Serving The World The Bread of Life

[0:00] Okay, so we are in Mark's gospel today.

[0:15] ! We're in Mark chapter 8.

[0:36] If you have a Bible, please turn to Mark chapter 8. And we're going to be reading the first ten verses.

[1:00] Mark chapter 8.

[1:20] In those days when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, I have compassion on the crowd, because they've been with me now three days, and I've had nothing to eat.

[1:40] Or have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away. And his disciples answered him, How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?

[1:56] And he asked them, How many loaves do you have? They said, Seven. And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground.

[2:07] And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them, and gave them to his disciples, to set before the people. And they set them before the crowd.

[2:17] And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate, and were satisfied.

[2:30] And they took up the broken pieces left over. Seven baskets full, and there were about 4,000 people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with the disciples, and he went to the district of Dalmanutha.

[2:48] This is God's Word, and we pray he blesses the reading of it. Well, in this, in the last passage that we were in, Jesus was in the Decapolis, if you remember, when he healed the deaf man.

[3:10] And now, Mark says in verse 1, in those days, indicating that what follows happened in the same area during that time in the Decapolis.

[3:20] Mark says, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. Again, he says, when again. So Mark's drawn attention to the fact that this has happened before.

[3:34] This is something that Mark wants his readers to understand. He's noting, particularly for this situation and with the disciples, this happened again. Again, a great crowd.

[3:46] Again, nothing to eat. Again, in the desolate place. And so, what's important about noticing this little detail is that if this has happened before, then as readers, we might expect the disciples to respond to the problem differently than they did the first time because it happened before.

[4:09] Now, let me ask you a question. Does that always happen? Do you always learn the first time and that changes how you respond to a problem or a situation?

[4:21] Doesn't work that way for me, I'm afraid. Now, if you compare this feeding with the feeding before, these two feeding miracles, if you've compared them before today, I wonder what you've noticed.

[4:36] You see, a couple of things to remember as we go through Mark is that the whole first half of the book from one to eight is about this question of who Jesus is.

[4:47] It's pressing constantly into the question of who is Jesus. All the characters in some way are wrestling with who Jesus is from the disciples to the demons, from the Pharisees to far off seas, from the synagogue to the Syrophoenician.

[5:06] Who is Jesus? Jesus. The first quarter of Mark, there was a lot of people who encountered Jesus, what they thought, whether rightly or wrongly, and then in the second quarter, we've been seeing more and more of a focus on the disciples themselves, teaching them privately, doing miracles for their sake.

[5:30] And so in the first half of Mark's book, we have this question of who is Jesus in the first quarter. There's all these different people that encounter Jesus and are pressing into the question of who he is.

[5:43] And then in the second quarter, really the focus is on the disciples. Well, disciples, do you know who Jesus is? Have we figured it out yet? Have the disciples learned who Jesus is yet?

[5:58] And so when Mark is telling us that this has happened before, what it should draw our attention to is not so much how the crowd respond, but particularly how the disciples respond.

[6:11] Mark is saying this has happened before and remember there's now a focus on Jesus teaching the disciples. It happened again, it happened before, not to this crowd, it's the first time for this crowd, but for the disciples this is the second time.

[6:27] So if before now you played spot the difference between the 5,000 and the 4,000, one of the things that you may have noticed is that in the first time in Mark 6, 35, the disciples came to him, highlighting the problem.

[6:47] Mark chapter 6, the disciples came to him and says, what are we going to do? How are we going to feed the crowd? Shall we send them away? But in Mark 8, verse 1, in our passage, it's actually Jesus highlighting the problem.

[7:04] Given that Jesus is their rabbi, and this is the second time that it's happened, why might he be presenting this problem to his students?

[7:16] verse 2 and 3, Jesus says, calls his disciples and he says to them, remember they're his students, and he says to them, I have compassion on the crowd, because they've been with me for three days and have nothing to eat.

[7:37] Now, just a wee note there, I have compassion on them because they've been with me. Who else has been with Jesus? For longer than three days. The disciples.

[7:50] And so, if he has compassion on the crowd, the disciples need to know he's going to have compassion on them. So he says, I have compassion on the crowd, they've been with me now three days and have nothing to eat, and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way, and some of them have come from far away.

[8:06] Well, some of the disciples have come from different situations. In both the 5,000 and the 4,000, it's noted that Jesus is compassionate.

[8:17] Both these accounts, Jesus is motivated by his compassion. But there's a couple of differences. With the 5,000, it seems like the crowd has only been there for a day.

[8:31] It's just evening. Whereas with the 4,000, the crowd have been there for three days. Also, if the disciples highlighted a concern for the crowd on the same day that the 5,000 had been with them when the crowd was Jewish, I should add, why did the disciples not seem to have the same concern for the 4,000 Gentiles that had been with them for three days?

[8:58] Does that not make you think? In the first, in the feeding of the 5,000, it was the disciples who got concerned about the welfare of the crowd. But it was Jewish people.

[9:09] It was their kinsmen. And they'd only been there for a day. And yet here, they're three days in with Gentiles and the disciples have said nothing. Why is that?

[9:20] Do the disciples perhaps have a lack of compassion for non-Jews, for these Gentiles, for people historically who were pagans and heathen and practiced all sorts of evil things?

[9:39] Maybe. Maybe they do have a lack of compassion. Certainly, the Jews had prejudices against the non-Jews because they were pagan. And personally, perhaps the disciples had a distaste for this group of people because one of the last times they were in the region in chapter 5, do you remember what happened?

[10:01] When Jesus healed the madman, the demon-possessed man, what did the crowd of people in the Decapolis say to Jesus? Go away. We don't want you. And so maybe the disciples have a distaste for this people.

[10:15] Jesus also said to the Syrophoenician women, the bread is for the children, for Israel. Why should you take some of the bread? And so maybe the disciples have a great prejudice against these Gentiles.

[10:32] Maybe. Perhaps Jesus was highlighting the problem because the disciples were not highlighting the problem. Perhaps he brought it up because they didn't bring it up.

[10:43] one thing we can be sure of is that Jesus isn't saying that he has compassion just so that he can boast about how nice he is. We know that, don't we?

[10:54] We know Jesus isn't prone to boasting. So why does Jesus say, I have compassion on this crowd? Is it maybe to prompt the disciples to have compassion on people as well?

[11:07] He wants his students to have the same kind of compassion for the world that he has. Mark's readers, the first people ever reading the book of Mark, were likely predominantly Gentiles in Rome.

[11:24] And imagine reading this as a non-Jewish follower of Jesus in a non-Jewish city. And you read this and there's already in that world that they lived in in the first century great tension between the Jews and Gentiles even in the church.

[11:40] All you need to do is read the New Testament to see that. And imagine being one of these first century Gentiles who follow Jesus and reading this account where you know that Jesus knows what you need.

[11:56] And you can read here that even when the Jewish apostles don't seem to have a concern for you, that you know that Jesus does, that Jesus has compassion. In fact, Jesus cares enough to prompt his own people to notice their needs.

[12:12] That must be a reassuring thing if you were a first century Gentile Christian. Now, we may have to wait until the evening like the feeding of the 5,000. Or, like in this passage, we may have to wait three days for Jesus to meet our need.

[12:31] We may have to wait for it. It doesn't mean that he doesn't know, but we may have to wait for an answer to our prayers. Is that not true? We may be waiting a long time, but he knows.

[12:46] He knows what you're asking. He really does. He's aware of your heart's desire and your heart's longing. He's aware of what breaks your heart.

[12:57] He's aware of what you care about. He's aware of what you need. He would have been aware on day one what their need was. And it got to day three.

[13:09] And when his disciples weren't bringing it up, he decided to bring it up. Even when we're waiting, he has compassion on us. Either way, know that Jesus is well aware of the timing.

[13:25] He knows when you're hungry. Are you hungry? Jesus knows it. Whatever that thing is, I don't just mean bread. Are you hungry? Jesus knows that you're hungry.

[13:38] He knows what your body needs, but he also knows what your soul needs. He knows how malnourished you might be at times. He knows what your soul longs for. And do you know what?

[13:49] He intends on feeding you. In the 5,000 and the 4,000, one of the things we see is that the compassion of Jesus is both for the body and for the soul.

[14:02] Jesus' compassion is not just for one or the other. He has compassion. So, in the first one, in the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus, it says, he has compassion, so he teaches them.

[14:16] In this account, he has compassion, so he feeds them. His compassion is for your body and your soul. This guards us against faith without action, which James calls dead faith, but it also guards us against settling for some kind of social gospel where we're only about feeding the poor and we're not about the gospel.

[14:42] See, churches have gone down that road where they just want to be a charity in the world, but they don't want to give the world the gospel. You need both. You need the gospel and you need the gospel backed up by action.

[14:56] We need to be feeding the poor with bread and with life-giving words of Jesus. It's interesting that in both accounts, Jesus' priority is his teaching.

[15:09] He said back in chapter 1 and 138, let us go on to the next towns that I might preach there also, for that's why I came out. In John 18, Jesus said to Pilate, for this purpose I was born and for this purpose I've come into the world to give it a little bread.

[15:29] No, that's not what it says. For this purpose I've come into the world to heal sick people. No, that's not what he said. for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth.

[15:47] Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. He came in as light, the light of the world to bring the truth of God for a world that desperately needs the truth of God because we are under the lies of the enemy.

[16:02] Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Jesus came into the world only to feed people or to heal people or only to do miracles. Of course he does all of those things. Of course he does because he is the king, the Messiah, the son of God.

[16:18] It's just what he does. But that's not why he came. In John 12 Jesus said, I have come into the world as light so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

[16:32] Folks, people out there are not going to be rescued from darkness by food and by healing and by miracles. They need the gospel.

[16:42] They need the truth. Now it should be attended by all of these things but they need the light of Jesus shining into their hearts. They're not his primary purpose but they are signs to point to who he is.

[17:00] John 20 verse 30 says, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that by believing you may have life in his name.

[17:16] One of the things in this passage that I found helpful is that Jesus is well aware that it's been three days and that the people are hungry.

[17:27] Jesus is well aware of that. Jesus, he could have fed them on day one couldn't he have? Easily. He could have fed them on day one. He could have fed them again on day two. He could have fed them on day three.

[17:39] He could have kept on feeding them and kept them out there in the wilderness forever. Certainly in Exodus he kept them in the wilderness for 40 years and fed them every day and night.

[17:51] Jesus could have fed them on day one. This, I need to confess something. Sometimes I wonder, maybe you're the same. I know that some people here I know have more faith than me at times.

[18:06] I know that because this is where I struggle at times. Sometimes I wonder why God allows us to go hungry. Sometimes I wonder why God leaves us waiting for things.

[18:22] But what if there's something bigger going on? What if we need to know that it's not just about bread? Remember when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness? What was it he quoted when the devil said, if you're the son of God turn this rock into bread?

[18:38] What did Jesus say? Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. And that's from Deuteronomy 8. Deuteronomy 8 is within the Exodus setting.

[18:51] And I don't know if you know the full quotation in Deuteronomy 8. But it doesn't just say man doesn't live by bread alone. This is what it says. It says, God led you these 40 years in the wilderness that he might humble you and that he might test you to know what was in your heart, to know whether you would keep his commandments or not.

[19:13] And he humbled you and he let you hunger. He let you hunger. And then he fed you with manna that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone.

[19:28] And so the reason why God allows us to hunger is so that we would know that we don't live by bread alone. It's so that we would rely on God. So that we would know that we get our life from him.

[19:40] So if you ever feel like God is letting you hunger right now, whatever that may be, he knows that you're hungry. He knows it. But he lets you hungry.

[19:52] He lets you hunger because he's got something better for you. Something bigger. Something for your soul, not just for your body. He's trying to teach us that we live by his word.

[20:06] Verse 4, the disciples ask a question that they should know the answer to. Look at verse 4. Chapter 8, verse 4. As disciples answered him, how can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?

[20:25] I mean, they should know the answer to this. He's done it before. Goodness. McFly! What questions are we asking God that we already know the answer to?

[20:41] You ever been there? Oh boy, I've been there. Asking God questions I know the answer to. What things have we already seen and yet we still struggle to trust Jesus with?

[20:55] He's trying to teach us. Now it matters. It really matters that the disciples learn this lesson. The gospel has been described before.

[21:06] You've probably heard this. The gospel has been described as one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread. Yeah? And so how can the disciples show other beggars where to find bread if they don't know where the bread's going to come from?

[21:25] Do you see why they need to learn this lesson? Why we need to learn this lesson? They've been here before. They've seen Jesus do it before but still they're asking where's the bread going to come from?

[21:39] They need to know because they have been chosen as witnesses for the sake of the world for our sake. If they didn't learn this lesson we would not hear the gospel.

[21:51] They need to know where the bread is coming from so that they can tell the world where to find bread. Now another lesson we learn in this account is that proximity to Jesus doesn't guarantee faith or understanding.

[22:05] These disciples have been closest to Jesus and still they're struggling. And any one of us disciples can struggle with this. Think about other things in life when we know there's a solution to a certain problem like we a technical problem or whatever it is and we hear that someone has that problem and you're like oh it's so easy let me tell you how to fix it.

[22:29] We've got all good things in our life where we know something we've went through something we've solved a problem and we're excited to share that with someone else who doesn't know how to fix this problem.

[22:40] We're like that's really easy let me tell you. It might be a car issue it might be a relational issue it might be a tech problem. If we know the solution we're more than happy to share it.

[22:52] Yet apply that to the gospel. Now we know that sin causes all manner of problems and we know that Jesus is the only one who can bring about true peace and joy and wholeness to broken lives.

[23:06] but are we as quick to share the answer to the problem? Now part of it is we struggle we're timid we need boldness we need confidence but we also need to really really really really trust Jesus that that is the solution to the problem to all these things in the world.

[23:25] Jesus can fix them. He's the answer. The whole point of this the whole point of this is that the disciples know it's impossible for them but they should know that it's not impossible for Jesus.

[23:42] They have been shown before that he can do this. How many times have we seen the Lord transform someone's life or answer some prayer that is otherwise impossible for us yet do we still lack faith when we see the same situation?

[23:59] The disciples say well how can someone feed all these people were bred in this desolate place? That question the disciples ask the only way that we can answer that question is if we truly understand the bigger question of who Jesus is.

[24:20] That's the whole thing about the first half of this book. Who is Jesus? And the reason why the disciples can't answer that question is because they've still not grasped who Jesus is.

[24:33] Who is Jesus? Once you answer that question all these other questions are easy to answer. I'm not saying that it's not hard but it's simple.

[24:44] Verse 5 notice I don't know if you've noticed this if you've done compare and contrast with the 5,000 but in this account there are more loaves.

[24:55] in the first one there were 5 loaves in this one there's 7 loaves in the first one there were 5,000 people in this one there's 4,000 people. There's a better ratio.

[25:10] The ratio actually see the further we go on in Mark's gospel the ratio just keeps getting better and better and yet the disciples keep struggling. but for now one of the wonderful things is considering that this happened before and the disciples ask a question they should know the answer to when they say how can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place verse 5 Jesus doesn't rebuke them.

[25:40] Isn't that wonderful how patient Jesus is with his disciples? Jesus is so patient. Verse 6 and 7 we see just a set of instructions similar to the feeding of the 5,000.

[25:55] One little detail that I didn't know about and you only really do this you see it in Greek if you look it up if you just do a little bit of study the verb that Jesus has used of giving the broken bread to the disciples is called an imperfect active indicative verb do you know what that means?

[26:19] I was not good at English in school I was certainly not good at grammar but let me tell you what it means an imperfect active indicative is something that keeps going it keeps happening it's not a one time thing and so it's a repeated action it's a continual ongoing action and so in both accounts of feeding the thousands when it says that Jesus was giving them broken bread he didn't just go there's enough for five thousand no he just kept they just kept coming back and he just kept giving tearing giving tearing giving giving giving giving giving giving isn't that wonderful?

[27:00] here's the thing Jesus doesn't just give a big Santa sack full of bread heavier than they can carry they have to keep coming back to Jesus his disciples have to keep relying on Jesus to give the world what it needs to receive he is the source and he keeps giving isn't that the case with anything that we rely on Jesus for?

[27:25] Jesus said in John 15 I am the vine you are the branches whoever abides in me and I in him he is that bears much fruit from apart from me you can do nothing you can do nothing apart from me and in this instance like he said in John chapter 6 the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world no wonder they said to him sir give us this bread always he keeps giving and keeps giving keeps giving we cannot rely on yesterday's bread we keep going back to him he keeps giving we've spent a couple of years teaching through the book of Exodus yet in the book of Numbers one of the things that occurs is that the people begin to complain about manna do you know that story?

[28:22] they complain about manna and they grow dissatisfied with the heavenly bread and they begin to wish for food that they had in Egypt can you remember some of the food?

[28:35] cucumbers and soup and stuff like that and this people that have been rescued by God and provided heavenly manna start to say oh do you know what was good?

[28:47] see when we were slaves back in Egypt and we had cucumbers and soup and stuff oh those were the days how sinful is that? you know how broken do you have to be to be saying that when God has done so much and he's miraculously providing every day and you're like do you know what?

[29:04] I'm sick of this bread but it got me thinking about how we can be tempted to be like that with the bread of life that came down from heaven for us and we can begin to act in the world before the world like Jesus' stale bread bread you know have you ever met a Christian and you're like do you even know Jesus?

[29:27] you want to tell your face? now I know we all struggle we all have down days and bad days but Jesus is the best of bread the best there's nothing in our slavery days that can ever compare to Jesus and when we preach the gospel we need to we need to have ourselves convinced that Jesus is the bread of life before we tell others that he's the bread of life if we don't look like we even enjoy the bread how would they even want to eat it?

[30:02] I don't know if it was George Whitefield perhaps I think it was him correct me if I'm wrong somebody will remember this story when there was an atheist in the crowd when he was preaching and someone turned to this person and said do you believe what he's saying?

[30:18] and the man says well I can tell that he believes it yeah we need to discover it for ourselves we need to continually be amazed and in wonder and awe of Jesus and just like exuberant about the forgiveness that he gives us the salvation oh gladly I will sing of his wonderful deeds and come and hear what he has done for my soul oh we need to remember how good Jesus is how exciting how satisfied we are with the bread of heaven there's no one like Jesus none no one in the world like Jesus search every single religion and you will not find a single religious leader that could multiply the bread for thousands no one no one does what Jesus does not Buddha not Muhammad not anyone Jesus there's no one like him he's amazing he is so good he's the son of God now notice in verse 6 and 7 as well that Jesus was given the bread to the disciples to give to the people when you consider the miracle that Jesus did and all the miracles that he's done up to this point is there any sense that Jesus needs any help from any person to do anything that he wants to do

[31:38] Jesus does not need any help God does not need you God does not need this church God does not need me he doesn't need me to be up here talking about this certainly doesn't need me to be doing that I was terrible at speaking in school all my life really some of you would say I still am I know you wouldn't but like why me to do this only so that people can say it's not about him it's about God but he doesn't need us Paul says this in Acts 17 who do you think God is with your temples and your ministry God doesn't live in temples made by man nor does he need served by human hands as though God needs anything since he himself the Lord the maker of heaven and earth gives to mankind life and breath and everything God does not need anything or anyone and Jesus considering all the miracles he did he doesn't need the disciples to feed the crowd he could just have you heard the story about the fish with the coin in its mouth

[32:50] I remember reading the gospels like I just ate it up when I first became a Christian I was just wanting to know everything about Jesus and then I got to a point where I was like I know the story I'm just going to read the epistles from now on and then I went back and read like Matthew and I was like I don't remember this a coin in a fish's mouth how amazing Jesus could have put a bit of bread in every single person's mouth like that if he wanted but instead he broke it and gave it to the disciples to give to the crowd God doesn't need us in order to save the world there are other ways he could have done it if he wanted Jesus could have made bread appear in the laps of every individual yet somehow somehow God wants to do his work through us somehow God has chosen the church to be the vehicle for good news to reach the world and although he doesn't need us in his grace and wisdom and in his love he has chosen us to be the means of reaching this town you see

[34:04] Jesus didn't need the disciples to do what he wanted to do but he used the disciples to reach the crowd what is it we have received from Jesus that he wants to use us to reach other people we see this feeding of the thousands and we often think about what it meant for each person to be eating miraculous bread Jesus is often doing things as much for us as he is for the crowd he is teaching the disciples he is doing this to train his own students he is showing them and including them in his work as people often say when they begin serving in a role when you begin doing ministry you start to learn more than you ever did when you were just listening what has the Lord given you in order for you to give it to others now notice that in this story there are no disciples on the sidelines spectating the only ones spectating are the crowd but every disciple is serving in some way and this is a picture of discipleship the church shouldn't look like one man serving the masses it should look like a bunch of disciples serving with a distinct reliance on

[35:22] Jesus to provide the means now I know that this is just one example I know that health time your phase of life your circumstance may determine what you can do and how you can do it Jesus is aware of all of that but that just means you cannot do what you once did but you may be able to do something else you certainly can give someone a glass of water you can say an encouraging word to someone you can share a scripture a prayer with someone maybe in your situation you can actually encourage someone because of your situation often that's the case I don't know why God has allowed this in my life and then later on you realize someone else is going through the same thing and you're a great encouragement to them they need to hear what it's like to go through that from someone who has already gone through that so if you're a disciple of Jesus perhaps we could ask ourselves how can the

[36:22] Lord use me to reach the lost people in this town how can the Lord use me to reach the lost people in my work or in my neighborhood or in my family do I have the same compassion that the Lord does how can I be compassionate are we using what Jesus gives us to feed the thousands of lost souls 20,000 people in Bells Hill Jesus didn't need the disciples but he used them to reach the crowd how can he use us to reach the people of this town how are we positioning ourselves to be used by Jesus to take bread to the lost people of Bells Hill and beyond this is part of what being a disciple is for Jesus to give us bread and to send us into the crowd verse 8 to 10 and they ate and were satisfied and they took up the broken pieces left over seven baskets full there were about 4,000 people and he sent them away and immediately got into a boat with his disciples and went to the district of

[37:32] Damanutha it's the same kind of summary as the previous time except with different numbers seven loaves 4,000 people seven basket fills left over unlike the twelve baskets after the five thousand which in the Greek were actually more like hand baskets baskets the seven baskets are a different type it's a different word used it's like a larger rope basket the same kind that Paul was hidden and lowered from the city walls in Acts chapter 9 it actually seems like in the story that there's more bread than the first time there's less people than the first time and there's probably more leftovers than the first time and these are Gentiles not just Jewish people that have been fed prior to this a Syrophoenician woman came begging Jesus to help her little daughter and they had a discussion about bread and Jesus said to her let the children be fed first it's not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the house dog and she said well even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table and a crumb would be more than enough and it was and she was noted for her faith in

[38:53] Jesus and so a final thought on this as that Jesus did not really intend on giving the Jews a feast and leaving crumbs for the rest of the world that wasn't Jesus intention here we see that the non-Jews are invited invited to feast at the table also he invites the non-Jews he invites the world to come feast at his table we're going to do that in a moment well maybe not a feast if you manage to get the big piece of bread you might have a he invites us to the table here we have an account where Jesus doesn't just leave crumbs for the non-Jews he invites them to the table he provides them with a feast that satisfies them and so Jesus Jesus body would be broken for the whole world not just for some there is a banquet at the table of

[39:54] Christ a feast for all who enter his kingdom there's compassion enough for the whole world Jesus compassion is for you as well he offers you bread as well he wants to satisfy you with what the world cannot give you he came to feed us all by breaking his own body and see if we are here in this room today he would not if Jesus were here today taking this service instead of me he wouldn't just have little bits of bread he would have a feast for you but he wouldn't just have a feast for you he would tell you that he's going to break his own body just for you for you it's not just bread it's his body broken for you that's what he would do if he was here today but in fact that is why we are doing what we are doing today bread broken for us because his body was broken for us so that we might receive forgiveness transformation a place in his body a place in his kingdom for us that's impossible we can't do that we can't wash away our own sins we cannot remove our own iniquities we cannot wipe our record clean we cannot prevent our own death we cannot resurrect ourselves we cannot give ourselves admission into his kingdom but he can he can if you've not yet come to

[41:34] Christ what's preventing you there's no point taking a little bit of bread it will do nothing for you unless you have Christ come and take Christ his body is broken for us do we know him he is compassionate enough for the whole world he miraculously fed the thousands with the best of bread but greater still he gave his body for the whole world the body and blood of the only son of God and so we need to know that whatever may seem impossible to us is perfectly possible to him especially when it comes to saving sinners like us and this is what the disciples had to learn to know Christ to know who Jesus is to know that his power and compassion is enough to feed the world not just with bread but with his body to know the extent of his grace and his providence his grace and providence is for all people everywhere not just for the

[42:40] Jews he has more than enough for every one of us to be saved and satisfied let me pray Lord please impress on our hearts the great need that we have for the bread of life and please help us to gladly come and receive your bread that we might receive you and receive your forgiveness that we might always be coming to you as disciples not just for bread for the crowds but for our own souls please give us time to reflect on this and to draw close to you and to know you to be satisfied in you forevermore amen as