Mark 8: Feeding the 4000 - a story of compassion in the ordinary

Mark 8_ Feeding the 4000 - a story of compassion in the ordinary So Jesus got the basket, which was empty, and the disciples put in their seven loaves.[00:02:00] And they put them in the basket. And then Jesus told the Crowd to sit down. Sit down, and he gave thanks for the in the basket. And then he said to his disciples. Go hand out the food to everyone. Go hand out the food to everyone, and there was so much food it wouldn't even fix. On the, and the disciples went and handed out the food to everyone[00:03:00] and the people until they were full up, and at the end there was so much left over. There seven baskets left after that. Jesus. I wanna make is that God is compassionate and he's interested in the big things and things as well. In that verse in,[00:04:00] I have compassion for these people. They've already been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. They'll way because of them have come a long distance. Now, stories involve food, not just because I like a tasty meal and tasty food, but because for me it makes relatable food thing being hungry an everyday, and it makes Jesus relatable. Created interested in whether those people hungry or interested in, I find that is so powerful. Who is so marvelous that he can create [00:05:00] the whole universe. And I figure, but actually someone who, who cares, who cares about you? Whether those in that Crowd on that day. Compassion, if you look it up in the Oxford English dictionary, means a deep sympathy and a desire to help.[00:06:00] So when Jesus had sympathy. Is same you and I today when God, us, and our, and it just shows that Jesus wasn't only interested in kind of the big, the big ticket items. From the heal people, but it wasn't all about that. He was also interested in the small things, in the little things [00:07:00] on have to pretty basic needs. They're not particularly exciting. It's not particularly glamorous. It's not particularly showy. On that hillside who were hungry. It was very real. Them That was that need in that moment. What that was, yeah. That's the saying about how God feels about us. Created who created the,[00:08:00] I think it's a really fatherly kind of comforting. Compassion for us, like Inal talks, um, if bad reminds me of that. The fact that he looked and he had compassion when he looked at these people. A God who wants meet our needs. However big or however small the A parking space when you're running late hungry wants provide those wants to us up under.[00:09:00] Go and sit down me again, that just says that he took control. Everyone was having a bit of a flap. They were hungry. They were probably a and everyone days, probably a little bit hungry and narky, and Jesus just took control. He said, chill out. He said, okay. Sit down. I'll sort. I got it. Yeah. Jesus. Compassionate, interested aspects lives, the things about the things. About, [00:10:00] about whether can't find our missing, can't keys, running to work as big things. Healing. Healing. We can pray about all of those things and God has got compassion for us. Us one of my questions, where do need God's moment? Wanna answers to that in the comments or might discuss it later on in the chat. Where is it that we need God's compassion in [00:11:00] lives? Now the second point, draw now the story of the 4,000 I find intriguing. Story of those I shout all totally. In four [00:12:00] cycles, do they look at him, they look decent in the face and they say, but where are we gonna get any food? Get enough to feed them. Now, at this point, I wanna laugh, say. Quite sure in They have enough. There was enough.[00:13:00] They've been there, they've seen that, they witness that, and they just looked at Jesus blankly. We haven't got any food. Doesn't like tentatively said. I find that fascinating that did not realize,[00:14:00] think that in situation that I would've said. At what God has done, we need to think of times, think of examples of God has acted, God has answered Prayer.[00:15:00] But we look Prayer. So give us and inspire us and give us faith that God can do that again. I kind of wish that in that story the disciple said, God, you did this before. Let's do it again. I know you could do this. And I dunno why, why of them piped up, put in the same situation and reinforce that point that he could do the miraculous that he could, uh, do miracles that he could provide for them.[00:16:00] Back and think back and remember those times when God has come us, God has provided us, God has miraculously in revelation. 10, look it up. God for the t Jesus is the spirit of so does this me means of what God has done. It's like God saying he wants to do it again. Thing will happen in the, so the t [00:17:00] the stories, the miracle of Jesus are like a prophe pro happen. Miracles of what Jesus has done. Means God will do the, and those stories, if have we a story of God answering our Prayer, if we've got a story of a miracle. Act as a prophecy saying God can do this. God has done it before and do this again. If you somebody is and you hear a[00:18:00] give you. Our now have a. Hi everyone. My name's Abby and I'm part of Frontline City. And today I'd just love to share with you a quick testimony about how God has provided for me in the area of friendship and connection. So thinking back around three years ago, um, quite a long time ago now, um, I was about to start a new sick form college. I didn't know anybody. Um, [00:19:00] I had no connection there, no friendships. Um, and honestly, I was so anxious. I was so nervous, um, to step into a new place where I just didn't know anyone. Um, I was longing for, um, true connection. I was, I was really hoping and praying for, um, people who have my back, who I could have their back. Um, yeah. And just a, a group of people that I could show the love of God to. I remember the summer before I started college, I was just crying out God, for even just one friend, um, that I, um. And when I walked outta that college two years later, um, honestly, I had more true and special friends than I could count. And for me, that was just such an example of God providing when, when we pray and we cry out to him, he truly hears our Prayer and he truly wants to answer. Um, [00:20:00] God really cares about friendship. He really cares about community. We see in the Bible and in the life of Jesus. So many examples of this. A couple are in First Thessalonians five. Um, it says, encourage one another and build one another up in Ecclesiastes four, it says, if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. God, when he created us, created us for connection, he created us to be part of communities. Um, and when us, he also promised. Whether you a similar position to me at that point, um, whether you're going into new communities or whether you, um, even in this, in this lockdown season, are, um, praying for and crying out for, um, friendship and community and connection. I just want to encourage you to keep hoping, keep praying and keep stepping out with God into those places.[00:21:00] US connection, um, promised to provide for all of our needs, and he wants to meet those needs, um, when we ask him, when we cry out to him for them. I also wanna encourage you, um, if you are someone in that position of really needing community, really needing connection, I just wanna say that as Frontline city, um, and also me. So if you wanna message or comment, um, get in touch with us in any way, I'd just love to say that if that is a Prayer that you have, then we would love to be, um, an answer to that Prayer. Um, but for everyone, I do just wanna say, um, keep believing, keep hoping, um, and keep praying for the things that, um, you're believing for. Truly wants provide for us. Um, when we cry out to him, he hear and he, um, yeah. So I pray, have day and keep thanks. [00:22:00] That was really inspiring. And God is saying he wants to do it again. We just talk about tny being the power of prophecy. If you relate to that, if loneliness or feeling disconnected, or you're about to start on something new and you are worried about how you are connect and having proper relationships than be inspired by Abby's testimony there, that's for you too. If you're watching this live. Share your, share your testimonies of when God has come through you. When God has answered Prayer, you dunno who it might inspire, who it might encourage, who it might be a for. Now, some of you might be thinking great. Great, great. When you have got a testimony of when God has come through, when God [00:23:00] has answered your prayers, but what about when horrible things happen and you prayed and God doesn't seem to have answered your Prayer? What about when? A saying goes, bad thing has happened to good people. What about those times when you prayed and God hasn't answered your Prayer in the way you expected him to or the way you wanted him to? Now, I don't have a complete answer for that. There are various different points. Some people would say, like whether God has answered your Prayer in a different way and not how you expected. I would say is that sometimes it doesn't make sense. It doesn't always seem fair, but that that does not change. God is, [00:24:00] I don't always understand why things happen. I don't understand why. Some people seem to have difficulty after difficulty when God doesn't seem to have answered someone's Prayer or where it's not like they're going to, and then it hasn't and bad things have happened to people. It doesn't make sense and sometimes you do. Just wanna shout. I loves. That God's got compassion for me, that God has got a plan for me. That God can do miracles, that God can heal, that God loves me with a never ending love, that he's got a plan, a plan to prosper me and not to harm me. So how do you [00:25:00] balance that when bad? I think one thing that we need to do is to look back and think about the times and those examples that we've got of where God has answered our prayers, where God has healed someone, where God has provided for us, so we can look back, like looking back from the feeling of. And secondly for me, I think just sometimes you need to come to peace with the fact that these truth can coexist the truth that sometimes bad things do happen. [00:26:00] Sometimes situations are sad and situations are horrible, but that God is good. Two things can coexist. Now I work in a hospital, which some of you might know, and recently I had a patient who was really, really poorly and I had to phone their relative and tell them that they were unwell, um, and that things weren't looking great, but that we were treating them. Um, and we would have to see what happened. They said away and they were gonna go and pray and they were clearly a Christian and they said, I'm gonna go and pray now. And when I finished the phone said, I'll pray too. And for the last few weeks I've been praying for them and most days I have pray for them. I've thought about them. [00:27:00] When I was in work for the day, I discovered that that person had died. Was I gutted? Yes. Did the thought of the pain and the suffering of that family make me feel really sad? Yes. Does it change who God is? No. God is good. No. Do I still believe that God can heal? Yes, I do. I dunno why that happened. I hope that they would recover and I, and I thought they would, but that doesn't change who God is. That doesn't mean that I can't pray for Hayden. There is somebody else that I'm [00:28:00] praying for who's on intensive care at the minute, and does that previous example of somebody dying when their family were praying for them, when I was praying for 'em, where there was probably a whole community in a whole church behind them praying for them. Does that experience mean that I now can't brave that person that I know on intensive care? No. Has it destroyed my faith and being able to pray for healing? No. And at the moment there are glimmers of hope for that person, and I'm gonna keep on praying, although it doesn't always make sense. What I do know is that God is good, that God has got good plans for us, that God loves me. So to bring us back to that point about testimony. If I now hear a testimony about healing, that will inspire me, that will give me hope, that will encourage me that God wants [00:29:00] to do that again, that he wants again. So coming. From this passage we've looked at God being compassionate, God, being interested in the big things, and also the little things like whether we're hungry, whether there's a parking space where our missing stock is, or the thing that we can't find. God is interested in every aspect of our lives and has got compassion for us. So one of my questions to you be, where do we need compassion? We've looked what we have that we can share with others, inspire and wants to. Prophecy to say that God wants and can do this again. So what IES do we have that we can share with others this week? Put them in the, [00:30:00] or make a deliberate point of showing them with somebody that you come across this week. And lastly, what areas of our lives do we need to hear testimonies from others about, to encourage us, to inspire us, to give us space. So if you're watching live, you put some of those answers, um, in the comments box. And I pray that this week that each one of us has opportunity to experience God's compassion and to share our testimony with others. Wonderful. Thank you, Sarah. Great word. Loved it. Uh, loved it, loved it, loved it. I started to write comments in there and realized I was, uh, logged in as Frontline and I needed to write them as myself. So, uh, apologies for that, but that was great. Did you enjoy that? Um, I really, really liked the, uh. [00:31:00] As you're writing your testimonies in the, in the comments and, and do do that. But one of the things I really liked, uh, was right at the beginning. Did you pick up on it? Martin was supposed to do this, but I read it and got really excited, so I thought I would do it. That is marriage at work right there. Let me tell you, uh, that made me chuckle, uh, and smile, but I'm glad you did do that, Sarah. That was great. I really enjoyed that. And uh, I loved how you brought in that scripture from Revelation. Uh, about testimony being the spirit of prophet and just, I think in this day and age we can be a bit bolder in telling our testimony to people. I can be, I, I, you know, there was a good challenge, you know, the sort of telling the stories that God has done. So what has God done for you? Tell your story what Sharon put here. You know what? I need to really figure out how I change this color. 'cause that's gonna wind me right up. Um.[00:32:00] No. Uh, but did it, was it there? Uh, God changed my mind from being a tangled mess to being peaceful is what it says. Maybe if I put it up there, it is easy to read. There we go. Um, if anybody is watching this and knows how he can works and how I can change the color of the text. You just let me know. No problem. That will be great. Uh, but that is, uh, a great testimony from Sharon, isn't it? That actually. And if, I mean, I know Sharon obviously being married to her for a, for a while, uh, where she says that God changed her mind from being a tangled mess to being peaceful. She ain't lying. Mm-hmm. No sir. Uh, right at the start, I, you know, when we were dating, um, and, uh, right at the beginning when I sort of started to meet, uh, meet Sharon occasionally, and I'd, you know, set those scenarios up, uh, and she was on the Omega team, which was a, a a year team we did at the church back then. Uh, God [00:33:00] was just doing some great stuff in Sharon's life, all on her mind, all on her thinking, renewing her mind, and, uh, taking it from, what did you call it, a tangled mess to being peaceful. And that's what God does. That's what he does with anxiety. That's what he does with fear. That's what he does with stress. That's what he does with worry. As we get into, uh, the things of God and just let him change his and, and, you know, do all those amazing things, he transforms our thinking, doesn't he? He transforms our minds. So, uh, that's such a powerful testimony. And one I think actually a lot of people could, could do with hearing these days, um, is actually we talk a lot about, um. We do, we talk a lot about the, sort of the physical aspect of it. You know, Jesus can heal you everywhere you hurt, which is a true statement. And, um, you know, Jesus, we, we can pray for healing and, and we can see some miraculous healings and we can, uh, maybe not see some healings, you know, like Sarah was talking about in her talk. Um, super powerful stuff. [00:34:00] But it's not just the physical stuff. It is the mental stuff. And he can heal our minds and our spirits and bring that calm and that peace. Uh. It's amazing at a time like today. So, um, okay, what we got in the comments here, uh, AB is put here. I love to hear testimonies of people stepping into their calling, um, from the place of not feeling equipped already. That's very true, isn't it? Uh, none of us are equipped for this sort of stuff. Uh, you know, when, when we feel like God's called us to do something, you know, when we felt, um. Whenever it was this time last year, 18 months ago, God said to us, you know what? You, you really need to start a church. It was the furthest thing away from my mind. Did not wanna do it, did not think it was a good thing to do. Uh, I'm a businessman. That's what I do. I love to do business. I'm, I'm. That's me in my comfort zone, in my anointed zone. Uh, [00:35:00] and I even wrote an article once on a blog, why? I think being a church pastor is the hardest job in the world. Right? I just, that's what I thought. And so when God was telling us to start this church, I was like, goodness me, have you got the wrong fella? Um, and so I did not feel equipped. I did not feel ready. But you know what? After a little bit of arm twisting the conversation with the good Lord, we felt the need to step out. And it's been great ever since. Right. I say that word great. Ever since that's a complete nut of fabrication of the truth. Um, it has been a challenge ever since. Uh, but like Sarah said, God is still good. It doesn't change who he is. So what Sarah put here, um. Uh, Rebecca has a testimony of praying for good weather on holiday when the forecast was really bad. And then we have a day of sunshine when it was so hot, we had to find shade. No doubt. Especially Martin, right? Mr. Has to wear jumpers in the sunshine. Um, but that's great, isn't it? We've all got those stories. I [00:36:00] think if we, just those special occasions where we're like, God, I just need the weather to be good. I dunno about you, but one of the things that I've been praying for in COVID. During the lockdown is actually the thing that makes it more bearable, um, I think is the fact that we've had reasonably, I mean it's a bit chilly today, but we've had reasonably good weather on the whole, I'm super grateful for that and that is definitely, um, something that I've said to the good Lord, if we could have some good weather, that would be amazing. I really appreciate that. So that's a great testimony. Rebecca, I am with you on that one is good when God intervenes with the weather. Uh, he did it on my wedding day. Thank you, Jesus. Okay. Uh, Matt, what have you put here? What's your testimony? I was lacking in confidence in my abilities to follow my dreams that I thought God was calling me to, until people's attitudes changed towards my abilities. I soon realized again, that only God's opinion [00:37:00] matters. That's super powerful, right? Super, super powerful. Only God's opinion matters, and it's so true, and God's opinion is always good. He is always for us. He's never against us. That's the amazing thing about God, right? He just does all of those cool things on our behalf. And, um, we were doing family devotions this week and, uh, just talking about how, um, I think it was Zoe who bought that scripture about how we can eat and drink, um, from Ecclesiastics because God has accepted us and he is approved of our works. And actually just. Well, I can't remember the exact phrase. It says, we can eat our food with joy, drink our wine with gladness because God has approved us and, and has accepted us. And it just, the simple things change in life when you know that God is for you and is not against you, and even the simple things of eating food become joyful and you become glad because of those. Those really cool things. So [00:38:00] yeah, one of the, I've been writing my note, you can't see here, but I was writing lots of notes and one of the things that Sarah said, uh, in that talk was that actually when Jesus fed the 4,000 here, it wasn't particularly glamorous. Although feeding 4,000 people with nothing is, is, you know, it's quite an impressive skill. But I get the, the, the point that Sarah was saying was actually these people were just hungry. Uh, it wasn't a particularly glamorous need. Um, or showy, I think you said Sarah. They were just hungry. Um, and in the whole of human history, this was not a big deal, right? It just wasn't a big need. But God had compassion and he was involved. Um, and, uh, I loved that. And his compassion is, what was it? Compassion is a deep sympathy and a desire to help. Uh, and the guy that flung the stars in space still has compassion on us, even if we're just hungry. Um, and it, it doesn't seem that particularly big or great. And I top banana anyway. [00:39:00] I feel like I could go off on one. Has anyone got any more comments they wanna throw in here? Any more stories? Any more testimonies? Um, we will definitely be using testimony a lot more going forward. The power of story, the power of testimony is fab. Um, as one fellow said, you can't have a testimony without a test. Just wanna point that out. Testimonies are all stories. The stories about how God provided, about how he helped us to overcome something, a challenge and obstacle that was in our way. God was there. Deanna, what have you written here? Let's have a look. Why is it, oh, there we go. Uh, God showed me provision and made his presence known to me in the outcome of my decision that I have made really quick in this season. Even when I thought it was not the right one. That's cool. That's cool. Um, love that. How God has helped us and guide us, um, in this season. I, I assume you're talking about like in the COVID [00:40:00] season. Um, and yeah, he's with us and uh, he guides us. Leads us. That's a beautiful thing. I remember. Um. I just, you know, one of the tests, I guess I've been a Christian a while, and when you look back over it, you know what? I made some stupid choices. I've made some stupid decisions, but I'm still here. Uh, and God's still winning, you know, so, um, he does leaders and he does guide us. And I think sometimes it's, it's, we've made it. More complicated than we need it to be, to understand the direction of God and the Holy Spirit. Um, and I think actually it's a lot easier. Um, I think it's much more difficult to miss the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit than we sometimes think it is. Because we are in fact children of God and he does talk to us and he does leaders and he does guide us and he promises to do that. So, um, that's great. It's a great promise to hang on to world and Deanna and I pray he will continue to do that, to continue to lead you and guide you. That is fun, Dozi. [00:41:00] I was just singing fan dozi. Oh, I could crush a grape or I could jump off a doll's house. I'm kind of showing my age a little bit here. Uh, I did mention in the comments, actually, Abby, you did make me laugh in your testimony when you talked about something that happened three years ago and said, it was a really long time ago. I'm thinking, was it? No, no it wasn't. I remember that. I remember three. Anyway, nevermind. Uh, different ages. Um, so, uh, let's see what else we've got going on here. So now we are gonna head on over to Zoom. And so if you are still with us and would like to join us on Zoom, please do so. Um, I will again find this, well, if you just head up to the top of the comments in there, uh, is today's Zoom link. I wonder if I can add that to the, it's not gonna help you write it down, but that's what it in effect looks like. So you can, um, go ahead and use that link. Ah, Ian's put here. It's time for crackerjack or church. [00:42:00] It could be both. Ian, it could be both. Great to see you, buddy. I know. Uh, I kind of meant how time flies. Ha ha ha. I know what you mean. I'm just being a bit, um, what's the word, facetious. A bit awkward, I suppose. Sorry about that. Uh, but no, great to see so many of you, uh, crackerjack or church. Oh, what was it? I could wrestle on. Action, man. That was always my favorite one. Oh, I could wrestle on action, man. Um, so crackerjack, uh, zoom, not crackerjack, zoom. So grab that zoom link. We are gonna head on over to Zoom. It'd be great to see you. When they do come join us. Do come and say howdy, howdy, howdy. Uh, we are gonna do a time of. Prayer. I think, uh, Sharon's leading the whole thing. So, uh, it is gonna be good. Uh, whatever's going on. Do come join us. Uh, if you're not gonna join us in Zoom, do come back next week, next Sunday, as Martin will be sharing with us next Sunday live on Facebook, uh, or join us on out from Friday night if you would like to know more of. About, I [00:43:00] think it's, how do I read why, how, and why I should read the Bible, I think is the topic on Friday night. So we're doing that on Alpha Friday night, which would be great. Uh, do come and join us there. Um, otherwise, we'll see you next Sunday. God bless you. Have a great week. Uh, stay outta triple. Been great to see you. Bye for now.