct? Are you patient? Are you humble? Do you do what Galatians says? Do you correct in a spirit of gentleness, looking to yourself and to your own temptations as you correct? But it has to do with the heart, doesn't it? It has to do with the heart. Why, why did the disciples again fail to get the bread question right? Mark 6, 52, they had not understood about the loaves because their heart was hardened. And here in verse 17, Jesus asks, is your heart still hardened? So even we, even we as followers, disciples of Christ, we can still have hardened hearts. And when our hearts are hard towards him, we don't remember Jesus' words and works. Scripture just flies out of our memories. And we act like Jesus has never done anything, never provided in the past. There's very little to admire about the disciples in this account. We see ourselves in them. There is much, there is much to admire about Jesus in this account. Yes, Jesus brings correction, but he's also a mentor, and he's a friend to them. Do you see it? Jesus leads them through their first failure with the bread. Jesus leads them through their second failure with the bread. Jesus leads them through their third failure with the bread. They're repeat bread offenders. They keep stepping in their own mess. Is that you? Do you ever have a sense of that? Here I am again, losing my temper for the second time, for the third time, for the seventh time, for the 70th time. Here I am again. hurting other people with my words. Here I am again, quarreling needlessly about stupid things. Here I am again, hiding in my secret shame. While the self-righteous Pharisees despised Jesus, the failed righteous, these disciples, they fear Jesus will despise them. But Jesus is patient. Jesus is gracious. He's truthful, but he's committed to them. And in this world, I don't care what kind of coaching philosophy you're into, what kind of mentors you seek out, what kind of gurus and self-help you dig into, You will never, you will never find another person in your life with this kind of commitment to you, in your failures, in your thick-headedness, in your density, your inability to put it together. But Jesus is like this with his people. He's tender with his sheep and with his lambs. When we are faithless, he is faithful, for he cannot deny himself. We see that our hard hearts are at the bottom of all these problems. Our hard hearts make us forgetful, make us slow to understand Jesus and his ways. We get distracted by pleasures. We get distracted by political power. What will give us changed hearts? What will get us out of this repeat cycle? Our theology tells us that this is the work of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus died for our sins on the third day, he rose from the dead. And then, having risen, Jesus asked the Father to send his spirit into his people, into our hearts. And then Jesus himself, when he was resurrected, you'll remember, he appeared to his people, his disciples, and he breathed his spirit on them. He breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. And with that new spirit, with that Holy Spirit, our hearts are changed. They're changed from stony, hard hearts into living, alive hearts. And with that new heart transformation, which we call regeneration. With that new heart transformation, our deaf ears start to hear things that we couldn't hear before, and our blind eyes start seeing things that are previously unseen. 1 Corinthians 2, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them who love him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. So this is the hope. This is the hope for bumbling believers who quarrel, for bumbling believers who overdo with their politics, who fail tests three times in a row. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you, no matter how outside you feel from all of the group. Jesus is patient with you, no matter how many times you blow it and sin. And Jesus is committed to changing you, no matter how slow you are to understand. And as you grow, As you grow and this new spirit in your heart takes root, you start reading Jesus' words. You read about what he's telling you to believe. You read about what he's calling you to do now in scripture. And you start remembering them. You start understanding them more and more. And you find, instead of disputing with him, quarreling with him, you find you're starting to like it. You like his bread. And you ask him for more and more of it. I know about a young woman who became old enough to drive, and she got her license, her parents gave her a car, gave her insurance, but she wasn't a very good driver. She kept getting into these little scrapes and bumps, and at the end of it, Her car had a lot of dents in it and was always having to go into the shop. She was not a good driver. She was a poor driver. But her parents didn't say, wow, this is the fifth time you've come home with a new dent in the bumper or in the door. They didn't revoke her license. They didn't cut off her driving privileges or take away the keys. They just kept encouraging her, making sure she was safe, but encouraging her. You need to improve. You need to be more careful. Then one day, something clicked. Something clicked. She had an internal drive to improve, and she became a good driver. Her parents showed patience, commitment, perseverance with her. That's a picture of Jesus. He is committed, he is patient to improve you, to grow you in your sanctification as you are being transformed in the inner man to be more and more like him. Now you're hearing all of this and maybe you've been listening for a while, you're weighing things. Maybe you're weighing coming into the kingdom. Maybe you're already in the kingdom, but you're actually weighing going out of the kingdom. You have a lot of questions about Christ. You grew up hearing this stuff, and now there's a lot of it that you just don't like. You're wondering about it. You want a sign from heaven. In Matthew's account, Jesus says, a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it. except the sign of Jonah. Jesus actually will give you a sign that he's from heaven. It's the sign of Jonah. Jesus is Jonah, the prophet from God, who descended into a watery grave. And after a time, Jesus returned, as Jonah did, and declared God's words of warning, warning to turn back to him. Jesus is the son of God and the chosen one from heaven. the one who lived perfectly, who died for sinners, who rose again to declare salvation and judgment. And he will convince you if you turn your heart to him. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, you are near to us, you do speak to us, you do work in life. Show us your mercy, give us your compassion in our hearts. Give rescue, give relief, give healing and hope, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.