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Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on solid rock. Matthew 7:24-25
Rain poured down.
Rivers flooded.
Wind beat against the house.
storms, voilence, destruction, damage, trouble, pain, worry, fear
in difficult times those who have built their lives not only on the principals of the Word but upon THE ROCK himself – upon JESUS – the Rock is Jesus Christ – will stand. Jesus is the Rock! Trust Him. Build your life upon Him and who he is and you will stand. NOT just about principals but upon a man, a saviour, the Lord!
As Jesus came down the mountain, he was followed by large crowds. Suddenly a man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus. He said, “Lord, you have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to.” Jesus put his hand on the man and said, “I want to! Now you are well.” At once the man’s leprosy disappeared. Matthew 8:1-3
look at the context…
- the sermon on the mount
- large crowd
- Jesus is coming down the mount and interacting with the people
- everyone is excited
- “is this the messiah?” “who is this man?” “wow wasnt he awesome.”
When Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were surprised at his teaching. He taught them like someone with authority, and not like their teachers of the Law of Moses. matthew 7:28-29
- a leper comes… he is UNCLEAN, contaimination, the law is violated
- he bows down to Jesus, surrenders, submits, humbles himself
- JESUS TOUCHES THE MAN!
- Jesus touches the leper
- Jesus touches the unclean
would Jesus get leporsy? he touched the leper! how could he do that? would the messiah do that? doesnt Jesus know what the law says? what is he doing?
Jesus HEALS the leper!
Jesus teaches with authortiy AND has miracle powers
A teacher of the Law of Moses came up to him and said, “Teacher, I’ll go anywhere with you!” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and birds have nests. But the Son of Man doesn’t have a place to call his own.” Matthew 8:19-20
ANYWHERE the teacher says.
ANYWHERE?
sure, if it has prestigue and power and popularity and secuirty and comfort and self improvement and ambition….
but…
Jesus’ way is the way of the cross.
Jesus’ ANYWHERE is to Getheseme, the court, Calvary, the tomb.
Jesus’ anywhere is to lay down your life and take up your cross.
Years later, John the Baptist started preaching in the desert of Judea. He said, “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here.” John was the one the prophet Isaiah was talking about, when he said,
“In the desert someone
is shouting,
`Get the road ready
for the Lord!
Make a straight path
for him.’ “
John wore clothes made of camel’s hair. He had a leather strap around his waist and ate grasshoppers and wild honey. Matthew 3:1-4
John had a message:
PREPARE
PREPARE THE WAY
GET READY
TURN BACK TO GOD
REPENT
CHANGE
THE KINGDOM IS NEAR
THE KINGDOM IS COMING
CHANGE AND BE READY
BE AWARE
BE LOOKING
BE EXPECTANT
BE PAREYRFUL
John was a sign and a wonder. he was a demonstration of God and the coming kingdom. He was wierd on the outside – but living a life of obedience set apart for God. His mission was to get people ready – ready for the incarnation of the messiah – ready for a saviour – ready for Jesus – ready in their hearts and minds and spirits – watching and waiting and expectant for teh reality of God!
John was all about:
SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
NEW THINGS
A NEW AGE
in our own lives we should be living lives that demonstrate the love and grace of God. we should be living and DOING what God has called us to do. it is important and part of His plan. we are preparing people too – we are planting seeds and sharing the message of the good news – that Jesus CAME and LIVED and DIED and ROSE AGAIN that we may draw near to God and be new and clean and forgiven and holy and loved and forgiven. Jesus is coming AGAIN and we should be sharing the message of his reality to those around us, our family and friends, getting them ready for the kingdom of God – be they meet it through death or Jesus’ return. Be like John – have a message, live a message, BE the message!
Jesus and his disciples crossed Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Gerasa. 2When he was getting out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit quickly ran to him 3from the graveyard where he had been living. No one was able to tie the man up anymore, not even with a chain. 4He had often been put in chains and leg irons, but he broke the chains and smashed the leg irons. No one could control him. 5Night and day he was in the graveyard or on the hills, yelling and cutting himself with stones. He had gone naked for a long time and no longer lived in a house, but in the graveyard (luke 8:27)
6When the man saw Jesus in the distance, he ran up to him and knelt down. 7He shouted, “Jesus, Son of God in heaven, what do you want with me? Promise me in God’s name that you won’t torture me!” 8The man said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to come out of him.
9Jesus asked, “What is your name?”
The man answered, “My name is Legion, because I have `a legion’ of evil spirits.” 10He then begged Jesus not to send them away.
11Over on the hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. 12So the evil spirits begged Jesus, “Send us into those pigs! Let us go into them.” 13Jesus let them go, and they went out of the man and into the pigs. The whole herd of about two thousand pigs rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
14The men taking care of the pigs ran to the town and the farms to spread the news. Then the people came out to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had once been full of demons. He was sitting there with his clothes on and in his right mind, and they were terrified.
16Everyone who had seen what had happened told about the man and the pigs. 17Then the people started begging Jesus to leave their part of the country.
18When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man begged to go with him. 19But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how good he has been to you.”
20The man went away into the region near the ten cities known as Decapolis and began telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him. Everyone who heard what had happened was amazed. Mark 5:1-18 CEV
Fantastic passage…. About freedom and restoration and deliverance and the power of Jesus who came to save us and set us free! And there is just something about a herd of pigs tormented by demonic spirits throwing themselves off a cliff….
But the part I want to talk about tonight is verses 18-20.
“And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marvelled.” NKJV
The man – healed, delivered, free, saved wanted to be with Jesus and follow him wherever Jesus went. But Jesus told him to go and to tell his friends and family what had happened. The man went back to his town and his family and told them all what Jesus had done. He went and shared about what his life was like before God and they could certainly see the evidence of his life after he met Jesus.
One of the best tools I have found in talking to people about Jesus is to tell them my story. To tell them about my own personal experience of God.
You have a story. You have a story of how God is working in your life. And you know what – really your story is your history – it is your HIS STORY – the story of how God loves you, saved you, rescued you, and how you know him and his love and grace.
In Christianese your story is called a testimony.
What does testimony mean anyway? Testimony is usually someone’s eyewitness of some actions or events, which they tell to someone else. Say for example I witnessed a robbery at a bank. If the police or court would call me to testify, I would describe to them the time, the location, a description of the persons involved, and the sequence of events as I saw them as an eyewitness. My account of what I witnessed would be a testimony.
Our testimony is our eyewitness account of God. It is the description of God being real to us. It is the same as what the man in Mark did – he told what Jesus had done for him. The mans testimony was I was demon possessed and wild and alone now I am free and delivered and at peace. He was a rude nude dude – but now he was “normal” – clothed and in his right mind…. Not his wrong mind…
Okay so lets break down what a testimony is… what are the elements we can include in our testimony to make it effective and so we can use it… whats the point of having a tool in our toolbox if we don’t know how to use it and make it work?
Now just to put this in context – when I am talking about sharing your testimony I am talking about it in the context of conversation with a friend – as well as conversation with strangers. I’m not really talking about a stand up up the front speech type thing – though you can use these ideas to shape what you share in that context too. So remember that though you may take some thought into what you WOULD share that what you end up sharing may be different because it is a conversation not a recited monologue. Be flexible. Be relevant. Be yourself.
Now I am endorsing is for you to prepare and even practice your testimony. Preparing it just means you’re giving it some thought and sorting it out in your mind.
1 Peter 3:15 always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.
I break my testimony down into 3 simple elements…
BEFORE
ENCOUNTER
AFTER
The woman who was caught in adultery had a testimony. She was having an affair, probably heartsick and fearful of being caught, maybe insecure and just wanting to be loved. She was caught in her sin, dragged before Jesus to be judged but instead found forgiveness and grace and the answers to her heart issues. Her before was I was a sinner, but now I am saved.
Zacceheus was a short tax collector (we wont hold the short thing against him though!) who cheated and stole from is his own people and was hated by the Jews for his profession and actions. He climbed a tree, met Jesus, had a party at his house and was saved and turned his life around. He was lost but then found. Despised but then accepted by God. A thief and a cheat by profession but then rescued from that life.
Bartimus, was blind, but now can see.
In working out your testimony figure out what the main points are – what are the main themes or reasons for becoming a Christian? What are some of the main things God has done in your life since then? What were the big life questions that got answered by God?
Okay – most of us have prechristian stories. I can point to several points in my life – right from when I was really young – where God was calling me and shaping me and leading me to the very point where I became a Christian. But I don’t usually include these as they are more side issues or later date conversations….
I also don’t talk heaps about what my life was life before hand… which you might say, hey but there is that before component.
For me the main theme of why I became a Christian was because I discovered that God was real and I wanted to know him and know his grace and love, for this life and for eternity.
Sure I was lost and struggling at times. Sure I needed peace and purpose. Sure I was heading down a path of destruction and drinking and darkness…. But the main thing was I had just encountered a living real God. That was knowable and that must be known. That for me is my main point.
For me my before is “before I was a Christian I had decided that God wasn’t real. But deep down part of me was unconvinced by my assumption…. And so I went along to a youth group – not for any spiritual reasons but to meet the boys – and was shocked to discover that God was real. I had thought he was a fairy tale or a fairy godmother type thing, or a nice thing we do on Sunday – but he was real. Real real real.
My next point in my testimony is the encounter God part, the what happened next, the what I found out part.
For the woman caught – it was being dragged before Jesus and his conversation and declaration that SHE was forgiven.
For Zacceheus it was that Jesus chose him to go and eat with.
For the blind man, it was that Jesus prayed for him and he was healed.
For me it was the youth camp. The where my questions were answered. The realizing that God loved me and was real and that he made the way for me to know him, that without Jesus we are separated from God, but that because of Jesus I can draw near because Jesus makes me new and clean and acceptable and holy.
And then we have a really important part – the after. The what happens next next. The how it is real in my life part.
For some it is really dramatic.
I was a drug addict and now I am clean and sober.
I was sleeping around but now I am waiting till I get married.
I was depressed but now I have peace….
I was a satanist but now I worship God.
I was a grumpy cow but now I am kind and friendly.
I was living in fear and insecure all the time but now I am secure.
I was a rude nude dude that lived in the cometary but now I wear clothes and live in a house….
The cardboard testimony thing….
But for others there may not be any dramatic change on the outside.
You might not have had to quit smoking, sleeping around, doing drugs, conquer alcoholism.
But you are different now because of Jesus. You are different now because before you were lost and dead on the inside but now you are saved and found and alive and part of God’s family.
You now have peace and life and hope, and the creator God to pray to, who hears your prayers and works in your life.
You have assurance and confidence beyond shadow of a doubt that if you drove out of here and a boy racer hit you that you would open your eyes and see God and hear him say Welcome, you belong here with me forever.
Don’t feel stink because you don’t think your testimony isn’t dramatic. Don’t feel stink if you were brought up a church kid and didn’t really even question that God was real or not. Don’t feel stink if you just lived an ordinary life and wasn’t a serial killer.
God is still at work and still doing awesome things and your story is still mighty powerful.
“You’re the only Jesus that some will ever see.”
“This is the testimony,” says John, “that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11) So when we ask the question again: “What is Christian testimony?” The answer is not about us—it is for us. The testimony is that God gave us eternal life in His Son. God’s testimony is unassailable. He is truthful in every respect, trustworthy and sure, and His testimony is about His Son. Through knowledge of Jesus comes salvation, and through Him we have life. Christian testimony is always and ever about Jesus. He’s the One about whom we testify.
Our story is really HIS STORY.
“You’re the only Jesus that some will ever see.”
You might be the only Christian that someone knows. God has put YOU in their life to demonstrate his love and grace.
Matthew 5:14-15 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
You are a witness and an ambassador for God.
Acts 20:24 says I don’t care what happens to me, as long as I finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do. And that work is to tell the good news about God’s great kindness.
You are called and empowered by the Holy Spirit who lives in you to serve God and to tell those around you about Jesus and his grace and salvation. Hebrews 12:15 says Make sure that no one misses out on God’s wonderful kindness.
Your story is important because it is YOUR story. It is God at work in YOUR life.
Your story has power and can change history… your story can change someones story – by changing their eternity, by introducing them to God and his love and mercy. It is God who saves but it is us who are used by God to plant seeds and to share his message and truth.
The rude nude dude was delivered and saved and then sent by Jesus to his friends and family and he went and he told them what great things the Lord has done for him, and how He has had compassion on him.
Go and do likewise. Go and tell the great things that God has done for you and how he loves you and is real and has rescued you. Get out there and shine. Go share your story and be a history maker!
I always find listening to the Bible been read aloud gets it “into” me in a way that just reading it doesn’t. Is my learning style.
The other night the following parables were been read. They impacted me like never before. It was fresh. Alive. And soooo thought provoking!
Matthew 13:24-28 He put out another parable to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat and went his way. But when the blade had sprung up and had produced fruit, then the darnel also appeared. So the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then where have the darnel come from. He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them up? But he said, No, lest while you gather up the darnel you also root up the wheat with them Let both grow together until the harvest. And in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather together the darnel and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my granary.
Mat 13:47-50 Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered some of every kind; which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it shall be at the end of the world. The angels shall come out and separate the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
After hearing these two parables about the kingdom of heaven I searched my bible for the other “kingdom of heaven” parables that Jesus tells.
I personally am interested in heaven. I know it is my destination. I know my Lord Jesus is there (Mark 16:19 Then indeed, after speaking to them, the Lord was taken up into Heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.) and so I long for the day and the place of perfect peace, perfect worship, perfection!
My son is also very interested in heaven. Where is it Mummy? What is it like? Will there be lots of toys there Mummy?
How does one enter the kingdom of Heaven?
In the parables in Matthew 13 it makes it clear that there are those who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and those that wont.
“So it shall be at the end of the world. The angels shall come out and separate the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
“And in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather together the darnel and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my granary.”
What is the difference between these two groups? What qualifies a person to enter heaven, or disqualifies someone?
In Matthew 5:20 it says “For I say to you that unless your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.”
Perfect righteousness qualifies someone to enter heaven. But we all know that we are not perfect, we are very imperfect! We do not fulfill the law perfectly, but have sinned and broken the commands of God.
Romans 3:21-25 But now a righteousness of God has been revealed apart from Law, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets; even the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ, toward all and upon all those who believe. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness through the passing by of the sins that had taken place before, in the forbearance of God;
In other word, God makes us righteous and right for entering heaven through the sacrifice of Jesus.
Philippians 3:9 and be found in Him; not having my own righteousness, which is of the Law, but through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of God by faith,
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no other One; for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Entrance to heaven is gained through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in becoming born again, by becoming children of God.
There is no access to heaven by “being good”. We can never attain the goodness required. It is only by been a citizen of heaven that we can enter. Only by the blood of Jesus. Only.
I know after reading the kingdom of Heaven parables that I am again renewed to share with people about Jesus. I am renewed and reinvigorated to make sure that they are heading towards an eternity WITH God, not without Him.
The Kingdom of Heaven is worth seeking. The King of Heaven is worth seeking. He is the pearl with out price , the treasure worth selling all for, worth laying our life down for.
Matthew 13:44 Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which when a man has found it, he hides it, and for the joy of it goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
Matthew 13:45-46 Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Other Kingdom of Heaven Parables to look at:
Matthew 13:31-32 Matthew 13:33 Matthew 20:1 Matthew 22:2-14 Matthew 25:1-13
God uses ordinary people to change the world. He uses ordinary people to demonstrate his love and grace.
God designed and wired you a certain way. Designed for good works (Ephesians 2:10).
Callings do not need to be spiro things – you can be called to be a teacher, plumber, mother, banker, travel agent, builder, politician, engineer, journalist, artist, nurse….
God calls you to use the gifts you have that are part of you to demonstrate who he is, as well as to “do stuff”.
Callings can also include how to use the WHO you are in non vocational ways (aka – it isn’t your job, but is your passion and service) such as on the worship team, house leadership, pastoring, evangelism etc…
Joel 3:10
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weakling say,
“I am strong!”
Matthew 14:17
13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17″We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18″Bring them here to me,” he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Exodus 4:2
Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
What resonates with the beat of your heart? What is the thing you dream about? What is the thing you MUST do and will strive to do at every godly cost? What is the gift God has placed in your life? Pursue it. Pray and talk to God about it. Prepare. Don’t wait however to step out into a glorious future of fulfillment and doing. Do it now. Demonstrate God now to those around you. It doesn’t take a job description or a position on church staff to be like Jesus. Don’t let feelings of inadequacy or unpreparedness rule you out. Jeremiah was young man whom God used to speak to a nation. Timothy likewise, yet God called him to lead a church. Amos was a common shepherd with no family history of spiritual leadership. Nehemiah was a cupbearer in the kings court in exile. David was a shepherd. Lydia, in retail. Matthew was a despised tax collector. What are you doing today? What mark are you making today? How is God using you – today???
Sooo….. am I called???
How do I find out what I am called to do???
1. Talk to God. Pray.
2. Look at your life. What do you like to do? What are you good? What ticks your heart? How are you wired?
3. Talk to God.
4. Just do it. seriously. Get in there. Do it. it doesn’t have to be a “formal” position – if you join a group then do so, but don’t just be limited by what openings there are. If you feel called to teach people, then be part of a housegroup and into the conversation. If you feel called to worship then worship God! If you feel called to help people then look around you for the opportunities to help people. Callings can be expressed and outlived in day to day lives with our frienships and work mates and in our church community.
5. Prepare. Read. Learn. Study. Pray. Don’t just let your life breeze by but be active in living your life!
Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Your calling and your livng the call is your response and expression of relationship with God. The context of your call is in relationship with God.
‘Not called!’ did you say? ‘Not heard the call,E’ I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world. William Booth, founder of Salvation Army.
God might want you to extend his love by offering to baby-sit for the single parent down the street. He might want you to prepare a hearty meal for that lonely old man who lost his wife — and to sit and visit with him while he eats. Who knows, he might even want you to reach out and touch the life of a total stranger in some way you can’t imagine right now. Are you willing to set aside your own comfort to touch someone else with God’s love? — Amy Nappa
Matthew 9:9 As Jesus was leaving he saw a tax collector called Matthew sitting at a place for paying taxes. Jesus said to him, “come with me” and matthew got up and went with Him.
I read this and began to think (always a good thing when reading the bible!) Perhaps Matthew, sitting in his tax collector booth witnessed the whole miracle and forgiving sins of the cripple man. perhaps he heard Jesus teaching. perhaps he wished that he could be new and clean and have his sins forgiven too. perhaps he was wondering who this man was that forgave sins and made crippled men walk.
Jesus saw matthew and called him to follow Him. a tax collector! the scurge of society in israel! dispised and outcast!
matthew didnt appear to be a candadiate for discipleship. he wasnt holy or respected or wanted.
but jesus called him and matthew left his lucrative tax collecting business and lifestyle to follow Jesus.
jesus was matthews saviour and healer too.
it gives me hope, because Jesus calls me too.
The boy responded to Jesus and said “here is my lunch, its not much, but perhaps it will help.”
That is what I do.
Here is my life. Its not much but perhaps you can use me.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7
We are all cracked pots with the Eternal Living Almighty God alive within us!
His challenge is to us is to not hide the light away – the Light of the World – Jesus – but to shine to the world.
How do we do this?
What does this look like in real life?
-are you prepared to say yes?
- are you prepared to give Jesus your lunch?
- are you prepared to talk and share?
- are you prepared to step out and pray for someone if they say they are sick?
Examples from my life:
Ex workmate facebook status for prayer
Conversations over morning tea with my astrologist friend
Beach outreach 15th February
The awesome thing is that God took the boys lunch and fed 20,000 people with 12 baskets left over.
He healed my exworkmates friend, dramatic miracle.
He planted truth and grace in my friends heart, seeds for growing.
What could the beach invitations on the 15th bring? What could the outcome be? God knows! We don’t know what will happen. But if we don’t go we don’t know!
i am preaching on sunday night at our young adults service. it is the first for the year. again i am teh short notice preacher, only finding out on wednesday. these are the beginnings of my notes…. i am trusting that God is giving me his message for this time and this meeting and these people.
1. The crowd came to Jesus: seeking, lost, sick
2. Jesus had compassion and healed them all
3. It got late – In the desert – a dry, barren, dead place
4. Why don’t you give them something to eat?
5. No natural resources
6. Was Jesus talking only about food? What did the people come for? What drew 20,000 people out into the desert? The people came for spiritual peace and truth: Isaiah 55
7. Jesus used the small offering of the boy – he used the boys “here am I, use me”
In our own lives there are people seeking for the truth about God.
Their lives are like the desert, dry, barren, dead.
As Christians, as the disciples of Jesus here and now, Jesus asks US to give them food.
Of ourselves we have nothing.
But Jesus is the bread of life.
He is the one who saves and satisfies.
God will use our “here am I, use me” and work through us to feed the people.
Isaiah 55:1-3
If you are thirsty,
come and drink water!
If you don’t have any money,
come, eat what you want!
Drink wine and milk
without paying a cent.
Why waste your money
on what really isn’t food?
Why work hard for something
that doesn’t satisfy?
Listen carefully to me,
and you will enjoy
the very best foods.
Pay close attention!
Come to me and live.
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