[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Matthew chapter 15. Matthew chapter 15. I am so excited to share with you the wonderful God you serve and how He is.
[0:15] And we're in Matthew chapter 15. And in this story, Jesus is out working among Gentiles. If you recall, there's a Jewish nation and everybody else is a Gentile, a pagan, a different religion, a different kind of people.
[0:32] They're a different nation and everything. And so Jesus is taking the gospel now out into Gentile regions, and He's going to work another bunch of great miracles. There are a lot of things you've been learning as you've been coming through Matthew chapter 15 that I want to remind you of before we go into the chapter today.
[0:50] The enemies of truth are often religious people who hang on to man-made traditions. The enemies of truth are often religious people. That's what goes on in this chapter.
[1:00] The Pharisees are the ones that are religious and they're standing against it. Satan loves to use religion to blind the minds of lost people to certain simple truths of God's Word.
[1:11] So these people got steeped in Jewish religion. They washed their hands with a little bitty bit of water as you saw one Sunday here, and they didn't understand simple Bible truths.
[1:22] They used religion as an excuse to sin and disobey God's Word. People can get to the point they use religion as an excuse to disobey God.
[1:34] They fall into the trap of talking religion, talking loving God, lips and out, but their heart wasn't in it. They were worried about externals and not internals.
[1:46] Getting over our traditions and getting into the Word of God is far harder than we would ever want to admit. You're going to learn today, and you've learned in this chapter, God loves everybody.
[1:59] And He wants the world to know that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary. So we're going to learn that today. So the first thing I want you to do, go with me if you would, to Mark chapter 7 and verse 31.
[2:10] This is a parallel passage. It's another passage that tells the same story. That's a big word you learn as you study the Bible. Really not big. Parallel passage. Same story told in a different place.
[2:23] Jesus is working and preaching now in a Gentile area. He's in a place, and the story we got in Matthew 15, He's in a place called Decapolis, and He's preaching there.
[2:34] The Bible says in Mark 7, 31, And again, departing from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, He came unto the Sea of Galilee through the midst of the coast of Decapolis. So we looked at a parallel passage.
[2:46] Now we know where the setting is in Matthew 15, 29. He's in Decapolis. He's in this Greek area, this Roman area, not a Jewish area.
[2:56] The Decapolis is ten cities. There's a big area that got to make their own money, have their own army, got to make their own laws, run their own courts, and that's where Jesus is among the Gentiles.
[3:08] And a big crowd shows up. You remember from last week, He was looking to be alone. He went somewhere, and He wanted to kind of have a quiet time, and He couldn't keep it quiet.
[3:19] Now He's in another area, and again, He's among Gentiles. And you would think they wouldn't know who He is, and they wouldn't come running, but they do come running. And the story's told in Mark 7, probably how the crowd got there.
[3:31] Somehow, this deaf guy found out that Jesus was in town. In Mark 7, starting in verse 31 and following, there's this deaf guy, and he can't speak.
[3:42] He has a speech impediment, and he can't hear. And they find out about Jesus being there, and they come to see Jesus, and Jesus heals him. And when he gets healed, he is so excited.
[3:54] He can't keep his mouth shut. He's telling everybody, man, I met a guy who changed my life. And the whole area started hearing about what Jesus had done, and how He had healed him, how He had made such a difference, and the crowds came.
[4:10] Jesus can't get a break. Go to Matthew chapter 15 and verse 30, if you would. And great multitudes came unto Him, having with them those that were lame and blind and dumb, which means they couldn't speak.
[4:23] They were maimed and many others, and they cast them down at Jesus' feet. And He healed them. And so much that the multitude wondered when they saw the dumb speak. Those who couldn't talk were talking.
[4:34] The maimed, those who had limbs cut off, were being made whole. The lame, the people who couldn't walk, were walking. The people who couldn't see were seeing. And they glorified God. So it's a wild story.
[4:46] Jesus is away from His people. Jesus is in another part of the country. He's in Decapolis. He's not among the Jews. And He's out there. And nobody really knows where He's at.
[4:56] He's not publicizing. And this guy comes, a deaf guy comes, and he gets healed. When he gets healed, evidently, He spread the Word everywhere. And everybody heard, and so they're coming.
[5:07] And they're bringing everybody that's got every kind of problem possible, they're bringing Him to Jesus. And I want you to notice, in the story, you've been reading through the Bible, and you've watched how the Jews responded to Jesus.
[5:20] And now you've got to see how the Gentiles responded. The Jews, they said, well, He might kick out demons. He might throw them out, but He does it by the power of the devil Himself. He's really in league with the devil when He does stuff.
[5:32] And that's how they claim that Jesus was doing stuff. And you can find that, if you would, in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 22. The Bible said, Then were it brought unto Him one possessed of the devil, blind and dumb, and He healed him, so much that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
[5:48] And all the people were amazed and said, Is not this the son of David? But the Pharisees heard it and they said, This fellow doth cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of devils.
[5:59] And so the Jews, the religious people are like, We don't like you, Jesus. We believe anything you're doing, you're doing with the power of the devil. We're not in favor of what you're doing. And they were against Him. Now He's out among Gentiles.
[6:10] He's out among pagans. He's out among people that didn't know all the Old Testament Bible. They didn't know all about the promises of Jesus coming. And they believed. The Jews wouldn't believe.
[6:22] They refused to believe. The fact is, their refusal to believe shocked Jesus. He couldn't believe it. How could you people know all about me, know all what the Old Testament says, and you still won't believe?
[6:32] Look at Mark chapter 6 and verse 6. Maybe write that in the margin of your Bible in Matthew 15. And He marveled because of their unbelief. And He went around about the villages teaching.
[6:44] Jesus is like, I can't believe it. These people will not believe. No matter what I do, no matter what I say, they won't believe. But those Gentiles believed.
[6:56] Look at Matthew chapter 15 and verse 31. Matthew 15 and verse 31. In so much that the multitude wondered, they marveled. They were like, wow, can you believe what's going on here?
[7:08] We're seeing people who can't talk, talk. We're seeing people whose leg was cut off. And they get a whole new leg. We're seeing people that couldn't walk, walking. We're seeing people that couldn't see, seeing. And look and underline this in your Bible.
[7:18] And they glorified the God of Israel. They said, man, this is God. This is God. And they gave God glory. So the first thing you find, Jesus is at work in this story.
[7:30] And He's at work among the Gentiles in a Gentile area. And He's healing people. And great things are happening. And this is kind of a parenthesis, but it's really important. We're just about six months from the time Jesus will make a trip to Jerusalem.
[7:44] It'll be His last trip. He's going to die. But He has now gone on a long trip. And, of course, they're walking or maybe riding a donkey. But most of the time they apparently walked.
[7:55] And He's stopping all these places and healing all these people and preaching all these places. And He's going to spend six months alone with His apostles in a very special preaching trip, kind of getting them ready for Him to go on to heaven.
[8:10] This trip that He's on when He goes up to Decapolis and over to the Sea of Galilee, and He's been in these other places, is about like making a trip from Philadelphia down to Atlanta, and from Atlanta back up to New York City.
[8:23] He has deliberately taken a long time on this journey so He can have some time with His disciples. Six months, it looks like. Jesus cares about the world.
[8:35] He cares about the world. He is not inside of Jerusalem. He is not inside of Israel. He is out among the pagans. He's out among those who don't believe in Jehovah. He's out among those who don't believe in the God of the Jews.
[8:48] He's out among them, and He's preaching, and He's teaching, and He's healing, and He's on a missionary journey. I'd like to ask you today, what are you doing about caring about people?
[9:00] If anything I learn as I read my Bible, I find out what my father's like. I find out what Jesus is like. And I know that that ought to affect me, and I ought to do the same thing. Now, I want you to go to verse 32.
[9:11] In verse 32, this is my favorite phrase in today's message. This is my favorite phrase in today's message. Jesus has compassion on the people.
[9:24] That is like the craziest thing to me to throw into the story right here in verse 32. Look what He says. Then Jesus called His disciples on Him and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they've been with me now for three days.
[9:38] They've had anything to eat. I will not send them away fasting unless they faint in the way. Now, this is a crazy part of the story. Let me tell you what's the crazy part. They've been there three days.
[9:50] Three days. And in those three days, here comes a deaf person, and He heals a deaf person. A deaf person goes out healing, hearing. Here comes a person who couldn't walk. They bring him in in a wheelchair.
[10:01] They roll him in, however they get him in. And Jesus heals him. He goes out walking. They bring in a guy who's had his arm cut off in an accident or in a battle where his leg's been cut off, and Jesus grows him a new leg.
[10:13] I mean, you want to talk about showing compassion? For three days, everybody who comes in, He's been touching them. Everybody who comes in, He's been loving them. Everybody who comes in, He's been healing them.
[10:23] He is showing who He is. He is the great God of glory. He is the God of heaven. He is the God of compassion. Amen? And then, it's time for them to go home. And He tells the disciples, come here, guys.
[10:35] I need to talk to you all. I don't know how you all feel about this, but I feel compassion. I'm moved. They're hungry, and I hurt because they're hungry. I want them to eat. I want them to eat.
[10:46] All honesty, they could have sent them home. I mean, really. If I came in without a leg, and you made me go home a little bit hungry, I could do without three days of food if I got a new leg. Amen? I mean, if I came in blind and went home seeing, I could probably go without food.
[10:59] I could say, I'll pick up something on the way. I'll eat a lizard as I go by or something. Amen? I'll pick me up a cactus sleeve, and I'll eat a gnaw and a cactus sleeve. But Jesus is such a good, He can't help Himself.
[11:10] He's just loving. He is just loving and concerned and kind and concerned about His people. That's who He is. And so He says, they're about to go home. I feel compassion. Man, it bothers me.
[11:21] They're hungry. We got to do something about that. I done fixed all their legs. I done gave them all eyes. I done fixed all their hearing. I done fixed everything for all their problems. But they're hungry. Let's don't let them go home. So that's the Bible.
[11:33] The God of the Bible is the God of compassion. He hurts. He feels the pain that people are going through. He cares.
[11:44] And He wants to help. The verse you all memorized when you first became Christians. See if you can say it with me. John 3.16. See if you can say it with me. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
[12:02] I can't believe it. They did not help you. You can talk to Paul about that. Some of you said, I didn't memorize it. Paul could have slung that up on the screen. Y'all could have all read it and acted like you knew it, couldn't they? But anyway, you learned. You know what that Bible verse says?
[12:13] Because God so loved, He is so deep in love with people that He cares about them and He hurts for them, that's the picture of the God you're looking at today. By the way, that's the picture of God you get when you talk about Christmas.
[12:25] And I drove by a church sign the other day and it said, the world changed since love was born. And they're talking about Jesus being born. Can I just tell you, He's love not in Christmas. He's love all the way through.
[12:36] He is a wonderful, loving God. Remember that since the first story in the Bible, it's always God who comes seeking for man. Now listen to me.
[12:46] If you're here this morning and you're not saved and you're not on your way to heaven and you're not really trusting Christ as your Savior and you're wondering, what have I got to do to get to God? Let me give you an answer. Nothing.
[12:57] He's already come to you. He has already come to you. He has already done everything possible for you to be born again. In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned and did wrong and they were naked and they hid themselves, they didn't go looking for God.
[13:12] They didn't say, God, is there any way we can fix our situation? They just tried to fix it on their own. They went hiding and it was God that came. It was God that came. The Bible says that God commended His love toward us.
[13:23] God showed His love toward us. And that while we were still sinners, while we were still doing wrong, God already loved us. He loved us first. And that's why we love Him.
[13:34] So I want you to know that it's God who's doing all the work to get you saved. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. It's God who came.
[13:46] It's God who came. And in the story today, you see a compassionate Jesus. You see a Jesus meeting every physical need. You see a Jesus fixing all their limbs and their eyes and their hearing and their ability to speak and still worried about whether or not they're hungry before they go home.
[14:01] The fact is He's not only going to feed them, He's going to give them enough food to take home with them so they won't get hungry on the way home. What a God. Can you say amen? That's the God that the Bible tells us about.
[14:13] From the first story in the Bible until now, it's always God seeking us. In the Bible, it's God that shows man how to get things right with God and get back to Him. It's never man. Man can't figure out how to get things right with God.
[14:25] Man can't get things right with God. Man can make religion and religion only binds you down, tells you how wrong you are, makes you feel bad, gives you rules to make you feel good about doing stuff.
[14:35] But it is God who makes a difference. In the Bible, it is God that does all to save man. His love is beyond our understanding. The Bible says in Lamentations 3 and verse 22, that's over in the Old Testament, Lamentations 3, 22, it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not.
[14:58] He is a loving and kind God. He felt compassion. He hurt for them and He wanted to help them. You know, I used to live in Mexico.
[15:10] We went there for language school. I could so well remember when visitors would come. This was 1987 and we would take them out into what was called a rancho, out in the villages where the farmers lived on what you might call a ranch.
[15:24] Of course, it would be nothing like what you think of as a ranch. But they'd be living out there and they would be cold. And these little kids would come and they wouldn't have any shoes on. They wouldn't have enough clothes on. They wouldn't have enough to eat.
[15:34] I mean, it was literally a pretty rough place to live, kind of in the mountains outside of Querétaro where we lived. And every visitor that came always felt compassion. Every visitor. I can remember them taking their shoes off and giving them to the people getting back in my car without their shoes.
[15:48] I can remember taking off their shirts, their clothes. I mean, not all their clothes, but a jacket or a shirt or something else and giving it to somebody. And they were so worried about helping them.
[15:59] It's a good thing to be. That's okay. But can I just tell you God's the one who shows real love. He's the one that's in the loving business and He doesn't quit loving. The people haven't eaten now for three days.
[16:11] He wouldn't allow them to leave without eating. They might get weak. They might faint on the way home. Can't let that happen. He says, I want you to look at the verse. He says in verse 32, He says, I will not send them away.
[16:27] That's not who I am. I know I've done a lot of good stuff for them, but I ain't through doing good stuff. I'm just too good. I want to do something good. I want to do some more good. I'm going to make them a cake and I'm going to put the icing on it.
[16:37] Amen. I'm going to put some sprinkles on it. I am a good God. Say amen. You should be rejoicing in how good your God is today. He will not send them away helpless.
[16:48] He's about to work a miracle. But it's interesting in this story, this time He doesn't preach. When He fed the 5,000, He preached about the bread of heaven. He preached about manna. He preached about Him being the bread of life.
[16:59] In this one, He says, I ain't got time to preach. I just don't want y'all to go home hungry. That's a good God, isn't it? So I'm not going to preach here. I'm just going to tell y'all about it. He's already shown His power by working miracles.
[17:10] He's already put feet back on legs. The miracle is He just can't stop loving because He just can't stop loving because He's a good God. What a good God.
[17:21] Do I love people? Am I willing to sacrifice to make the gospel get to others? What have I done that made me uncomfortable when trying to get the gospel to the world? Now go with me to verse 33.
[17:33] Look at the third thing here. He's working among Gentiles. Let me remind you, these aren't Jewish people. These aren't the chosen ones. These aren't the special people. These are just pagans.
[17:44] He's outside His borders. He's in Decapolis. He's not in Israel. And He's working. And He's loving. And He's taking care of everybody. And He's working miracles that no one could ever imagine.
[17:55] And then He says to the guys, He says, I can't send them away. And the disciples are going to say in verse 33, Well, what do you want us to do about it? Where are we supposed to get bread?
[18:06] Out here in the wilderness. There are no stores nearby. There's not a Wendy's close by. There's no Kentucky fried chicken. You can't even get to Kroger to buy anything. What are we supposed to do about it? But you would think that they would remember that in Matthew, that in Matthew, He's already fed the 5,000 just a few verses back.
[18:27] By the way, it is shocking they forget. The very next chapter we'll get to in a week or so. In Matthew chapter 16 and verse 9, He said, Jesus said to them, You guys don't remember? You don't understand?
[18:38] And you don't remember when I fed the 5,000 with the five loaves and how many baskets you took up? You don't remember the seven loaves and the 4,000? They had this tendency to forget. They had this tendency to forget how good God was.
[18:52] Do you have that tendency? Do you have that tendency? I mean, we're just a handful of days away. It was maybe six months before when they saw 5,000 get fed. The fact is, there's a good question.
[19:03] Did He feed a whole lot more than is even written in the Bible? Probably. How many times do you reckon He just threw a banquet spread? He just can't help Himself. I mean, really, He just can't help Himself. He never gets around death without raising them from the dead.
[19:16] He never gets around hurting people without helping hurting people. He never gets around hungry people without helping hungry people. And the disciples say, What are we supposed to do? You would think, you would think that they get excited going, I bet He's fixing to do it again.
[19:29] We're about to see it again. You remember the last time when He fed 5,000? He only had those little bitty fish and loaves. And here we are again with another group. I bet it's fixing to happen again.
[19:40] But instead of that, they fall back into their old way of thinking. Kind of like you and I do, right? We kind of like, I don't remember if God will take care of me or not. I don't know if God's going to come through or not.
[19:52] And I say, Well, don't you remember when God did that for you in the past? You're like, Yeah, I remember that, but that was then. This is now. And that ain't necessarily the same. Isn't that the way we think? That was 5,000 people. This is 4,000.
[20:03] So maybe it ain't going to work the same way. Maybe if we had the magic number 5,000, God would do something. Maybe one thing that's going on is they were sure they couldn't do it by themselves.
[20:14] That'd be a good point. Maybe that's what they thought. Maybe they looked at the 4,000 and said, Well, we weren't able to pull it off the last time, and we ain't able to pull it off this time, so we're kind of looking to you. Are you going to pull it off? Are you going to do it?
[20:25] They knew they didn't have the resources. There was no humanly way possible for them to feed them. I'd like to stop and just ask you, do you realize, man, this is a different kind of church.
[20:38] We care about people. We care about sending the gospel around the world. We care about supporting missionaries. We're doing all this stuff. We're spending all this money, and you might be thinking, I just don't know how God could use me.
[20:50] I don't know what my little bit of talents brought to the table would do. I don't know how God could use me. And that might be what you're thinking. That might be what's going on in your head. That would have been what maybe the apostles were thinking.
[21:00] But we're going to find out that God can take your little bit of nothing and do something real big with it. We're going to learn a big lesson about that. What are you doing? How are you taking your little and giving it to God so he can use it?
[21:14] Now go with me to verse 34. God, in human flesh, shows his power again. Verse 34, Jesus said to them, well, how many loaves y'all got?
[21:24] How much bread you got? And they said, well, we got seven loaves, and we got a few little fishes. And he commanded them all to sit down, and he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and he gave thanks, and he'd break them, and he gave to the disciples of the multitude, and they did all eat.
[21:40] They did all eat, and they were filled up. They got full. And they took up of the broken meat that was left over, seven baskets full. And they that did eat were 4,000 men besides the women and children.
[21:50] And he sent away the multitude. Watch the story. Watch the story. Three days. Man, the disciples got to be tired, too. Don't you imagine? They've been helping get the people in order, been trying to, hey, just one at a time.
[22:04] He's healing everybody. Take your time. Three days have gone by. The disciples are probably thinking, we're here on vacation, Lord. Can we get a vacation? And the Lord said, no, not time for vacation right now.
[22:14] We're busy helping people. And they're helping all these people to meet all these physical needs. And when everybody's about ready to go home, and I'm sure if I'd have been there, I'd have been thinking, wow, finally they're going home. And Jesus said, oh, we can't send them home yet.
[22:25] They ain't anything to eat. They ain't anything. I am not sending them. No. Do not try to send them away. That's not who I am. I like to meet needs. I like to work in people's lives. I like to show how big I am.
[22:36] I like people to know how great I am. They said, well, what are we going to do? He said, well, how much bread y'all got? Well, we got seven loaves and a few fish. He said, well, bring it here. And they brought it. He took it and said, Father, thank you for this food that you've given.
[22:49] And I don't know what else he said, but he said he gave thanks. So then he had, all right, all y'all sit down. Sit down. Everybody get a seat. There's 4,000 men, not counting the women and children, they're all sitting. By mark, we kind of think they were sitting in groups of 50 and 100.
[23:01] He even had them organized. I can see Peter running around now. One, two, three, four. Sit down. One, two, three. I can just see it. Can't you? Them deacons are really going to it. And they're all sitting around. And then Jesus calls them up. Now, he doesn't need the fish.
[23:13] And he doesn't need the loaves. Because he could create a world in six days. Say, man. He's God. And he knows he's God. And he wants them to know he's God. He doesn't need the seven pieces of bread. And he doesn't need the fish.
[23:24] He's just a God who loves people. And even loving the disciples. In just a handful of days, he'll go to the cross and die. And he wants those disciples to know, you can do big stuff. I can help you do big stuff.
[23:37] You guys are going to be able to accomplish the ministry. This is our last six months together. And if anything, I want you to figure out this. I can help you do big stuff. So he said, y'all bring me the fish. Y'all bring me the bread. They brought in the bread and the fish.
[23:48] He prayed. And then he broke it and handed all of them. Now, we've got seven pieces of bread. We've got 12 disciples. He divides it up. That's a little over half for every one of them.
[23:58] He gives them all the pieces of bread and all the fish. And they start giving it out. Now, I'm not really sure what happens from there. I'm not sure if when they broke off a chunk and handed it to them, it grew back in their hand. Or if they gave out what they had and came running back to Jesus and he handed them more.
[24:11] But whatever happened before it's over, they feed 4,000 men, not counting women and children. That means if all 4,000 men had one wife and it wasn't uncommon for them to have more, that'd be 8,000 people.
[24:23] And if they all had one kid, that'd be 12,000 people. I don't know how many people there. There was a heap more coming to this church service. Amen. And they fed them all. Can you imagine what the apostles must be thinking?
[24:34] Our God is a good God. He is a sweet God. He is a loving God. But can you get this more than anything else? He let them take part in the miracle.
[24:46] That is so sweet. He could have said, I didn't have you when I made the world and I don't need you now. Just sit down and watch me. But he said, I'm going to let you take part. Bring me what you have.
[24:57] Let me multiply it. And let me show you what I can do through you. And that's what goes on in the church. Amen. We come in here and there's not much of us. We're not all that smart.
[25:08] We're not all that intelligent. We're not all that rich. We're not all that powerful. We're not that much respect. The world's not. I guarantee you Washington, D.C. is not saying, y'all keep an eye on that vision, Baptist church.
[25:18] I know that passion and people. They're some of the most important people in this country. I doubt that's happening. What do you think? But the God of heaven says, watch this. You little 12 guys. I can show you how to do big things.
[25:32] So he took the fish. He broke it. He gave thanks. He gave thanks. He broke it. He gave it to his disciples. And they kept giving it out. And he kept making it till everybody ate. Look if you would at verse 37.
[25:43] And they did all eat. All ate. Not only did they all eat. They all got full.
[25:55] Now, have you ever been to one of the places, you know, you know, you go to a party and they've got hors d'oeuvres. Us country people, that's a fancy word for not much. I mean, when we have a table, let's lay out the chicken.
[26:12] Lay out the gravy. I mean, at a country person's table, the table's supposed to be kind of bended in the middle from all the food. And when we get a plate, we get a plate with sideboards on it.
[26:23] Amen. We want it full. And when we get to eating, we just like to be sitting there going, well, I enjoy that. That's how we like to do. We're big on quantity. And quality. But a lot of quantity with the quality.
[26:35] Did you ever been to those places? And, you know, I remember when Betty and I got married. Betty's family's kind of the rich people. My family's kind of the poor people. And the first time I sat down at their table, I couldn't believe it. They brought me a sample plate.
[26:46] I mean, they had a little bit of meat. They had a little bit of meat. They had a little bit of potatoes and some beans. And I was like, what is that? I'm no child. Look how little bit they brought me. You ever been there?
[26:57] Huh? But this is what he said. He said, no, they got full. I just want to make it clear. Everybody didn't get a bite. You ever had the Lord's Supper around? You know, you take the Lord's Supper. They bring this little bitty cup.
[27:08] They bring a little piece of bread. That ain't how it happened. He said they ate and they got full. They got full. And now that they get full, they had it left over. They were satisfied.
[27:18] And there were seven large baskets left over. When they fed the 5,000, the basket mentioned there is more like a lunchbox basket. It was kind of a small basket. This basket was a basket so big it could put a man in it.
[27:30] It's the same basket that was used the Lord saw over the, the Apostle Paul over the wall in Damascus. These were large enough to put a man in. And they had that much food left over.
[27:42] Beautiful thing. Jesus wanted the disciples to participate in what he was doing. He wanted the disciples to participate in what he was doing. He was loving people and meeting their needs and he let them do it.
[27:55] I know who he is. I know what he can do and I know how it's affecting my life. And now I want to share it with other people. I don't know if you're getting it today. You are worshiping a God who loves people.
[28:09] You may have heard some things about how God doesn't love everybody. You may have heard some things about God only loving a select few. But in this story, he's not among his chosen people.
[28:20] He's out in the pagan nations and he's loving everybody. And he's healing everybody that comes to him. And when they get ready to go home, he says, I don't want anybody going home yet. I got to make sure they get a good full belly before they start walking home.
[28:32] What a God. Amen. Now let me go over some things that you should have learned in this passage. Here's the first one. There ain't nobody like Jesus. There ain't nobody. There's no faith healer.
[28:44] There's no pastor. There's no apostle. Nobody. They came to him and they didn't have their foot on their leg. Their leg had been cut off. They were maimed. What that means is something's been cut off and their foot grew back.
[28:57] He created food to feed thousands of people. He's a miracle working God. From now on, every time an apostle works a miracle, he'll do it in the name of Jesus.
[29:08] He'll say, I'll do this in the name of Jesus. Because Jesus is the miracle worker. The second thing, he healed like nobody else could heal. These aren't psychosomatic diseases. If you ever watch the healing service, I've been to healing services.
[29:19] When I was young, I was like, maybe I ought not be a Baptist. I think I want to be one of them. I even went one time with a, I have a scar on my hand. And I went and I wanted to see the, I was cut. It was still healing. And I just wanted to see God heal me there.
[29:32] I was praying the whole time, God, let them call me up. Let them heal that. Because if they heal that, I'm going to know something's going on. If they just make up their clothes up, put a scar on it and finish it off, I'll be, I mean, I'm going to believe this. Nothing happened. But everybody got healed out of back aches and headaches and psychosomatic diseases, autosuggestion diseases.
[29:49] Everybody had something wrong in their head. That's how they got healed. That's not what happens here. If you're wondering, deaf people that couldn't hear, we're hearing. And blind people that couldn't see, we're seeing. And if that doesn't impress you enough, here comes a guy walking in that's got a stub instead of a leg.
[30:05] And when he walks out, no crutches, no false leg. He's walking on a new leg. Look, Jesus just grew him. Amen. Nobody like that. Nobody like that. This is no imaginary thing.
[30:18] By the way, his ministry produced worship. Real ministry makes people fall down before God and say, oh, you're God. Nobody like you.
[30:29] Nobody like you. I love you. You're God. Look at verse 31, Matthew 15, 31. In so much that the multitude wondered when they saw the multitude was shocked and wondered.
[30:41] They said, man, people that can't talk are talking and people that don't have limbs are getting them back. And lame people are walking and blind people are seeing. And underline this. And they glorified God. Well, wait a minute.
[30:51] You've got to notice. They've glorified the God of, help me, the God of. Wait a minute. We're not in Israel. We're not in Israel. I mean, this would be like glorifying the God of Canada while you're here.
[31:08] We know that the real God's in the other country and we glorify him. We're not glorifying our little gods. We're not glorifying Baal. We're not glorifying some false god. We know it's God, the God, the God of Israel.
[31:22] And we worship him. God's people have always had to trust him for what he has and what he can do. We don't have ability to do the work.
[31:33] We can't feed people. And as a church, I can't change your life. I can't save you. I can't fix you up. I can't help you. But God can. And this morning today, all I'll do is be a servant. The guy who makes the bread.
[31:45] The guy who multiplies the fish. And the guy who does everything is Jesus. And the rest of us in here, we just like, whatever the Lord does, we'll give him credit for it. By the way, God never runs out of what he needs.
[31:57] He never runs out. If it's 5,000 people or 4,000 people, if it's all the wives and children, he never runs out. He feeds them until they're all full. He just lets his people get involved. I think another big lesson for all of you today is this.
[32:10] When you learn to give to God, God takes your little and does something so big with it. In the story, they bring seven loaves and a few fishes to Jesus.
[32:22] But before it's over, he multiplies that to do an enormous work that could have never been done. The Bible says in Luke chapter 6 and verse 38, Give and it shall be given unto you.
[32:33] Good measure, pressed down and shaken together, running over, shall men give unto your bosom. For with the same measure that you met with all, it shall be measured to you again. Here's what he said. Won't you learn to give?
[32:44] If you'll give to God, God will take care of you. On the way home. I don't know how many baskets the disciples took with them, but they had seven baskets bigger than to put a man in.
[32:54] We're talking about 150-pound basket capacity, seven of them. They brought seven little fishes, seven little loaves and a few fishes, and on the way home, let's just say they had about 1,000 pounds of food on the way back home.
[33:09] That's wild. You give a little, and you get a lot. You need to learn something today. God wants to use you, but for him to show how big he is, he wants you to bring your seven puny little pieces of bread and your fish, and he wants to show you just how big he is.
[33:27] They sow a little, and they get back a little. They sow a lot, and they get back a lot. He's teaching you to invest spiritually. God chooses to allow his people to be a part of his work.
[33:39] If you're here this morning and you're part of vision, no, we're not very big and we're not very important, but God can use us. I'll give you two big lessons, and I quit. He never quits loving.
[33:51] That's the biggest lesson of today. You came in here, and you're like, I'm not sure he still likes me. Oh, he doesn't just like you. He loves you.
[34:03] He loves you. Fact is, if he were here right now, and he'd heal everybody sick, and throw away my glasses and your glasses, and then he'd say, well, I don't want him to go home. Let's have lunch. I'm cooking.
[34:15] Watch me. That's what he'd do. He's a good God. He'd go get one of you people. Y'all had your little breakfast in your Sunday school class. He'd just make that for all of us. We'd go out on the street and get all the people we wanted.
[34:25] He doesn't run out. Amen? He loves us. You're wondering about as he loves you, he loves you. He cured every disability. He met every need. He wouldn't let them go home unless they were full.
[34:39] What I really love is this. He just couldn't quit. That's probably my biggest thrill. I just don't, I can't comprehend that.
[34:54] I have a brother who's had his leg cut off. He's got a, he's had an amputation. He's got a false leg. And if we walked in there, and we hadn't eaten for three days, and he got a new leg, and it was a good leg, and he could walk home on it, I wouldn't be saying, what about supper?
[35:10] I need supper before we leave. I'd have been like, hey, I don't care what it, hey, man, this is enough. But Jesus says, I can't stop. I like to do good stuff, and when I get through doing good stuff, I just like to do some more good stuff.
[35:22] Isn't that good stuff? He's great. So you're here today, and you're wondering, does he love me? I'll answer that for you. Yes. You're here today, and you're saying, well, I've messed up, and I've walked away, and my life's been messed up, and I've had a bad attitude, and I got angry at him.
[35:37] Well, he's God. He knew that. He knew before you did it. He loved you while you were still a sinner, and he still loves you. Come back. Get right with God. Come surrender to him and love him. He loves you.
[35:47] You're here today, and you've never been saved, and you know you've done a lot of wicked stuff, and you're like, I just don't know if God can save me. Let me give you a hint. He can, because there ain't nothing he can't do, and he loves you. He said, man, I'm feeling compassion.
[36:01] Three days into the story, he finally says, I'm feeling compassion. Three days into helping people, and he goes, sorry, guys, I'm feeling compassion.
[36:11] We're just going to have to feed them. You're here today, and no matter what's going on, I want you to know he still loves you. Three days in, he loves you. He cares about you. He wants to make a difference in your life. Don't go home without it.
[36:23] Father in heaven, I pray you'd work today. I pray your name would be glorified and magnified, and I pray you'd save the person who doesn't know you, and I pray to God not only would you save that person, but would you save others in this church that have come to church, and they thought they were saved.
[36:38] They've been playing games, and they know it. Let today be the day. And then, God, there's some Christians in here, and they're kind of cold and backslidden and withdrawn, and they're wondering if you love them, and they're wondering if you care, but they came on a day when your Scripture said, I love you, I love you.
[36:52] God, help them get that. God, draw people to you. Help us today to know what a wonderful God you are and to come trusting you. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, Georgia.
[37:03] For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com, where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.