Hey, before we get jumped right into the sermon, I did want to just do a reminder. I'm not sure if Don mentioned it, I don't think he did, but I want to just let you all know if you haven't already heard we will be moving after this month to discovery middle school, which will be exciting. It will be a different location, a little bit more, we think a little bit more strategic in that it's more people drive by and see it and be more easily but September 4th is our first Sunday there. So this starting in August, this will be our last month here, do as you see staff or people that are here at the school. If you know some of the staff, please make sure you express our appreciation. At Long Middle School has been great and we've loved being here. But we're excited about an opportunity for a fresh location and I hope that's something you can spread the word and build the excitement about too. But that will be coming up September 4th as we do that. Our church will continue to grow and that's what we're talking about this morning is growing. Now I found out the hard way, is anybody else have a pool in their yard? Anybody else have a pool owner? A couple of people here. Pools will grow things, true? It is true. If you are not proactively growing or adding your own chlorine or acid or different things that you need, your pool will grow something. It's like a science lab in your backyard. I know that because we went out of town for a couple of weeks and didn't know that our chlorinator was not working properly but when we came back it was a different color. You get the idea what happens there. There are things that grow and one of the things we learn in this passage here today that Mark's going to show us is that there are kingdoms. There are two kingdoms and they both want to grow and if one is neglected the other one will grow. Just like algae will in your pool. But if one is proactively fed, one is served, one comes to know and embrace the truth. They'll grow something very different. Crystal clear, clean water. There's a difference here in that and Mark is showing us that here is the accounts of the story of Jesus because it's much more about one story about feeding 4,000 people. In fact he already is fed, he's already fed 5,000. Why include another story about feeding a bunch of people? One of the readers have got the idea, all right, if Jesus can feed 5,000 from just a few loaves and multiply the bread, we got it. Do we need to really hear about 4,000? That's even less. What's the point? Well, there is a point. As you heard, there's a couple other stories connected with this one that happened that Mark says you've got to get a picture here. There's something important that Jesus is trying to communicate to his disciples and Mark passing that along under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is trying to do the same to the future generations and disciples and those of us reading it today, 2,000 years later. So as you look at that here this morning, I want to go and look at this section by section and kind of break down and talk about a few key observations. You can probably add hundreds to the few that I'm going to list here today. There's too much to cover but I want to talk about a few things. Let's look at those first 4 verses again from John, I'm in March after 8. During those days, another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion for these people. They have already been with me 3 days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way because some of them have a long distance. His disciples answered, but where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them? One of the first things that leaps off the page to me and I hope it does to you is that Jesus cares about hungry people. Were they spiritually famished people? Yes. He cares about physically hungry people. He cares the fact that you need a lunch today and that you'll need dinner tonight probably and a breakfast tomorrow. He actually cares about details like that. The scriptures tell us he has the number of our hairs numbered. He knows the exact count. Even though you lose on average 30 hairs a day, he keeps track and some of you have less to lose than others. I notice that I look around the room, but he keeps track of that. He cares about every detail and he cares about his people. He cares about his children. Those that have come to follow him. He cares about details like that. I've already mentioned that this parallels the feeding of the 5,000 which has happened just a few chapters earlier than Mark's already given an account of. What's different? What is one of the key things that makes this story a little different? One of them is who is being fed in this case. Back when Jesus was feeding the 5,000 it was largely, if not completely almost, a Jewish population group. It was mostly in all Jews from where we know that he was actually feeding them. But here, which is in the area or the city of Decapolis, an area that has about 10 different cities, thus the name, we know that it was largely a Gentile population. So in very close proximity time-wise, Jesus comes in and he doesn't just do the surprising thing and just feed his people, the Jews, the Israelites. But he comes in in a whole other context and he feeds the Gentiles, which is another clear picture here that the message that Jesus is bringing was not just one for his chosen people from the days of Israel and the Old Testament, but they were for any who would come and trust and believe. So I don't know if you're feeling here this morning would God really care about me and want to feed me and I'm not having been the most religious person or I'm not even sure I believe in him. Does he care? The answer is yes. He was reaching out to a pagan group of people that had been following him for three days because what he was teaching was words of life. He was taking care of their daily needs here by feeding them with a little bit of food that they had there. Jesus is showing compassion right off the bat. Jesus in an amazing way in fact almost throughout the entire gospel is you continue to see him working. When he interacts with people, the text will say and he saw the woman and had compassion on her and he saw the blind man and reached out to him. Jesus is constantly noticing and constantly seeing. So I don't know if any of you feel unseen this morning or wonder. Now this guy really knows what's going on in my life. Does he really care? I mean there are like seven billion people here on the planet. My problems certainly can't measure up compared to some of the other ones that I read about seeing in. Does he really care about me? Yes. He sees. And he's looking. Are you in a trial? Are you in a hardship? Are you in any emotional pain? Are you sick? Are you lacking something you need? Don't question. Does God see? Because Jesus walking here on earth as the God man as the son of God is evidence that he does. Well, the text goes on. Reminds us here as well too. That one of the basic things here that we have and by the way I forgot so this earlier, if you're wondering where decapolis is, the bottom right there. He's been up in the Capernaum area. So he's traveled down to the southeast section there in the galley area to decapolis. But one of the things here in this story of Jesus in that he cares about meeting these and he knows the power here of coming together and feeding people. I mean, one of the things that just hit me this this past week when we were on vacation, you know, we weren't here last Sunday. When we were on vacation up in Georgia, we were up in Greenville, Georgia, south of Atlanta, small town, very little going on there. But we were staying at some relatives house, relatives of lore. And they had told us that, hey, at our church that we go to them right there, they're having a fish fry. And we were like thinking, really, you know, we had no idea what would that look like, what would that be? And they said, yeah, you ought to go. It's going to be a good meal. And you know, you meet some of the people in the church, whatever else. And we're a little bit hesitant at first because we never been of the church. We don't know anything about it. They don't know us. And so all of a sudden this group, people from Orlando, you know, in the pockets have a hard time traveling unnoticed with eight of us. And then we had other family in town. So we thought, you know, do we go? Do we not go? And we thought, well, gosh, it's a free meal. It's going to get a chance to see their church. So we went. And it was incredible. It was a fish fry done right. Let me say because I've seen different fish fries in the past. This one was done right. Tons of food. People were friendly, inviting. We came in. And just as I just was amazed at the power when a group of people come together and feed. When we came in, not that we wouldn't have something to eat if we did it, but to come in and have it already fixed, have it already ready, have it provided for us, have it be at no cost to us. It was such a blessing to us to come in and even the quick bonds that begin to form there. I was surprised with people that we didn't even know. But we're also just followers of Christ. There is something to the fact that Jesus picks a meal to say, this is my body. And this is my bloodshed for you. There is something about it. We all know it. Because I bet you don't go through a single holiday that you don't try to have some kind of a meal together, or have guests in town. And what do you do? You do something special to eat. Jesus is trying to say as much as a satisfying as a meal is to commune with other people, to be physically fed, to feel your needs met, to feel secure. Jesus, and that's the picture of what my reality means in your life. Your communion with me, my coming meeting your needs. There's a huge picture here of the fact that Jesus is picking meals to say things. And he's, by the way, saying that there's going to be a lamb, a great feast of the lamb that we're looking forward to. He's not touching bread and wine again until the day he eats of it with us in heaven. There is something big about this kind of stuff. And Jesus is right in the middle of it. He's wanting to have a relationship with you, to commune with you. How often have we, by the way, had a similar reaction? Because didn't you, at some point, think that when you heard the disciples go, well, what was it, verse four? But where in the remote place can we get enough bread to eat, to feed them? Was there anybody else here that was thinking, hello? Remember just a few days ago, the feeding of the 5,000? I mean, did anyone else think that? Or is that just me? I mean, is it, I mean, there's something about it. We look at this story like this and we see them in the context and we're going, why would they not be like, hey, Jesus, instant bread maker, right here. Here's publics on feet. All right, all we got to do is go here and bring a little bit of straps we got in, boom, we got a meal for a thousand or more. But they're totally disconnected from that. They totally have missed the reality of who he is with their current present situation, which is the definition, by the way, of spiritual blindness. It's the definition of unbelief. I'm just seeing and knowing who Jesus is but not connecting that to your daily situation today is the definition of unbelief. That's why so many people, especially in this country, can say, I am a Christian, that's my religion, that's my upbringing, that's why I claim to be because I'm not Muslim because I'm not Buddhist or I'm not atheist. But to fail to connect the reality of who Jesus is with individual choices and with your experiences today is unbelief. It's spiritual blindness, which we're going to see illustrated a little bit further as we go on through the text here. When we fail to apply a new situation, apply him to a new situation where we know about him, we're doing the exact same thing that happened in the Garden of Eden. They ever thought about that, they hear they are, they've got every tree that produces good fruit to eat there. And they're tempted to eat the one that God said not to eat. They've heard the voice of God, they've communed, they've walked with God, and then the one voice of a serpent lures them away. They've known that God's given them everything they've needed. They have nothing wrong. They're living in a perfect, sinless state. They have no physical deformities of any type. And yet something makes them think what if God's holding out on this is ever occurred to you that this is exactly the sin of unbelief is what happens in the Garden. And what happens in our daily lives as well, too, we're honest and minute. Well, it says here that Jesus, the Son of God, is giving us a real picture of how God the Father loves and takes the light and providing for his children. He loves to do that. Those that have come and gathered and followed him here, he wants to take care of, he wants to provide for. It's his delight to do that. And that's why giving his Son was his delight. And why Jesus said, for the joy set before me, I endured the cross. He came and died in our place. God delights in serving, reaching out and loving his people. Now, I think about sometimes my kids who are awesome, by the way, but my kids, they don't think I've picked up on this, but they have a strategy. There are certain questions that they ask mom. And then there are certain questions they ask dad. They know that mom is more likely to say yes to these questions and not dad. And they know that dad is more likely to say yes to these than mom. Am I right? Even if people aren't my kids, they're going, yeah, I'm not. There's something about that. There's something we don't like and no answer, do we? We want to find a yes answer wherever it is. But you know what, God, if he says no for anything that we ever ask him, it's only because he has something better. That he calls best. God only has one best. I don't have a bunch of best for you. He has one. And there are all kinds of things that you would substitute for that. But when he says no to something here, realize that he has a heart of a father, a heart that wants to feed, a heart that wants to protect and take care of his children. So what if he says no to a certain job? What if he says no to more control in your life, which we all kind of like? What if he says no to a certain relationship? What if he says no to healing now? What if he says no to approval from other people? What if he says no to earthly success? You can fill in the blank because he has something that's best and he knows what's best for you and he cares about you. See kids are not afraid at all to ask either one of us as parents or you as if you're a parent. Hey, can I have something for breakfast? Can I have some for lunch? Can I have some for dinner? Can I have some food? Mom, dad, I'm hungry. They don't hesitate to ask questions like that. They don't take a parent, do they? They know that parents want to feed them. They know that parents want to take care of them. Well, God takes the light. He takes the light and saying yes to forgiveness when it's confessed. He takes the light and saying yes to imparting his Holy Spirit when we yield to him. He takes the light and the answer and yes to comforting the broken. He takes the light and the answer and yes to being our hope and strength when we trust in him. He takes the light and saying yes to bless us when we choose to obey him. He's a God that hears. He's God that knows and cares for us. You see the issue here is not is God prepared to provide and bless us. The issue is are we hungry enough to want to be deeply satisfied by him or to go for a cheap substitute? Let me say it again. The issue is not whether or not God is prepared to provide and to bless us because he said all throughout his word that he has. In a very example in scripture is indicating that as well. The issue is are you hungry enough to want to be deeply satisfied by him or go for a cheap substitute? Can you cry out to him in whatever life experience you're in right now this morning and say, God, I'm hungry here. I need these spiritual, emotional, physical, intellectual, whatever they are. He's met. I need a meal. And Jesus saying, I kind of got you covered and he's cooking filet mignon on the grill seasoning it just right. You can smell it. But you want it now. He's like, hey, how long it's coming? And it's right time when it's perfect. When it's just the right thing, I'll give you what you need at that moment. Hang on. How often times do we settle for the candy cotton candy solution? You know, it's there. You see you can grab it right away. But as soon as it touches your mouth, what it evaporates? But that's everything this world has to offer is cotton candy compared to the filet mignon that God wants to give us. And you can smell it. You can't always taste it right when you want it because God in his tiny will give you a piece or slice. But he's promised to give it to you. And by way, the ultimate feast, the ultimate filet mignon is coming in the new heavens and the new earth. Nothing here on earth is going to ultimately give you what we're waiting for. So quit looking for that. That comes when Jesus comes back or when you die. But he'll give us what we need here now. Let's look at some the next section here. The next section versus five through 10. This is where Jesus responds. He says, how many loaves do you have? Jesus asked. Seven, they replied. He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. And they did so. They had a few small fish as well. He gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. After the disciples picked up seven basketfuls and broken pieces that were left over about 4,000 men were present. And having sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region, went to the region of Dalmatya Thufa. Something like that. Well, when Jesus had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, says he broke them and gave them to his disciples. One of the things that thanks interesting is the timing of Jesus here giving thanks. Have you ever realized and thought about it that before they're multiplied, he stops and gives thanks? You seem a lot more logical, right? Let's let the miracle happen first. All right, then we'll all give thanks. Then we'll be on board. But that's not what's modeled here. In case you think this is a fluke, listen to what he says in Philippians 4, 6, 6, 7. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God in the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Not only the requests, but the thanks come before the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your heart. There is not an accident here, I think, that Jesus is modeling for us the importance of thanksgiving. And so many of us think, I don't have a whole lot to be thankful for because you think you're waiting for something. You're waiting for something to appear or to happen the way you want it to happen to think. And then I'll give God thanks. That's not all how Jesus lived. Jesus lived in the present knowing that God had already provided so much. Well, he already had seven lobes and a few small fish. Look what God's already provided. And even though you might see from what you think you need and what you have, that gap for what you need and what you have might be this huge gap, you might think, why give thanks? Jesus is saying because you trust the one who's given you what little you have and you know that he can either modify your need or he can modify the amount to fit your need. But he's committed to one or the other in the promises that he has in Christ. That's why you can give thanks. For what he's already given you. And there's not a single person in this room no matter what your situation is. And some of you are in some really tough situations that I don't envy you that doesn't have millions of reasons to give thanks. To have a full day of thanks to God. You'd be able to reflect and think about it. For what he's already given you. And many of you think about the promises that he promises to fulfill in Christ. And that he does hear your prayers and he does care about you eating meals like you did the 4,000, the 5,000. And you think about that and that he will continue to meet your needs. Maybe not exactly the way you hope and want, but he will. You've got reason for thanks. Jesus modeling that. He's showing that disciples are needing to learn that as well. Well, in Jesus and taking the bread here. I don't know if you picked it up in the imagery here as it's talked about here. But it's parallels another meal that Jesus has. In fact, Mars is going to talk about it a few chapters later. Let me quote Mark 14, 22. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave it to a disciples saying, take it. This is my body. Mark knows chapter 14 is coming up. Early in chapter 8, Mark's going, are you going to picture here? Jesus is breaking bread here to meet a physical meal that they needed that one day. But they needed something far more than that. They needed forgiveness of sins. They needed an understanding of who their crater was and meet a right relationship with them. They needed to understand why they were here on earth. And how to live. And how to experience abundant life. And how to live for the king and the new kingdom. There's no doubt foreshadowing your happening as Mark's going, you get a picture that Jesus is coming and providing something far more. And what Jesus is going to do on the cross a little bit later than this story. What's the point? The point is Jesus is the bread that was broken and is multiplied to all who will receive it. He will deeply satisfy all those who feast on him. Let me ask you, will you give thanks in your current situation this morning? Will you eat? Take him in deeply and feast on him and his promises and who he is? Look at the next section here, verses 11 through 12. It tells us that story kind of ends when we go into a new section here. The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, why does this generation ask for miraculous sign? I'll tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it. Right after this story, we get this one. After the disciples had gone and traveled by boat that the Pharisees come up and there's no coincidence that Mark stuck this in here. Because he's setting you up for something else coming up, which we'll look at in a second. But notice the Pharisees here, because you can look at this and you can think a little bit at first glance like, all right, Jesus, this is your opportunity. They're saying, hey, come on, step up to the plate. Let's see what you got. This is the substance of a lot of good movies out there, right? The underdog gets challenged, the karate kid who can't do it, waits for the last final battle, and it's like, step it up and show what you got. Here's the opportunity. Here's the bump set, and here's a chance for Jesus to spike it down, improve who he is, and do something miraculous. But he does just the opposite. It's ironic, it's surprising to us. We wonder about it. But if you know a little bit of understanding about the Pharisees, if you think about it, then some of the nuances are some of these words. In fact, the word asks there. We talked about it in a previous section. Remember when his family came and asked to see Jesus? One of the connotations of that Greek word there means to attempt to gain control. It wasn't just asking a request. Just like his family was a little embarrassed about him a few chapters earlier when thinking Jesus is kind of making a ruckus. We need to kind of pull him back and they asked him to come out of the house. The Pharisees are asking him to come and show a miraculous sign. In an attempt, they gain control. It wasn't just a request. In fact, when they said the word tests there, I like what one of the scholars looked at said this. He said, the test does not mean an objective test to discover the merit of something, but an obstacle or stumbling block to discredit. Let me read that again. The word test does not mean an object test to discover the merit of something, but an obstacle or stumbling block to discredit. What's the idea of this test? This ask? Is there looking for an opportunity to condemn him? There are looking for an opportunity to say, look, there's no way this guy could be the Messiah. Look. They're not coming as unbiased, neutral parties that want to be swayed with the truth. They're coming with predetermined truth. They've already decided. They've already judged Jesus. They just have had a chance to carry out the execution plan, although that will come. That's the context here we have of the Pharisees coming. They were looking for something authentic, some authentication from heaven. They were looking for not Jesus to do anymore. They've already seen Jesus do miracles. They've already heard it or seen it themselves. They're looking for God the Father to come up and show in some huge way, or to speak from heaven that this is his son. Although he'd already done that at Jesus' baptism. That wasn't enough. They needed it again. When their presence, when they asked, that's the attitude they're coming. See, Jesus refusals not because he doesn't have it or couldn't get it. His approval from his Father, but Jesus knows that it won't produce faith in the Pharisees. Therefore, he says, why bother? They've already predetermined. They've already decided. I'm not sure who else is here this morning. There may be some who are seekers here this morning that have come. Maybe a friend brought you here, a relative brought you here. He just showed up here. I don't know. That might be thinking, yeah, you know, you can prove me this Jesus guy then, now believe. But is your heart like that of a Pharisee that you've already decided? You've already concluded? Or is it one that truly is seeking? Challenge you to ask yourself that here this morning. Spiritual blindness is when faith deprived hearts grasp at proofs and evidence to remove uncertainty because they are already committed to unbelief. Let me read that again. Spiritual blindness is when faith deprived hearts grasp at proofs or evidence to remove uncertainty because they already are committed to unbelief. It's like I heard this analogy. I thought it was pretty good. See, if you have a man who's married obviously to a woman and he's a little concerned, he wonders if she's being faithful to him. Now, if he hires a private investigator to go and track his wife, let's just say for a month. Look at all her actions. Everything she does. Trace all her phone calls. Look at her phone records. Tracks her for a month. And that guy comes back. The private investigator says, hey, done it for a month. Haven't seen anything that looks remotely unfaithful about your wife. You can rest assured. Do you think the man's going to rest assured if he'd gone to the point of hiring a private investigator for that? No, he's going to go a little deeper. He's going to go, well, she's really clever. And she got to find out what's going on. Do you see the very heart that would hire a private investigator has already determined. And that marriage relationship, which is supposed to be built on trust, right, is already determined that her spouse is not faithful. The evidence is not going to change that at that point when the trust has already broken to that degree. It's a similar thing with that. You know, it took spiritual blinded people. It takes spiritual blinded people something, something or someone intervening that calls them to commitment. It always does. It takes an interaction with the living Christ. It did that for the Apostle Paul when he was on the road of Damascus. He was out there trying to prove Jesus wasn't the Messiah. He was out there trying to kill people that were believing in Jesus, up until the day that he met Jesus. And he was like, oh, now what? He had to bend his knee and follow him. It's like the Saint Augustine, one of the great pillars of our faith there, who was out living a wild life, who cared nothing about religious things until the day he encountered the voice of God in his life. Or C.S. Lewis, one more contemporary for us, who set out to disprove that Jesus could possibly be the Messiah. He had to be a liar. He had to be a lunatic, but discovered that he was actually Lord. Jesus interrupts. Jesus is the cure for spiritual blindedness with that. Note, belief never comes from complete certainty. You're not 100% certain about anything in this world. But at some point you get enough evidence to be convinced and you place your faith in trust in it, well before you have any potential for 100% certainty. It's impossible. You believe there's an outer space, even though most of the generations that have been on this planet have not believed the world was round, if you want to count up all the time. Most generations of the planet will not believe the world is round or believe that there is an outer space or a planet you can go to and visit. We believe that right hand. First hand, although none of you hear that to my knowledge are astronauts, none of you have been first hand in seeing and experienced it. But you take that with certainty. Not because you're 100% certain, because you can convince of it and you decide it to believe. And it's quite rational. It's what we human beings do because we're finite. We can't be completely certain about anything in a universe that's infinite because we're finite. So Jesus is not asking for anything extra special here. The way you believe in Jesus is the same way you believe in anything. You decide to humble yourself, to surrender, and to yield to truth. The only difference is that the truth that Jesus brings is one that tells you who you are and tells you who God is and tells you there's a problem. And it tells you that unless you address that problem through the work of Jesus Christ, you're in trouble. And it's not a popular truth. And popular truths are much harder to embrace. But it doesn't change their truthfulness. Unfortunately, the Pharisees will not ever understand that most of them. St. Corinthians 4, 4 says this, the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. The God of this image has blinded Satan, the God of this world, our flesh, all that is connected with that has blinded us. That we cannot see the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God unless God regenerates us, unless God reveals Himself to us. Well, what's the point? Those who are looking for more proof than the life of Jesus in the Scriptures are really not looking for the truth. They're looking to blame something for their unbelief. Let me see that again. Those who are looking for more proof than the life of Jesus in the Scriptures are really not looking for the truth. They're looking to blame something for their unbelief. That's a smoke stream. That's what happens when we dodge and we look for more miracles. God, you got to show up in a little different way here. God, I'll believe in you if you do this. You know it's true, deep down. It's a smoke stream. The real question is not an intellectual question. The real question is always a moral question. How are you going to deal with your sin problem? What's the Bible says you have? I mean, will you trust Jesus to be the one to forgive that and let him be king in the Lord of your life? So that's a moral question. You can pretend it's an intellectual question but it's not. And the Bible says it's not. Thus was the situation with the Pharisees here. That's why this next section is so important to verses 13 to 21. Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread except for one loaf that they had with them in the boat. Be careful, Jesus warned. Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod. They discussed this. We want another and said, is it because we have no bread? Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them, why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see and understand or your heart's hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember when I broke the five loaves for the 5,000? How many basketball pieces did you pick up? 12, that replied. And when I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many basketballs did you pick up? They answered seven. He said them, do you still not understand? What's Jesus' point here? What's Jesus trying to connect here? He gives us an example of the Pharisees being like yeast, which as you know, yeast is actually like a classified as a fungus. It's a type of thing that is added to the dough, the bread that allows it to rise for that. Jesus is saying there is something here as small as ye, something that's a micro-organisms that are in it that you won't see that can grow. And it's the kingdom of this world. It's the Pharisee mindset and thoughtfulness. And he's warning his disciples about it. And the problem that we see here is that they begin to think, is Jesus really just talking about bread? And notice again, we've got the same thing happening here. The disciples have forgotten to bring bread except for one loave on the boat. You get the picture again here. All right, Jesus fed the 5,000. Jesus fed the 4,000. Now we've got the 12 or 13 with Jesus in the boat. And the disciples are going, oh man, we've only brought one loave. Dude, Peter, weren't you in charge of getting the, grabbing some of those scraps? We had these seven basket folds. We bring one loave. You got the picture happening here all over again, although they got Jesus right there in the boat with them. They begin to think that, is Jesus thinking that, is that what he's talking about? He's talking about the yeast of the Pharisees and Jesus going, guys, okay, we don't have a bread issue. We don't have a problem with not enough food. I've already proved that. What I'm trying to tell you is there's something like bread, like yeast in bread, that you've got to watch out for, and it's unbelief. And he's saying as spiritually blind as the Pharisees are, he's telling his disciples, you have the same capability to be spiritually blind. Now that's a radical thing. He is talking to followers of him saying, watch out! You too can live in unbelief and be spiritually blinded. Don't just think it's just those non-Christians, those Pharisee type people. No, no, no, no. The Pharisees, by the way, were thinking they were Christians, that they were religious people at least. They thought they were followers of the Messiah. You see, you've got to watch out. Unbelief will creep in, and it does creep in. Because they didn't even think they were capable of being like the Pharisees was evidence of their unbelief. This is what Jesus is getting at. Because they didn't even think they were capable of being like the Pharisees, they missed the analogy of Jesus saying here. And Jesus saying, this is the point. This is what you've got to understand. You are one decision away of living like a Pharisee in that moment. You are one decision away of making a decision that will mark your life in a direction that's like a Pharisee, like unbelief. It's the importance of living in belief every single day, every single decision. And the point's not to do it perfectly because we can't. And the point is that Jesus is here to say, rely on me. Depend on me. Realize that I am the bread of life that you need. I'm the one that you must trust and follow with that. See, the truth is that Peter was only a matter of time away before he was going to deny Jesus himself, right? Three times. Less than 24 hours after he told Jesus, I will go with you to death if needed. And another guy named Judas was going to completely betray, who was never living and really walking in faith with Jesus in the side to begin with, but was counted among the 12. Jesus is not just saying this is a hype up that. Well, Jesus is saying, even among my 12, there's one that's not even a follower now, and there's one that's one of my best and point lead followers who's going to deny me in just a split second within it hours after admitting and confessing his allegiance. Jesus is giving a picture here of how powerful and deadly unbelief is and how they must yield to Christ and depend on him for power through that. Here's my challenge to you. If you are a member here at Christ's Kingdom Church, or if you call Christ's Kingdom Church home, here's my challenge to you, this upcoming school year. With the reality of how deadly and how prevalent unbelief is, will you make a commitment this year to make growing in faith? Your top priority, you personally. I'm talking about over your leisurely activities. I'm talking about over your work business commitments. I'm talking about over school kids extra curricular activities. Not that those things aren't important, but I'm just mentioning some things that I know in this community that I live in, that I'm tempted with, maybe like you, to put them down as number two, number three, growing in faith compared to some of these other things. If this is true, if what Jesus is saying is true, if his warning is true, if yeast analogy is right, an example. Jesus saying, your faith and growing in your faith must be top priority. So whether that's being involved in a small group, which I want to challenge you to consider doing this year, or coming and being faithfully involved in church on Sundays, not so we could say we had a lot of attendance, but so you can come and grow, connecting with other people outside of church activities, building friendships here, and getting involved with people that you know that will encourage you to help you grow in your faith. Would you make growing in your faith that top priority for this upcoming school year? I challenge you to do that. And if you're not a follower of Jesus Christ, I want to just challenge you, will you put investigating who he is and seeking him out at top priority? First, Peter 5, 8 and 9 says, be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour, resist him standing firm in the faith. Another whole reason is not just because it's good for you, because Jesus is here and he'll help you. It's saying you have a lion-like enemy who is prowling around and he knows you by name. In the evidence of that enemy, sin even lives inside of you in your sinful nature,
but resist him and stand firm in the faith. Will you do that this year? I challenge you to do that. Let's pray. God asked that you would come in a very real and powerful way to show your goodness, to show your power, to show your glory. God would you come and show us our need for faith. God would you expose our unbelief. There's so many ways it can hide. There's so many things that we can say, that's just being too fanatical if I were to do that or believe that. God would you uproot those things and expose them for what they are unbelief. God would we call ourselves Christians and we live more like our next-door neighbors who aren't Christians at all and we think there's nothing wrong with that. Would you expose that as unbelief? God would we choose to not bring you into every decision to make your word important in our lives and praying important in our priorities because you are the living God. Would you expose that for what it is not lack a discipline? It's unbelief. So God would you bring us now in a fresh way to your table we're in need of your forgiveness, we're in need of your cleansing touch. God would you draw our hearts to you now and would you fill us God with the reality who Christ is and God would you produce faith the only you can do by your spirit. We're ten of it dependent on that. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.