2.8.26 Imitate: Luke Chapter 9 | CRC Sunday

He multiplies the the the loaves and the fishes and he is able to do exceedingly more than you could ever think, hope or imagine. But the key is you have to let go. You have to stop needing to be in control and you have to stop needing to say, once I know the final picture, I'll obey. The disciples in this didn't know what was gonna happen. They were just doing the ordinary. We're just gonna go. Keep feeding. Keep feeding. Keep feeding. Obedience after obedience after obedience equals a miracle. [00:58:07] (32 seconds)  #ObedienceBreedsMiracles

Or maybe you're thinking my meager gift can't do that much. And I would say this today, that's probably true as long as it remains in your hands. It isn't enough as long as you're holding on to it. But when you hand it over to God, he's he has the capacity to multiply it. Say say it say it a different way. I would say it this way. God can do more with your surrender than you can do with your control. [00:55:05] (29 seconds)  #SurrenderMultipliesGifts

The confession of this table is one that says, I am not enough, but Jesus is. And when I trust him with my life, when I trust him with the things that I'm trying to hold on to, I can believe that he is trustworthy because he demonstrated his love for us that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. While I was far away from him, he moved towards me and he was willing to give his life for me [01:08:12] (31 seconds)  #JesusIsEnough

Sometimes we're sitting there like, God, just show up, do the miraculous, you know, give me signs and wonders, fire fire lightning bolts from heaven, smoke from the sky, show me which way to go. And he's like, I've showed you, just do it. Do you wanna see start seeing God breakthrough in your life, start being obedient to the things that he showed you already to do. [00:58:39] (23 seconds)  #DoWhatGodShowedYou

He's teaching them that you don't have to try to meet the need or save everybody. In fact, be faithful, be obedient, Do the things that I've told you to do with the group that is in front of you right now. Sometimes, we feel so overwhelmed with the need that we become paralyzed and we don't do anything because it feels like, how can I help everyone? And part of what Jesus is inviting us is to say, who is your one? [00:53:34] (35 seconds)  #BeFaithfulToYourOne

I say this with all the love in the world, so many of us are too confident we know what God is capable of. Some of us have decided in our minds that God can never break through this person's heart or God can never make a way or God can never repair this relationship or God can never fill in the blank. [01:04:07] (19 seconds)  #DontLimitGod

Who are the people that God has placed in your life, in your path, in your neighborhood, at your work, in your dorm? Who are the people that God has given you relationships and how do you feed them? How do you show up in those relationships in a meaningful significant way rather than feeling the weight and the burden that you have to save everyone. Because guess what? You can't. We all are limited. And so we he's teaching us to be faithful where he has called us, faithful to what is in front of us. [00:54:09] (34 seconds)  #ShowUpForYourPeople

I feel maybe you can agree with me that I feel like compassion right now is in short supply. And I would just wanna say this, when compassion becomes suspect, viewed as an expression of weakness or a lack of conviction, I think we begin to lose the heart of Jesus. Jesus, I would argue, was fully aware of the sin and the brokenness that was embodied in the crowds, but he says this, he looked at them with compassion. [00:40:58] (31 seconds)  #CompassionIsStrength

I just want to say this, God's call on your life is greater than what you can ever carry out in your own strength. In fact, if you are able to carry out God's call in your life, in your own strength, in your own ability, then you're not carrying out perhaps God's plan for your life, you're carrying out yours. [00:45:17] (20 seconds)  #CalledBeyondYourStrength

When we recognize this, every good thing that we have begins with what he has already given to us. As we conclude and we come to the table this morning, we're reminded of our inability, and we're reminded of God's ability to show up and to provide and to do with us in our lives what we can never do ourselves. [01:05:32] (31 seconds)  #GodGivesAllGoodThings

That we, even in our best days, would never be good enough. We can never earn God's love. We can never measure up. And so God came to us. He met us where we are and that he gave his life. He suffered and he died. He was broken and he was poured out in order that we might be brought back into right relationship with him. [01:15:08] (26 seconds)  #GraceNotPerformance

They're taking the circumstance at face value which is what many of us are tempted to do all day. They take the circumstance for what it is. And listen to how Jesus responds to their suggestion to give the signal to wrap it up, tell them to go home, go back to their own town towns. In verse 13, this is Jesus' response. He replied, you give them something to eat. [00:43:57] (27 seconds)  #ActFaithfullyNotQuit

Now, let me just say this. God often moves in scripture when we feel like we're backed up against the wall. I think the story of the Red Sea. He backs us up at what seems to be an impossible circumstance before he does something incredible. Can we say amen to that? Pay attention to these moments in your life when you feel like you're at your end, when there's no possible solution, when you're heading the boiling point or the breaking point. [00:43:21] (27 seconds)  #GodMovesAtTheEdge

As if being busy and being really active and having a lot of activity and doing all these things equals spiritual health or shows productivity in my life but we're reminded that we have limits and that's not an excuse for disobedience or for sin but there's a healthy reality to consider that there are limits to our perspective and that God is on the throne. We are not. You can't but he can. [01:02:15] (25 seconds)  #RestInGodsSovereignty

When we recognize this, every good thing that we have begins with what he has already given to us. As we conclude and we come to the table this morning, we're reminded of our inability, and we're reminded of God's ability to show up and to provide and to do with us in our lives what we can never do ourselves. [01:05:32] (31 seconds)  #StartFromGodsProvision

Or maybe you're thinking my meager gift can't do that much. And I would say this today, that's probably true as long as it remains in your hands. It isn't enough as long as you're holding on to it. But when you hand it over to God, he's he has the capacity to multiply it. Say say it say it a different way. I would say it this way. God can do more with your surrender than you can do with your control. [00:55:05] (29 seconds)  #LetGoLetGodMultiply

I feel maybe you can agree with me that I feel like compassion right now is in short supply. And I would just wanna say this, when compassion becomes suspect, viewed as an expression of weakness or a lack of conviction, I think we begin to lose the heart of Jesus. Jesus, I would argue, was fully aware of the sin and the brokenness that was embodied in the crowds, but he says this, he looked at them with compassion. [00:40:58] (31 seconds)  #KeepCompassionFirst

They're taking the circumstance at face value which is what many of us are tempted to do all day. They take the circumstance for what it is. And listen to how Jesus responds to their suggestion to give the signal to wrap it up, tell them to go home, go back to their own town towns. In verse 13, this is Jesus' response. He replied, you give them something to eat. [00:43:57] (27 seconds)  #SeeBeyondCircumstance

I just want to say this, God's call on your life is greater than what you can ever carry out in your own strength. In fact, if you are able to carry out God's call in your life, in your own strength, in your own ability, then you're not carrying out perhaps God's plan for your life, you're carrying out yours. [00:45:17] (20 seconds)  #GodsCallNeedsGodsPower

When we recognize this, every good thing that we have begins with what he has already given to us. As we conclude and we come to the table this morning, we're reminded of our inability, and we're reminded of God's ability to show up and to provide and to do with us in our lives what we can never do ourselves. [01:05:32] (31 seconds)  #GratitudeForHisGifts