"Just interesting, Mark, chapter six. Jesus, I might talk about this next week, but it says that Jesus pulled the twelve to him and then sent them out. And that's what discipleship is, isn't it? That's what we are. We're people who are called to be with Jesus and be sent out. And Jesus does that for the twelve at the beginning of Mark, chapter six. And they go out on mission and they go and tell the villages what Jesus is doing. They heal people. They do all that stuff. And then they come back. And as they come back, hundreds of people come with them." [00:35:34] (37 seconds)




"love that comes from the heart of jesus and he says you give them something to eat and as we look around our city as we look around our community i think jesus would give us a gut -wrenching compassion and say to us you give them something to eat because there's people in our community who don't know whether to eat or eat you give them something to eat there's kids in our community are feeding on all sorts of stuff that just to try and build up their identity and sense of self -worth and in all the wrong places looking for luck you give them something to eat there's older people in our community who who are just purposeless you give them something to there's successful people in our community who just reach the top and just feel so empty you give them something to eat and i believe that's a a word for us i i think it's not just a word for us i think that's what jesus has always been saying to his church to his people to his disciples to his followers you" [00:177:75] (88 seconds)




"You can make a difference here. You can meet those needs. You can change this situation. You can change this environment, this culture. You can make it happen. These people need clothes. There's people living in tents in our public space. You give them something to eat. These people feel worthless. There are people living in a spiritual vacuum, hungry for truth, feeding on spiritual rubbish. You give them something good to eat." [00:272:67] (31 seconds)




"And so God, by his spirit, brings order into that chaos. It breathes life, separating oceans from the land. Separating. And seas from the sky. Bringing order and form into the soil as trees and bushes and plants and flowers burst forth. As the sky is filled with stars and planets. And I think actually that's that they can see it. I think if you were on the earth at that point, you could see it. I think it had been created before then. But God fills the skies with these celestial." [00:491:41] (40 seconds)




"planets and stars and then animals to fill the oceans and the land and in the middle of this world of order into chaos god plants a garden and in the garden he puts the pinnacle of his creation human beings and he gives them two commands he says what i want you to do is to fill the earth and i want you to work the land and care for it now that's what i want you to do because this this tiny bit of garden this place of peace and tranquility this place of great relationship between man and woman this wonderful place of intimacy with god where i can walk with you in the cool of the day this wonderful place of intimacy with god where i can walk with you in the cool of the day this ecological paradise this working at one with nature this whole this place where you are whole i want this to spread out to fill the whole earth i'm giving that as your responsibility and i want you to work the land and take care for it so that it might rightly produce an abundance of fruit and harvest for you" [00:531:68] (80 seconds)




"God has delegated his authority. He's risked the future of the creation project on the obedience or lack of obedience of people like us. If God's going to expand his rule into all the earth, then it would be through his people, through people like us, through people like Noah." [00:735:09] (24 seconds)




"for them to wander around the desert for 40 years because of their disobedience and you get the picture to get his will done on the earth to expand his kingdom God invites people into his plans and purposes he gives them real opportunities he gives us real authority he gives us genuine say so he doesn't override our will or or our failures but he graciously works with us to the extent that we're willing to cooperate with the holy spirit God is consistently risking his reputation and his purposes constantly giving away his power and authority to human beings to get his will done in all the earth and the story of the old testament is God calling people back you to his purposes for them his purpose is for them to live as the people of god with his authority with his love being a light to the nations showing something of the grace and the love and the glory and power of god as being established as an outpost of the kingdom of god and and yet they choose a human king rather than be ruled by god and for every step forward into the purposes of god to be a light to the nations it feels like they take a step back into idolatry or ignoring the temple or dealing unjustly with their neighbors so we have this picture" [00:797:57] (88 seconds)




"the kingdom of God established is the Holy Spirit is poured out into an upper room and people are filled with the Holy Spirit and at last are able to take this good news to all the nations God's will is that that kingdom should go throughout the earth as the yeast goes through the whole dough as the light as the lamp lights the whole house as the the the mustard seed grows into the hugest of trees and the mountain that the prophet spoke of fills the whole earth and that happens as Jesus followers push into relationship with God and hear his call to live in his kingdom and are sent out to expand it so that it might fill the whole earth you give them something to eat and so Jesus puts the onus of pursuing relationship with him and expanding his kingdom on us he's delegated it to us he's risking it on us you" [00:973:76] (70 seconds)




"Excited about what God can do in our community and in our family and in our networks. Excited about what God can do as we reach out to pray for someone's healing. Excited about what God can do as we invite someone to church." [00:1191:08] (15 seconds)




"them out two by two paul always operated in a team god has a as a premium on prayers of agreement if you agree on earth he has a premium on meeting together when two or three get together i'm there in the middle of it all because god's into team of course he is he is a team father son spirit together in this this is this is one of the reasons church is so important so so important and it helps when we recognize that we're doing this together and and of course of course of course it helps so much when we realize that god has given us all the resources we need to get the job done you the god has given us all we need" [00:1279:00] (55 seconds)




"seek to give people something to eat is is to pray we pray your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven it's really the first thing jesus asked us to pray i mean it's the second thing the first was hallowed be your name wasn't it he wants it's all for the glory of god it's all for him it's all his glory we want his name to be honored we want his name to be glorified but but really the the primary prayer is your kingdom come your will be done we want your will to be expanded when your will to be expanded in my heart want your will to be expanded in my i want that your will to be done so your kingdom can come in this little group of people that i'm involved in i want that to happen in my kids school i want that to happen in the the local university i want that to be happening in my in my company and in the company next door i want your kingdom to come your will to be done amongst my friendship groups my social group i need your kingdom to come in my gym i need your kingdom to come so we can pray and church is so important in this isn't it because church the church isn't the kingdom and the kingdom isn't the church but" [00:1439:00] (72 seconds)




"a kingdom initiative that that that brings something of the glory and the love and the power and the grace and the mercy of god and expands it a little and pushes it out a little so it makes a difference in our workplace or makes a difference in our community or or changes someone's life or online or on in person that that there's a kingdom initiative that god puts something on your heart as you pray for the kingdom to expand as you see yourself pushing out from the garden filling the whole earth as god says to you you give them something to eat there's some lights going on in your head yeah i can do that i can do that i can do that god can equip you in the areas that you haven't yet got god can pull you alongside of others where you need to be in fellowship with them to make this thing happen but maybe there's some kingdom initiatives even in this room this morning you" [00:1689:08] (56 seconds)

Thank you. Thank you.

So this year, I do this every year, really. I don't really do New Year's resolutions, but I do decide to try and read the Bible through during the year. And I start on Boxing Day because that gives you a head start. And so I'm still ahead. So that's good.

I always start in the New Testament because no one wants to be reading Leviticus in February. So I go for the New Testament first.

So we're in Mark, chapter six. Just interesting, Mark, chapter six. Jesus, I might talk about this next week, but it says that Jesus pulled the twelve to him and then sent them out. And that's what discipleship is, isn't it? That's what we are. We're people who are called to be with Jesus and be sent out.

And Jesus does that for the twelve at the beginning of Mark, chapter six. And they go out on mission and they go and tell the villages what Jesus is doing. They heal people. They do all that stuff. And then they come back.

As they come back, hundreds of people come with them. Hundreds of people from the villages start to follow the disciples as they come back to Jesus. And so these disciples are bringing hundreds of people to Jesus, and this massive crowd gathers.

Jesus wants to be honest. He's designed with it for a debrief. He's designed with it for a debrief session with his disciples. So he says, "Let's get in this boat and we'll go to the other side of the lake."

So they get in the boat, go to the other side of the lake, and the crowds realize what's happening, and they leg it around the lake. It's a big lake, like Galilee. Some of you have been there; it's a big lake. They go around the lake, and so when Jesus arrives with his disciples in the boat, the crowd's already there. They want to hear what Jesus has to say.

So he starts teaching them, and he teaches and tells stories and tells parables and does all the other stuff that Jesus does. He heals some people, and they just have a glory meeting, and it's fantastic.

Then time goes on, and it gets late. The disciples, ever mindful of the issues, say to Jesus, "We need to send these people away. It's getting late; they're getting hungry." He says, "There's a few shops in some of the villages around here. Send the people to the shops; let them buy food, then they'll be okay."

And Jesus turns to the disciples and he says, "You give them something to eat."

As Jesus looks on the crowd, the Bible says he has compassionate love for the crowd, which is this gut-wrenching love that comes from the heart of Jesus. And he says, "You give them something to eat."

As we look around our city, as we look around our community, I think Jesus would give us a gut-wrenching compassion and say to us, "You give them something to eat." Because there are people in our community who don't know whether to eat or not.

You give them something to eat. There are kids in our community who are feeding on all sorts of stuff just to try and build up their identity and sense of self-worth in all the wrong places, looking for luck. You give them something to eat.

There are older people in our community who are just purposeless. You give them something to eat. There are successful people in our community who reach the top and just feel so empty. You give them something to eat.

And I believe that's a word for us. I think it's not just a word for us; I think that's what Jesus has always been saying to his church, to his people, to his disciples, to his followers: "You do it. You make it happen. You work on this thing. You can make a difference here. You can meet those needs. You can change this situation. You can change this environment, this culture. You can make it happen."

These people need clothes. There are people living in tents in our public space. You give them something to eat. These people feel worthless. There are people living in a spiritual vacuum, hungry for truth, feeding on spiritual rubbish. You give them something good to eat.

And that's a beautiful theme through Scripture. It's a beautiful theme through Scripture and into our lives that I think is amazing and wonderful and challenging.

And it's the most unbelievable thing that God should say to us, "You do it. You do it."

In my simplistic way of understanding, God creates heaven and earth. And heaven is the place of God's rule, the place of his kingdom, the place where the angels and the archangels and the seraphim and the cherubim and Michael and all the heavenly armies, all the heavenly hosts, and all the rest are worshipping and loving and obeying and adoring the Trinity in glory.

And they're going, encircling the throne. They're going round again, catching a new glimpse of glory, catching a new experience of wonder. As they gaze into the face of the Father, as they see something of Jesus, as they capture something of the Holy Spirit.

And as they see this glory and power and majesty and love, they see new colors, they experience new sensations, they have new emotions. They see new shapes. They see just the glory as they encircle the throne and get new revelation and new insight in the face of the wonderful, glorious Trinity, the three in one.

And in that eternity of worship, such a privilege, as we were singing earlier. In that eternity of glory and wonder and revelation and insight and beauty and majesty, somehow, somehow, Satan, the adversary, the accuser, rebels.

Somehow he declares UDI. And surprisingly, there's no capital punishment for him. Instead, it's an exile. An exile to a small planet, three rocks from a tiny star.

And that earth becomes formless and empty and dark and void, formless. And now there's an area that isn't under the unfettered rule of God. That there's a planet in the universe that isn't completely dominated by the will of God.

That there's a place where God's will isn't done perfectly. There's a place, a base of challenge to the love and the power and the glory and grace of the three in one.

And so God, by his Spirit, brings order into that chaos. He breathes life, separating oceans from the land, separating seas from the sky.

Bringing order and form into the soil as trees and bushes and plants and flowers burst forth. As the sky is filled with stars and planets.

And I think actually that's that they can see it. I think if you were on the earth at that point, you could see it. I think it had been created before then. But God fills the skies with these celestial planets and stars and then animals to fill the oceans and the land.

And in the middle of this world of order into chaos, God plants a garden. And in the garden, he puts the pinnacle of his creation, human beings, and he gives them two commands. He says, "What I want you to do is to fill the earth, and I want you to work the land and care for it."

Now that's what I want you to do because this tiny bit of garden, this place of peace and tranquility, this place of great relationship between man and woman, this wonderful place of intimacy with God where I can walk with you in the cool of the day, this ecological paradise, this working at one with nature, this whole place where you are whole, I want this to spread out to fill the whole earth.

I'm giving that as your responsibility, and I want you to work the land and take care of it so that it might rightly produce an abundance of fruit and harvest for you.

You give them something to eat. You can do this. This is your responsibility.

The psalmist said the heavens belong to the Lord; the earth belongs to you. Take this kingdom, this rule of God that's here in this garden, and you expand it and push it out until it fills the whole earth.

I want you to expand my influence and my territory until it's all brought under the beneficent rule of God.

And the story of the Old Testament—sorry, now let's just go back one—the tragedy is that Eve and Adam also rebel. And again, there's no capital punishment; instead, there's an exile.

Sorry, my slides got out of order. There we go. Instead, there's an exile, and they manage to switch sides by falling into deception and lying and blaming and shame. They fall into the darkness and the chaos of life outside the garden.

There's still, though, a commitment from God to work through these people who are now flawed. These people who are now in rebellion and yet in the image of God.

There's a commitment from God to work through these people to win the world back. Still, the mandate remains. God has delegated his authority. He's risked the future of the creation project on the obedience or lack of obedience of people like us.

If God's going to expand his rule into all the earth, then it would be through his people, through people like us, through people like Noah. God risks this command to fill the earth. He repeats it to Noah: "Fill the earth."

He risks it on Noah, who had proved righteous, and yet after the flood was so deeply flawed and really quite a failure. He risks it on people like Abraham.

Abraham, who was commanded by God to go to the land I will show you. And after a lifetime of seeking to follow God and building altars and worshipping him, he gets halfway to where God wanted him to be.

People like Moses, who led the people of Israel out of Egypt, for them to wander around the desert for 40 years because of their disobedience.

And you get the picture. To get his will done on the earth, to expand his kingdom, God invites people into his plans and purposes. He gives them real opportunities. He gives us real authority. He gives us genuine say-so.

He doesn't override our will or our failures, but he graciously works with us to the extent that we're willing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

God is consistently risking his reputation and his purposes, constantly giving away his power and authority to human beings to get his will done in all the earth.

And the story of the Old Testament is God calling people back to his purposes for them. His purpose is for them to live as the people of God with his authority, with his love, being a light to the nations, showing something of the grace and the love and the glory and power of God as being established as an outpost of the kingdom of God.

And yet they choose a human king rather than be ruled by God. And for every step forward into the purposes of God to be a light to the nations, it feels like they take a step back into idolatry or ignoring the temple or dealing unjustly with their neighbors.

So we have this picture of God inviting our cooperation to establish his kingdom in the earth, pulling us into relational involvement with him, wanting to get his will done.

And humans constantly messing up in this. The call to relationship and the call to re-establish his kingdom.

Remember Mark 6, called his disciples to be with him in the form of Emmanuel, God with us. Kingdom of God announced around Galilee.

The kingdom of God is at hand. You can reach it. You can touch it. It's at the edge of your fingertips. You can grab hold of it.

The kingdom of God established on a cross just outside Jerusalem as Jesus absorbs all the hurt and the pain and the evil and the wrong into his own body.

The kingdom of God established by his resurrection from the dead as he shows that he has won.

The kingdom of God established as the Holy Spirit is poured out into an upper room and people are filled with the Holy Spirit and at last are able to take this good news to all the nations.

God's will is that that kingdom should go throughout the earth as the yeast goes through the whole dough, as the light as the lamp lights the whole house, as the mustard seed grows into the hugest of trees, and the mountain that the prophet spoke of fills the whole earth.

And that happens as Jesus' followers push into relationship with God and hear his call to live in his kingdom and are sent out to expand it so that it might fill the whole earth.

You give them something to eat.

And so Jesus puts the onus of pursuing relationship with him and expanding his kingdom on us. He's delegated it to us.

He's risking it on us. You carry my name. You give them something to eat. You fill the water jars that I can turn into wine for the whole village.

You teach the children. You love.

Much about sports science—not like Karen, who is, um, yeah, anyway. But I do know, and she knows about sports science. I do know that one of the things that really helps is if you can reframe your emotions.

And that is, if you can reframe your emotions about to embark on an important game or an important race or an important point or an important kick.

If you can reframe your emotions so that you're not nervous, you're excited. Because the emotion's the same. The effects are the same on your hands, on your heart rate, on your mind.

You're not nervous; you're excited.

And I think sometimes when we hear a message like this, we need to reframe our emotions so that we're not nervous; we're excited.

Excited about what God can do in our workplace. Excited about what God can do in our community and in our family and in our networks.

Excited about what God can do as we reach out to pray for someone's healing. Excited about what God can do as we invite someone to church.

Excited about what God can do, what can happen, the change we can bring, the difference we can make.

Excited about the potential and the possibility.

We can reframe it so that we're not so nervous about it, but we're excited as we see what God does through us, as he gives us the authority and responsibility.

You know, the—now this is another when you're preaching—sorry, that's another one. When you're preaching, you have these thoughts run through your head, and you have to decide whether to jump on that horse and go that way or not.

And there's a thought just going: the Bible never has the word "saint" in it, did you know that?

He sent them out two by two. Paul always operated in a team. God has a premium on prayers of agreement. If you agree on earth, he has a premium on meeting together.

When two or three get together, I'm there in the middle of it all because God's into team. Of course he is. He is a team: Father, Son, Spirit together in this.

This is one of the reasons church is so important—so, so important. And it helps when we recognize that we're doing this together.

And of course, of course, of course it helps so much when we realize that God has given us all the resources we need to get the job done.

God has given us all we need. Join the army because they will provide for you.

You come off maneuvers; you have to work out what clothes to wear. Your clothes don't—us all we need to carry the good news of the kingdom to make a difference.

To give people something to eat is to pray. We pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

It's really the first thing Jesus asked us to pray. I mean, it's the second thing; the first was "Hallowed be your name," wasn't it?

He wants it all for the glory of God. It's all for him; it's all his glory. We want his name to be honored. We want his name to be glorified.

But really, the primary prayer is "Your kingdom come, your will be done." We want your will to be expanded. We want your will to be expanded in my heart.

I want your will to be done so your kingdom can come in this little group of people that I'm involved in. I want that to happen in my kids' school. I want that to happen in the local university.

I want that to be happening in my company and in the company next door. I want your kingdom to come, your will to be done amongst my friendship groups, my social group.

I need your kingdom to come in my gym. I need your kingdom to come.

So we can pray, and church is so important in this, isn't it? Because the church isn't the kingdom, and the kingdom isn't the church.

But the church is a result of the kingdom, and the church promotes the kingdom. It's like there's a whole chain of shops, and the church is the flagship store for the kingdom of heaven.

Someone said that it's the flagship on a fleet, you know, because the church is the biggest boat in the kingdom, if you like, and the flagship is the one where the captain is.

The church has been given the keys to the kingdom. The church is the primary agent of the kingdom.

So sign up to help with the kids' group, the biggest place. Platoon in the army. I don't mean Kingsland; I mean the church. It's the biggest platoon in the army.

The church is the biggest team on the planet. Sign up to it. Get involved in it. Find something to lead. Find something to help in. Find something to be involved in.

Because it's the primary as well as around me.

So no more jealousy or backbiting or inappropriate anger or pride or whatever it is that wholeness in relationships, communities, and families in nature.

God's Shalom in health and in finances, in business and in the arts, personal obedience.

Let your kingdom come in me.

And just to finish with, I just add this at the end because this is a sort of personal thing, a personal motivation of mine.

I just love it when there's kingdom initiatives—when someone has an idea about how they can see God's kingdom come amongst a particular group of people or a particular part of the week or just some activity or initiative or something that makes a difference, that changes the lives of one or two people, that makes a difference to a community, that changes their lives, a whole group of people.

A kingdom initiative that brings something of the glory and the love and the power and the grace and the mercy of God and expands it a little and pushes it out a little so it makes a difference in our workplace or makes a difference in our community or changes someone's life, online or in person.

That there's a kingdom initiative that God puts something on your heart as you pray for the kingdom to expand, as you see yourself pushing out from the garden, filling the whole earth, as God says to you, "You give them something to eat."

There's some lights going on in your head: "Yeah, I can do that. I can do that. I can do that."

God can equip you in the areas that you haven't yet got. God can pull you alongside of others where you need to be in fellowship with them to make this thing happen.

But maybe there's some kingdom initiatives even in this room this morning.

Subject: Active Participation in God's Kingdom Mission



Dear Kingsland Colchester,





What an incredible reminder that Jesus calls us to actively participate in His mission to feed the hungry and bring hope to our community.





Last Sunday, we explored Mark chapter six, where Jesus sends out His disciples and then challenges them to feed the multitude that has gathered. This powerful moment illustrates that we are not just passive observers in God's kingdom but active participants. Jesus looks at the needs around us with gut-wrenching compassion and says, "You give them something to eat." We are called to recognize the needs in our community and respond with love and action, just as the disciples did.





As we reflect on this message, I encourage you to consider how you can be a part of God's kingdom initiatives in your own life. What specific needs do you see around you, and how can you respond? Whether it's reaching out to someone in need, volunteering your time, or simply sharing the love of Christ in your daily interactions, remember that you have the authority and responsibility to make a difference. Let’s not shy away from the challenge but embrace the excitement of what God can do through us!





Blessings,

Kingsland Colchester Team