March 17, 2025 • 42 mins
Waiting is perhaps the hardest part of needing a miracle. In this powerful exploration of Jesus feeding the 5,000, we discover that waiting isn't merely passive anticipation—it's an active posture where God works both in us and through us.
The Hebrew word for "wait" (quavah) carries a beautiful dual meaning: patiently resting and actively serving. This perfectly captures what God calls us to during seasons of waiting. While we naturally focus on what we need God to do FOR us—whether in our finances, relationships, health, or other areas—Jesus often has plans to work THROUGH us while we wait.
When the disciples were exhausted from ministry and Jesus promised them rest, crowds followed them to their retreat. Rather than sending the hungry multitudes away, Jesus challenged His tired disciples: "You give them something to eat." What seemed impossible—feeding thousands with just five loaves and two fish—became the catalyst for one of Jesus' most famous miracles. But the miracle wasn't just for the crowd; it was also for the disciples who learned that serving others from their place of emptiness would result in greater abundance than they could imagine.
The twelve baskets of leftovers—one for each disciple—powerfully illustrate that when we allow God to work through us even in our depletion, He ensures we're abundantly satisfied. As one testimony shared in the message beautifully stated: "You have given and you have taken, but it's never been without purpose... I pause, I listen, and I trust because, Jesus, you are enough."
Remember this truth as you wait for your miracle: We don't use Jesus for miracles; we pursue Jesus because only He can satisfy the deepest needs of our soul. What miracle are you waiting for today? Could God be positioning you to be part of someone else's miracle first?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
be in church this morning, as God is working in
your life, he is working in you,he's working through you.
God is so good and it is sogood to see each and every one
of you.
I hope you had a great week.
We had a great week as a familyGot to celebrate Brooklyn's
sixth birthday, which was a lotof fun because we told her she
could go anywhere she wanted toto eat and she chose Burger King
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and we tried to talk her out ofit.
We tried to talk her out of it.
If you love Burger King, nooffense.
But I was like, baby, I can goin and get you the crown, Like
it's okay, right, we can goanywhere.
But she wanted Burger King andshe said maybe they'll sing to
me.
I'm like I don't know.
And we went in and it's hard toresist Brooklyn in a little
wheelchair and I just said, hey,she wanted to know if y'all
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might sing for her and the twoladies behind the counter at
Burger King sang for Brooklyn,sang happy birthday.
Isn't that awesome, man?
I love it.
Even Burger King blesses people.
I love it, man.
God is so good.
We want to say a specialblessing over someone right now
and I just want to recognizethem.
I'm not going to call themforward because he would kill me
if I did.
But Eli Lightcap he has been onour staff for over about a year
(01:04):
and a half now.
He's about to graduate college,about to go into the workforce,
and obviously if he ever wantsa break, now's the time.
And so he's got about twomonths before he graduates and
so he is today's going to be hislast day on our staff before he
goes into the workforcefull-time later on.
Can we put our hands togetherand thank God for Eli Lightcap
(01:26):
and all that he has meant to uson our production and broadcast
team?
We're so thankful and it alsojust so happens today as well
that we get to celebrate PastorDave Berryhill, our Associate
Pastor of Finance.
He's in his 28th year ofministry here and his 50th year
of ministry and all.
(01:46):
We have a reception for himright after the service and
we'll open up the fellowshiphall doors and we'll be in here.
But we get to celebrate.
Pastor Dave, would you put yourhands together for Pastor Dave
Berryhill?
We are so thankful for him.
Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, we love youand God, we just believe that
you are here with us.
God, we believe that you have aword for us.
(02:07):
So, father, we pray thismorning that you would speak
through your Holy Spirit in thename of your Son, god.
All for your glory, god, we areyour church and this is your
word.
So we just pray that your workis done.
God, we love you and we praythese things in Jesus' name and
all God's people said amen.
We are in a series right nowcalled I Need a Miracle.
(02:27):
Look at somebody and say I needa miracle.
I need a miracle.
That is true of me, that istrue of you, and we all need a
miracle in our life, and we'retalking about different types of
miracles that we see Jesusdoing throughout the gospels.
Back at Christmas time, westarted talking about Jesus
around his birth and we're inthis mega Jesus series all the
(02:50):
way to Easter, his resurrection,and so right now we're talking
about the miracles that Jesusdid throughout the Gospel.
A couple of weeks ago we talkedabout the miracle of Jesus
calming the storm and Peterwalking on the water.
Last week we talked about Jesuscasting out demons.
I heard a pastor say one timehe said I've never cast a demon
out of a person, but I have senta middle schooler home from
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camp and I'm pretty sure that'sthe same thing.
I just thought it was funny.
I thought it was funny, nooffense.
Middle schoolers, we love you.
Today we are talking about Jesusdoing a miracle that he
provides for our physical needs.
We're going to be talking aboutJesus the story of Jesus
feeding the 5,000.
Next week, how Jesus does ahealing of miracles over the
sick, and then after that, howJesus raises the dead, and so it
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is just so fun to walk throughall of these miracles of Jesus
together as a church.
I just wanna remind you, asI've already told a lot of your
stories that you've sent to me,make sure that you continue to
send in your stories.
I'm telling more this morningso we can tell more stories
throughout this series together.
Also, remember we have the INeed a Miracle wall out in our
(04:00):
Next Step area, station areathat you can write down your
miracle that you want God to do.
And then the last Sunday inMarch, that evening, 5 pm, march
the 30th, we're going to have anight of worship and prayer and
we're going to bring all themiracle prayer request tags down
and we're going to pray forthem all.
That God would do a miracletogether.
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If you believe that, say yeah,because that's what we want to
see God doing.
You know the greatest needs andwe're talking about Jesus doing
a miracle over the needs of yourlife, just some different needs
that people have in their life.
Today we're going to talk aboutthe feeding of the 5,000, so we
know that people today haveneeds around the world just
simply of food.
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Other people have finances God,I just need you to move in my
finances.
God, I'm in debt, or I've got abig payment coming up.
Or, god, I need to provide more, whatever it might be.
Or maybe a job God, I need youto give me a job or get me out
of my job, or whatever it mightbe.
Housing Lord we need a house,we need an apartment.
We need a new house.
(05:02):
We need a different house.
Transportation God we need anew house.
We need a different house.
Transportation God I need morereliable transportation.
Or maybe it's kids.
Maybe it's someone in here thatyou want kids, or maybe there's
someone in here and you're likeGod, do something with my kids.
You know, whatever it might be,it may be your marriage, maybe
you want to be married, maybeyour marriage needs to be healed
, or maybe it's in terms ofrelationships in your life.
(05:25):
God, just he puts passages ofscripture in his word to remind
you in your life that he wantsto continue to do miracles that
only he can do in your life.
I love that story Maybe you'veheard it before of the little
lady that would come out of herhouse every morning and she
would pray because she didn'thave food.
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And she would pray God, wouldyou just give me food that I
need for today?
And she would go out the nextday.
She'd pray out loud on herfront porch God, I pray that you
would provide food for me.
And she'd go out the next day.
God, I pray that you wouldprovide food for me.
And her neighbor was an atheistand he would watch this every
morning and he would never seeany food come out of heaven or
any food come to her door.
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So he thought I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna do it.
So the atheist went to thegrocery store.
He bought the groceries.
The next morning when she cameout he had all the groceries
laid out on her front porch andshe came out and she praised God
.
She said God, thank you forproviding the food for me.
The atheist jumped out of thebushes.
He said God didn't provide thatfood for you.
I went to the grocery store, Ibought that food for you and I
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put it there.
It wasn't God.
And the little old lady saidGod, you provided food for me
and you made the devil pay forit.
God, thank you so much, thankyou, thank you, thank you.
Isn't it awesome that God canuse anything to bring a miracle
into our life.
Can I get an amen?
Anything?
As we're going through thisseries, there's just some things
that God has taught me and Ipray that he's teaching you.
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It's not just for me, it's notjust for you, it's for me and
it's not just for me, it's foryou.
It's not going to be on thescreen, but I just want to give
this to you, just a very quicktheology of miracles.
Write this down.
It's just going to be fivequick statements.
Number one I want you tobelieve that God can do any
miracle.
Believe that God can do anymiracle.
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That's number one.
Number two so I wanna encourageyou to pray for any miracle.
Pray for any miracle you wantGod to do.
Number three worship God whileyou wait on your miracle.
Worship God while you wait onyour miracle.
Number four if God does themiracle, if he says yes to your
prayer, then you get to see thepower of God and you get to
glorify God.
But I want to remind you numberfive there are times that God
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chooses not to do the miracle,and it's out of his wisdom,
because he has something evengreater, something even better
in store, because God can onlydo what is best.
And so when God doesn't do themiracle, then you glorify him
for his wisdom, because he choseto do what is best according to
his will.
So this morning, what I want totalk to you about is when you
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are waiting on your miracle.
Everybody say waiting, when youare waiting on your miracle,
because this is the hardest part.
When you're waiting, you'rewondering God, what are you
going to do?
And sometimes we're not surewhat to do when we wait and I
think that's what this story inGod's word is all about when you
are waiting on your miracle.
In fact, here's what'sinteresting the feeding of the
(08:13):
5,000,.
You can turn with me to Mark,chapter six.
The feeding of the 5,000 is theonly miracle of Jesus repeated
in all four gospels.
It's the only one.
They all tell differentmiracles and some of them.
There's a miracle in two orthree of them, but this is the
only one.
That is the same miracle in allfour.
In other words, I think thatJesus really wants you to know
(08:34):
and to believe and to understandthis miracle in your life.
If you believe that, say yeah.
So here we go.
The only repeated miracle inall of the four Gospels.
When you're waiting on yourmiracle number one, the word is
wait.
Everyone say wait Because it'sinteresting.
Wait actually means somethingdifferent in the Bible than it
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does in our English language.
The word wait means somethingdifferent to Jesus than it does
to you.
Mark, chapter 6, verse 30, saysthe apostles returned to Jesus
and they told him all that theyhad done and taught.
Now, earlier in the chapter inMark, chapter 6, it says that
Jesus sent them out two by twoto do ministry.
(09:17):
You know Jesus' goals with thedisciple wasn't just to keep
them close to him, but he keptthem close to him to teach them,
so that he could send them outto do ministry.
And that's why he does thatwith you.
Jesus calls you closer so thatyou can learn from him, you can
live with him and you can becomelike him so that he can send
you out and you can do ministryin your life and in your
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community.
That's what he's called you todo as a disciple.
He's called you to be amissionary wherever it is that
you live, so you can feel theexcitement of these disciples.
They come back.
The Bible says that they've goneout and they've taught many
things.
The Bible says that they havecasted out demons, that they
have healed the sick.
Jesus gave them authority to dothat.
(10:01):
He's not giving me authority toheal the sick or cast out
demons.
If he has you, I would like totalk to you.
Let's meet this week if we can.
And so he sends them out.
They come back.
They're all excited Verse 31,.
And you won't believe whatJesus says next.
In verse 31, he said to thembecause they're all excited,
tell them about everything thathappened.
He said I want you to come awayby yourselves to a desolate
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place and to rest a while, formany were coming.
What is Jesus saying?
Jesus saying you have beenserving me so hard, you've been
serving me so strong, but youcan't work forever.
Jesus says when you work hard,you gotta rest hard.
Notice that, jesus, as you areserving Jesus, jesus cares about
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your rest.
Jesus doesn't just want you toserve him every single second
and serving others every singlesecond of every day.
Jesus also wants you to stopand he wants you to spend time
with him.
That's what God callsSabbathing.
That's what God calls restingtaking a day a week or even
resting in an evening time orwhatever it might be, but just
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stopping and saying God, you'vegot this.
And resting in Jesus Christ.
He cares about our rest.
Jesus is telling his discipleshey, why don't we go on a little
vacay, getaway?
Vacations are biblical.
Amen.
I mean, man, god is so good.
And so he says why don't wecome away?
Because y'all have been so busy.
You haven't even had a chanceto eat.
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They were exhausted.
You feel exhausted today.
You feel tired today.
Have you been going hard?
Have you been working long?
Verse 32, and it says and theywent away in a boat to a
desolate place by themselves.
Not only are vacations biblical, but so are cruises.
Can I get an amen?
They got on a boat with Jesus.
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Man, they are getting away.
Where's all my cruise?
People in the room Raise yourhand.
Have you read the articlesabout?
Like the senior adults, theydon't put their money into the
assisted living.
They just hop from cruise tocruise to cruise.
I can get on board with that.
That's a dad joke, don't worryabout it.
Okay, so that is my kind oflife, right there.
That's what I'm talking about.
The question is see, here'swhat's happening in the
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disciples' life.
They're exhausted, they'retired, they don't feel like they
have anything left.
Jesus sees it, jesus loves them, jesus cares, jesus says let's
get away.
They were in the middle oftheir testimony.
They needed a miracle.
They had been, jesus had beendoing miracles through them.
Now was the time that Jesuswanted to do a miracle for them,
that Jesus said I'm gonna getyou away and I'm gonna get you
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guys some rest.
In other words, are you findingyourself today in the middle of
your miracle?
Are you finding yourself todayin the middle of your story?
I remember there was a day in mylast church I was the pastor of
one of the campuses and Iremember we had a prayer and a
worship night and they calledfive or six different families
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to get up and to share theirtestimony and the worship
department put it together andthey asked, michelle and I, my
wife and I to be the last onesto share our testimony and we
didn't know what everybody elsewas gonna say.
And they all got up and theyall talked about this miraculous
story, about how they had thisproblem and God did a miracle.
And man look at God.
And we get up and one of thefirst times in my life I don't
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know what to say, and I'm thepastor, I'm speechless, because
we were in the middle of ourmiracle and we weren't exactly
sure what to say because wedidn't know the end of our story
.
It was the beginning of ourinfertility journey.
It was where we were about, inthe middle of our adoption
journey, and we did not knowwhat God was going to do.
And so all we could telleverybody was we're in the
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middle of our miracle.
We don't know what God's gonnado.
God may answer our prayers andhe may not in the way that we
want him to, but either way, godis good and God is enough.
What do you do when you wait?
Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 31,you can write it down says but
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they who wait, everyone say wait.
They who wait upon the Lordshall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wingslike eagles.
They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint.
The word wait is quavah.
Everyone say quavah.
The Hebrew word for wait isquavah.
Quavah means, on one hand, itmeans to wait in terms of being
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patient, to wait in terms ofbeing patient, to wait in terms
of resting, to wait in terms ofstopping, but it also has a
different connotation.
They're both equally true ofthe word kavah.
And it means to wait in termsof serving, like a server
waiting on tables.
So, in other words, what do wedo when we're waiting on our
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miracle?
We're resting in Jesus, we'repatient for him to provide,
we're trusting in Jesus in themeantime, but we're not stopping
serving, worshiping Jesus andhelping others for God to do a
work in their life too.
We're waiting, which is theboth end.
It is resting and it is serving.
If you're listening, say yeah,which means that life is a
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balance of time with Jesus andministry for Jesus.
Your life is a balance of timewith Jesus.
You're spending time with himto get filled with Jesus, so
Jesus can send you and you cango into ministry for Jesus.
That's what we do when we arewaiting on our miracle.
The second thing we do iscompassion.
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Everyone say compassion,compassion.
This is a very interesting wordin the Bible, in verse 33 of
Mark 6,.
It says now many saw them goingand recognized them and they ran
their on foot from all thetowns and got there ahead of
them.
What's happening?
Jesus and the disciples are onthe cruise ship.
They're going on their vacaygetaway.
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They're sailing along the shorelooking for a desolate place
there on land, and there areliterally thousands of people
that recognize the disciples,recognize Jesus, all the
miracles that they had done, andthe crowd is literally can you
believe this?
Running along the shore andkeeping up with the boat.
So they're keeping up with theboat and literally the Bible
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says that the crowd beats Jesusand the disciples to their port,
to their dock, where they weregoing to take their vacation
excursion.
And so there's the crowdwaiting for them and the
disciples.
You know that they're mad atthis point, right, because Jesus
promised them a getawayvacation.
But the crowd saw them, noticedthem, chased them.
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And that's exactly what peopledo.
Hear me, when God is workingand changing people's lives,
people can't help but want to bea part of it, because everybody
wants their life changed insome supernatural way.
If you believe that, say yeah,see what God does in you, god
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wants to do through you in thelife of someone else.
It says when Jesus went ashorehe saw a great crowd, we know.
Later on they tell us that itwas feeding the 5,000, but
remember the 5,000 were just5,000 men.
There were also women andchildren that were there,
historians and theologians, andall that, and tell us that this
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could be upwards to 30,000people.
So there are the disciples onthe boat.
They need a miracle.
They're exhausted, they'retired, they're starving, they're
hungry.
And here is Jesus.
He sees the crowd and Jesuscannot help himself.
Jesus values the crowd evenmore than he values rest.
He recognizes them as they ranthere and he goes ashore and he
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sees them and he has compassionupon them.
The Bible says, because theywere like sheep without a
shepherd and he began to teachthem many things.
The word compassion issplagthonzomai.
I will not ask you to repeat itfor the person's sake in front
of you.
Splagthonsomai is the Greekword and it literally means that
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Jesus was moved with compassion.
In other words, he felt itdeeply in his heart, he felt it
in his soul, he felt thecompassion for them in his gut.
In other words, that's howJesus feels about you.
Don't ever let the devil tellyou how Jesus feels about you.
When Jesus looks at you, helooks at you with compassion,
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with love.
Jesus loves you more deeplythan you could ever realize,
than you could ever comprehend,than you could ever understand.
Jesus has compassion on thepeople and, it says, because
they were like sheep without ashepherd.
In other words, jesus looks outto the people and he sees that
they are aimless, they'rehopeless, they're just wandering
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in different directions.
They don't have a leader, theydon't have a shepherd, someone
who truly, seriously cares fortheir soul and can provide for
their eternity.
And Jesus has compassion onthem because Jesus desires to be
their shepherd.
John 10 says that Jesus is thegood shepherd.
He knows his sheep, his sheepknows him.
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He lays down his life for thesheep.
His sheep hears his voice andthey follow him.
Don't you think that Jesus ranup and hugged as many of the
30,000 possible people that hecould have?
Don't you think that Jesusphysically cared for them and
loved them, but at the same time, the Bible says that he did
what was absolutely best forthem, that he taught them many
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things?
The most important thing thatJesus can do for you is to teach
you the most important thingyou can do with Jesus is just to
get in his word and to get intoprayer and let Jesus speak to
you and let Jesus teach you why?
Because Jesus wants to pour outhis compassion upon you.
He is even compassionate aboutthe little things, the little
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prayer requests in your life.
One of you sent me this story.
One of you said I'm not a fanof morning commutes.
Remote work has been a blessingto.
This.
Person Said no traffic means nostress, they said.
But now I have to go back tothe office every day in Atlanta.
Monday morning I get in my carand I am praying on my way to
Atlanta and I'm claiming thepromises of Jesus.
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Why?
Because they probably want tocast the demons out of the
Atlanta traffic, I would imagine.
Said ask, he's claiming thepromises of Jesus.
Ask anything in my name and itwill be given to you.
This man asked for a smooth,stress-free drive.
He said he turns on hisdevotional right after he prays
and the first scripture was John14, one don't let your hearts
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be troubled, john 14, 14,.
Ask anything in my name and Iwill do it.
He said it was a sign.
He said the drive went great toAtlanta.
Jesus casted out the demons.
So the next day, tuesday, hisdrive, he prayed again, turned
on his devotion.
He said, immediately, playedJohn 16, 23,.
My father will give youwhatever I ask in my name John
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16, 24, ask and you'll receive,and your joy will be complete.
And this person said well, myjoy is complete because he had a
stress-free drive going back tothe office.
He said God still speaksthrough his word.
And he said God cared about me.
He cares about you the bigthings, he cares about you the
little things in his life.
Why?
Because he has compassion uponyou.
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So here's what I need us tounderstand this morning is that
you are called to receiveJesus's compassion for you.
Receive it, jesus, I believe it, jesus, I receive it.
You can't feel it unless youbelieve it, unless you receive
it.
But the point isn't just toreceive it.
The point is to reflect ittoward other people.
The word compassion, heresplagphanzomai, is a word that
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is only used for Jesus in theBible.
In other words, only Jesus isthe source of this compassion
and only Jesus can give you thiscompassion for other people
when you go to restaurants, whenyou go to grocery stores, when
you just go out and about, whenyou go to your job, when you go
to a sporting event, whereveryou are, just look around and
you will see sheep without ashepherd who are desperate for
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Jesus.
And just as you have receivedhis compassion, you can give his
compassion to others.
So number one wait.
Number two was there withcompassion.
Number three is the wordthrough.
Everyone say through.
Number three is through.
John 6, 35 says and when it grewlate, his disciples came to him
.
35 says and when it grew late,his disciples came to him, came
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to Jesus, and said this is adesolate place and the hour is
late, so send them away to gointo the surrounding countryside
and villages and buy themselvessomething to eat.
It's kind of funny to me,because you can tell like the
disciples are a little bitcompassionate, but mostly
sarcastic, right, like a littlebit like Jesus.
They all look hungry to us.
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What's happening?
Jesus is talking for a verylong time.
He's talking until thenighttime.
Jesus is long-winded.
If you think I preach long, I'mjust trying to be like Jesus.
Can I get an amen?
Right, that's what he does.
Right, and so Jesus is teachingall of these truths to all of
these people and us.
Right, and so Jesus is teachingall of these truths to all of
these people.
And the disciples are lookingat their watches, like is this
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vacation going to happen or not?
Like are we going on thiscruise or are we just going to
stay here?
And so they see a littlecompassion, jesus.
They look hungry to us,probably an excuse.
Really, what the disciples aresaying is send them away so we
can go on vacay, so we can gohit the cruise up again.
Verse 37,.
Don't you love it when Jesussays something you don't expect
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and often it's not what youdon't want to hear.
Jesus comes back and he said oh, they're hungry, are they?
He said why don't you give themsomething to eat?
Wait, wait a second, jesus,like you told us that we had
been serving.
You told us that we had beenworking.
You told us that you were gonnaget us some rest.
And, jesus, there could be30,000 people out here and it
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would take 200 denarii for us tofeed all of these people.
That could be $20,000 in ourmoney.
Today.
We checked our togas.
We don't have it.
Jesus, 20,000.
We ain't got it.
So how do you expect us to feedthem?
And Jesus, in this moment,flipped the script and he was
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teaching the disciples somethingincredibly important that you
and I need to learn, and I wannabe honest with you.
I've never seen this in thepassage before, I've never heard
anyone say this before, butthis is what Jesus showed me
this week, and I believe it wasfor me and I believe it was for
you.
And here's what I think thatJesus is saying that Jesus
didn't just want to do a miraclefor them, he also wanted to do
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a miracle through them.
See, here's the deal is that weget all caught up I get all
caught up, sinfully in themiracle that I need fleshly, to
where I am fixated, to where I'mfocused.
Jesus, I need you to do thisfor me that I forget or even
have compassion upon people thatneed a miracle too.
And so what Jesus is teachingme is Jesus, he's saying to me
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that, jesus, I want Chip, I wantto do miracles for you, but you
need me to do miracles throughyou just to serve other people,
to provide for other people, tolove other people, to witness to
other people.
Someone wrote this week andthey said in 2020,.
My life as a salon owner came toa halt, but the real storm
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started long before.
They said within seven months.
We lost six family members inseven months, including my
husband's father, who hadsecretly battled cancer, she
said.
At the same time, my littlesister was spiraling into
addiction.
The weight of grief wassuffocating.
When COVID shut everything down, we felt God leading us to
(25:52):
start our lives in Oregon, overin Georgia.
So we took the leap, trustinghim.
But everything went wrong.
Our home flooded, a dishonestcontractor scammed us and our
son battled a terrifying,undiagnosed illness, she said.
I was at my breaking point.
I cried out to God in anger,questioning everything she said.
(26:16):
But in the middle of mydesperation, jesus met me.
Jesus led us to a treatmentthat helped our son.
And through it all, she said,he gave me an unexpected gift a
miraculous ability to paint, andwe started as an outlet for my
grief, turned into a career, nowproviding for my son's medical
(26:38):
needs.
Life didn't go as planned, butGod uses every struggle for his
purpose, even in the suffering,she says.
God is still good.
There are still miracles thatGod is yet to do in this family,
and here's what I love.
They just joined our worshipteam.
She just joined as a singer.
She just joined as a singer, hejust joined as a guitarist and
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even while they're waiting forGod to do more miracles in their
life, they are serving God inthe waiting.
That it's not just what Godwants to do for them, but it's
also what God wants to dothrough them.
He answered and he said yougive them something to eat and
200 denarii.
They said that's what it'sgoing to cost.
So Jesus didn't want to dosomething for them, but through
(27:23):
them Mark 6, 38.
And he said to them how manyloaves do you have?
Go and see.
And when they had found out,they said five and two.
We know in the gospel of Johnthis came from a little boy.
Here's what I find thisinteresting when Jesus wants to
do something through me orsomething through you sometimes,
here's how we feel Jesus, Idon't have the emotional
(27:44):
capacity to give anybodyanything else right now.
Jesus, I don't have anything tooffer Jesus, I don't have
anything left.
I don't have anything to give.
I don't have anythingemotionally.
I don't have anythingphysically.
I don't have anythingemotionally.
I don't have anythingphysically.
I don't have anything mentally.
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I don't have anythingphysically.
Spiritually, jesus, I am justspent.
Isn't it interesting that Jesusdidn't provide through the
apostles?
In other words.
They found a little boy.
The little boy gave them thebread and the fish.
And then Jesus said in verse 39,he said then he commanded them,
all the people, to sit down ingroups on the green grass.
So they sat down in groups byhundreds and fifties.
This is very significant thathe mentions here in Mark.
(28:26):
Notice how Jesus did not justfeed people individually.
Everyone just sit down and I'mgoing to feed you.
Why?
Because they would just eat thefood and they would have a meal
and they would not know exactlywhat had happened, but because
Jesus sat them down in groups ofhundreds and fifties.
People were sitting incommunities.
So they're sitting and they'retalking and they're eating and
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they're experiencing thismiracle together in the midst of
community.
That's what I believe that Godloves to do miracles within the
context of community.
That's what I believe that Godloves to do miracles within the
context of community.
We see this happen all the timewhen people get together in,
like Sunday schools andconnection groups and groups and
Bible studies and all thesethings that we offer in our
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church and that other churchesoffer.
When you get together withbelievers, god just seems to do
amazing things in people's lives.
Someone sent me this story justtwo days ago.
They said this past summer my80-year-old mother faced a
life-threatening emergency aruptured colon caused by a tumor
that had been growing for years.
(29:32):
Before surgery, the nursesgathered around her and prayed.
The surgery was successful, butshe went into septic shock and
for a week doctors weren't sureif she would even survive.
Yet against all odds, she didsurvive.
Icu nurses kept telling her youshouldn't be alive.
God has you here for a reason.
(29:54):
Through every step 52 days inthe hospital, a month in rehab,
33 rounds of radiation, 12rounds of chemo she was
surrounded by prayer.
Her church family at MacklinBaptist, our church, first
Baptist Church, powder Springs,sunday school classes and even
hospital staff lifted her up.
Her hospital room was linedwith over a hundred
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prayer-filled cards for her andshe used every one of them as an
opportunity to share the gospelwith other people.
Her goal was to simply livelong enough to see her grandson
get married on March 22nd.
But this morning this personwrote me.
On this day, just this week,just one week before the wedding
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, her doctor gave her the newsshe is now cancer free.
The tumor is completely gone,completely gone, she said,
through surgery, healing, prayerand the love of God's people.
She is living proof that Godmoves through community.
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We prayed, he answered and tohim be all the glory.
I've seen this before when youget to be a part of a group,
when you get in Christiancommunity with other people, god
loves it.
When his kids love one anotherand when you pray for one
another like that, I have seenpeople healed.
I have seen people saved, Ihave seen children return home.
(31:18):
I've seen God do miracles,providing in so many different
ways.
And I have seen whencommunities get together and
pray for miracles and Goddoesn't do it.
And that's when the communitiescome together even tighter and
they support one another andthey console one another and
they comfort one another becauseyou're there for one another
and you encourage one another.
(31:39):
If God's not doing the miracle,then that means that God has
something greater in store.
God loves to do miracles withinthe context of community and he
loves to do miracles throughhis people.
So, number one wait.
Number two compassion.
Number three here we see thatGod wants to work through you.
(31:59):
And number four is satisfied.
Everyone say satisfied.
Last point and we're done.
Verse 41,.
And taking the five loaves andthe two fish, jesus looked up to
heaven and said a blessing.
In other words, even Jesusneeded his father to do this
miracle, just like you need Godto do a miracle in your life.
Jesus broke the loaves and hegave them to the disciples to
(32:21):
set before the people and hedivided the two fish among them
all.
Here's what's interesting.
Jesus said why don't you feedthem?
The disciples said it'simpossible.
$20,000, 30,000 people we couldnever feed a crowd like this.
And here they are doing it Allin only Christ, because of the
(32:47):
power of Jesus.
In Mark, chapter six, verse 42,says and they all everyone say
all and they all ate.
And they were say it with mesatisfied, do you know?
The word satisfied in the Greekchortazo means that you are
hear me abundantly filled,physically, emotionally,
(33:19):
mentally, spiritually.
Another definition of this wordis just to simply be stuffed.
In other words, you're so fullof Jesus.
Jesus has given you so much ofhimself that you're satisfied,
because nothing else could eversatisfy you besides him.
This story is a reminder to usthat only Jesus can fully
(33:43):
satisfy the deepest needs ofyour soul.
I even wanna say something verystrongly that you'll just have
to forgive me Jesus will evensatisfy you more deeply
personally, than the miracle youwant him to do for you, jesus,
is the deepest satisfaction ofyour very soul.
(34:06):
So one thing I have to remindmyself, and one thing I want to
encourage you to remind yourself, is let's not get so fixated
and focused on the miracles thatwe need, even though we need
them and even though we pray forthem, and even though we ask
God for them and even though webelieve for them.
But let's not forget, as wewait to have compassion upon
(34:29):
other people, that God wants towork miracles through you in
their life too, and that Godwants to satisfy you in the way,
even through the way, that youserve him.
Someone wrote me their story acouple of weeks ago that said
there have been moments where Ihave stopped in my tracks,
questioning my path, strugglingwith loss, longing for answers
(34:53):
that I may never receive, theysaid.
I cried out in pain, searchingfor understanding, but in the
silence.
Jesus, you came.
Jesus, you came to remind me tobelieve, to trust, to have
faith.
Jesus, you came to remind me tobelieve, to trust, to have
faith.
Jesus, you've given and you'vetaken, but it's never been
(35:15):
without your purpose.
Jesus, you have surrounded mewith love, even as Jesus, you
have called others home.
You have given me the assurancethat one day I will be with you
, jesus.
And then again they said so.
I pause, I listen and I trustbecause, jesus, you are enough.
(35:37):
Only Jesus can satisfy thedeepest needs and longings of
your soul.
This is the most fascinatingpart of the whole passage.
This is the most fascinatingpart of the whole passage.
And they took up 12 baskets fullof broken pieces of the bread
and of the fish.
And I read everybody this weekwhy are there 12 baskets?
(36:00):
Nobody can explain it.
There's a lot of speculation.
This is why I think it isBecause the disciples were in
the middle of their miracle.
They needed a miracle and Jesussaid I'm gonna take you away.
But while they were going away,jesus said now I need you to
serve again.
And so now they feel depleted,now they feel empty, and now
they just feel like that.
They're caught in this rat raceof constantly serving and Jesus
(36:23):
saying no, I've got somethingfor you, but I wanna do
something through you.
And at the very end of thestory, they didn't just get a
piece of bread and a fish.
Jesus handed each of hisdisciples a whole basket of
bread and fish.
And Jesus is saying I'm going totake care of you.
(36:46):
I'm going to give you more thanenough.
You, I'm going to give you morethan enough.
I'm going to give you all of me.
Trust me, wait for me, serve me, show my compassion to others,
show them, through yourself, themiracles that God can do in
(37:08):
their life, and I'll satisfy youand I'll satisfy them.
And that's why he calls us towait, to show compassion, the
things that God wants to dothrough you and how God wants to
satisfy you, because themiracle isn't the point of the
story.
Jesus the miracle worker is.
We need Jesus the miracleworker is.
(37:31):
We need Jesus the miracleworker more than we need the
miracle itself.
We don't use Jesus for miracles.
We go to Jesus for miracles,but we pursue Jesus because he
is the only one that can satisfythe deepest needs of our very
(37:55):
soul.
I'm gonna ask us all to bow ourheads and close our eyes, with
every head bowed and every eyeclosed.
Maybe you're here today and youdeeply, desperately, need God to
do this miracle in your lifeand you're waiting, and you're
(38:20):
in the middle of your story andyou don't know how it's going to
turn out.
And this morning, maybe youjust need to tell God.
God, while I wait, I'll serveyou, use me in the lives of
others, but, god, I pray thatyou would satisfy me in you.
(38:43):
Satisfy me, god, with yourself.
And maybe you're here thismorning and you can't pray that
prayer yet, because you haven'tgiven your life to Jesus.
And you want this Jesus, youwant a relationship with Jesus,
you want Jesus to do thesethings in your life and to make
your life count and matter, likehe's doing with the disciples,
(39:04):
like he's doing with hischildren, with his believers.
So maybe this morning is themorning that Jesus can do the
greatest miracle in your life,and he will not tell you to wait
.
He will tell you yes, right now, he will do this miracle in you
.
He promises right now, and thatis when you give your life to
him, he will save you thegreatest miracle he could ever
do for you.
So, right here, right now, Iwant to encourage you just pray
(39:27):
to the Lord Jesus and just say,jesus, if you've never done this
before Jesus, I believe thatyou died on the cross for my
sins and I ask you to forgive meall of my sin.
Jesus, I believe that you rosefrom the dead.
And so, jesus, I give my lifeto you and I believe in you.
I believe that you're my Lord,I believe that you're my God, I
(39:51):
believe that you're my God, Ibelieve that you're my Savior.
And the Bible says that if youconfess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord, believe with yourheart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved.
Jesus, we thank you for that.
We love you in Jesus' name.
And all God's people said putyour hands together.
Put your hands together foranybody that gave their life to
(40:13):
Jesus.
This morning, we're so thankfulfor all that God is doing.
I just want to ask you to standup right now, and we're going
to worship Jesus together herein just a minute.
But I just want you right now,just to focus on him and just to
remember that he is the onlymiracle worker in your life, and
Jesus out of his wisdom.
(40:34):
He has a purpose for his timing, he has a purpose for his will,
he has a purpose for what he isdoing in you, in the way and in
the time that he does it.
And so, while you're waiting,you get to worship him this
morning.
Let's worship Jesus if he'sdone the miracle.
Let's worship Jesus if you'rewaiting on the miracle, because
(40:57):
he's the same miracle workerwherever you are in your journey
.
Let's worship him togetherright now.
be in church this morning, as God is working in
your life, he is working in you,he's working through you.
God is so good and it is sogood to see each and every one
of you.
I hope you had a great week.
We had a great week as a familyGot to celebrate Brooklyn's
sixth birthday, which was a lotof fun because we told her she
could go anywhere she wanted toto eat and she chose Burger King
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and we tried to talk her out ofit.
We tried to talk her out of it.
If you love Burger King, nooffense.
But I was like, baby, I can goin and get you the crown, Like
it's okay, right, we can goanywhere.
But she wanted Burger King andshe said maybe they'll sing to
me.
I'm like I don't know.
And we went in and it's hard toresist Brooklyn in a little
wheelchair and I just said, hey,she wanted to know if y'all
(00:42):
might sing for her and the twoladies behind the counter at
Burger King sang for Brooklyn,sang happy birthday.
Isn't that awesome, man?
I love it.
Even Burger King blesses people.
I love it, man.
God is so good.
We want to say a specialblessing over someone right now
and I just want to recognizethem.
I'm not going to call themforward because he would kill me
if I did.
But Eli Lightcap he has been onour staff for over about a year
(01:04):
and a half now.
He's about to graduate college,about to go into the workforce,
and obviously if he ever wantsa break, now's the time.
And so he's got about twomonths before he graduates and
so he is today's going to be hislast day on our staff before he
goes into the workforcefull-time later on.
Can we put our hands togetherand thank God for Eli Lightcap
(01:26):
and all that he has meant to uson our production and broadcast
team?
We're so thankful and it alsojust so happens today as well
that we get to celebrate PastorDave Berryhill, our Associate
Pastor of Finance.
He's in his 28th year ofministry here and his 50th year
of ministry and all.
(01:46):
We have a reception for himright after the service and
we'll open up the fellowshiphall doors and we'll be in here.
But we get to celebrate.
Pastor Dave, would you put yourhands together for Pastor Dave
Berryhill?
We are so thankful for him.
Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, we love youand God, we just believe that
you are here with us.
God, we believe that you have aword for us.
(02:07):
So, father, we pray thismorning that you would speak
through your Holy Spirit in thename of your Son, god.
All for your glory, god, we areyour church and this is your
word.
So we just pray that your workis done.
God, we love you and we praythese things in Jesus' name and
all God's people said amen.
We are in a series right nowcalled I Need a Miracle.
(02:27):
Look at somebody and say I needa miracle.
I need a miracle.
That is true of me, that istrue of you, and we all need a
miracle in our life, and we'retalking about different types of
miracles that we see Jesusdoing throughout the gospels.
Back at Christmas time, westarted talking about Jesus
around his birth and we're inthis mega Jesus series all the
(02:50):
way to Easter, his resurrection,and so right now we're talking
about the miracles that Jesusdid throughout the Gospel.
A couple of weeks ago we talkedabout the miracle of Jesus
calming the storm and Peterwalking on the water.
Last week we talked about Jesuscasting out demons.
I heard a pastor say one timehe said I've never cast a demon
out of a person, but I have senta middle schooler home from
(03:12):
camp and I'm pretty sure that'sthe same thing.
I just thought it was funny.
I thought it was funny, nooffense.
Middle schoolers, we love you.
Today we are talking about Jesusdoing a miracle that he
provides for our physical needs.
We're going to be talking aboutJesus the story of Jesus
feeding the 5,000.
Next week, how Jesus does ahealing of miracles over the
sick, and then after that, howJesus raises the dead, and so it
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is just so fun to walk throughall of these miracles of Jesus
together as a church.
I just wanna remind you, asI've already told a lot of your
stories that you've sent to me,make sure that you continue to
send in your stories.
I'm telling more this morningso we can tell more stories
throughout this series together.
Also, remember we have the INeed a Miracle wall out in our
(04:00):
Next Step area, station areathat you can write down your
miracle that you want God to do.
And then the last Sunday inMarch, that evening, 5 pm, march
the 30th, we're going to have anight of worship and prayer and
we're going to bring all themiracle prayer request tags down
and we're going to pray forthem all.
That God would do a miracletogether.
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If you believe that, say yeah,because that's what we want to
see God doing.
You know the greatest needs andwe're talking about Jesus doing
a miracle over the needs of yourlife, just some different needs
that people have in their life.
Today we're going to talk aboutthe feeding of the 5,000, so we
know that people today haveneeds around the world just
simply of food.
(04:41):
Other people have finances God,I just need you to move in my
finances.
God, I'm in debt, or I've got abig payment coming up.
Or, god, I need to provide more, whatever it might be.
Or maybe a job God, I need youto give me a job or get me out
of my job, or whatever it mightbe.
Housing Lord we need a house,we need an apartment.
We need a new house.
(05:02):
We need a different house.
Transportation God we need anew house.
We need a different house.
Transportation God I need morereliable transportation.
Or maybe it's kids.
Maybe it's someone in here thatyou want kids, or maybe there's
someone in here and you're likeGod, do something with my kids.
You know, whatever it might be,it may be your marriage, maybe
you want to be married, maybeyour marriage needs to be healed
, or maybe it's in terms ofrelationships in your life.
(05:25):
God, just he puts passages ofscripture in his word to remind
you in your life that he wantsto continue to do miracles that
only he can do in your life.
I love that story Maybe you'veheard it before of the little
lady that would come out of herhouse every morning and she
would pray because she didn'thave food.
(05:46):
And she would pray God, wouldyou just give me food that I
need for today?
And she would go out the nextday.
She'd pray out loud on herfront porch God, I pray that you
would provide food for me.
And she'd go out the next day.
God, I pray that you wouldprovide food for me.
And her neighbor was an atheistand he would watch this every
morning and he would never seeany food come out of heaven or
any food come to her door.
(06:06):
So he thought I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna do it.
So the atheist went to thegrocery store.
He bought the groceries.
The next morning when she cameout he had all the groceries
laid out on her front porch andshe came out and she praised God
.
She said God, thank you forproviding the food for me.
The atheist jumped out of thebushes.
He said God didn't provide thatfood for you.
I went to the grocery store, Ibought that food for you and I
(06:29):
put it there.
It wasn't God.
And the little old lady saidGod, you provided food for me
and you made the devil pay forit.
God, thank you so much, thankyou, thank you, thank you.
Isn't it awesome that God canuse anything to bring a miracle
into our life.
Can I get an amen?
Anything?
As we're going through thisseries, there's just some things
that God has taught me and Ipray that he's teaching you.
(06:49):
It's not just for me, it's notjust for you, it's for me and
it's not just for me, it's foryou.
It's not going to be on thescreen, but I just want to give
this to you, just a very quicktheology of miracles.
Write this down.
It's just going to be fivequick statements.
Number one I want you tobelieve that God can do any
miracle.
Believe that God can do anymiracle.
(07:11):
That's number one.
Number two so I wanna encourageyou to pray for any miracle.
Pray for any miracle you wantGod to do.
Number three worship God whileyou wait on your miracle.
Worship God while you wait onyour miracle.
Number four if God does themiracle, if he says yes to your
prayer, then you get to see thepower of God and you get to
glorify God.
But I want to remind you numberfive there are times that God
(07:32):
chooses not to do the miracle,and it's out of his wisdom,
because he has something evengreater, something even better
in store, because God can onlydo what is best.
And so when God doesn't do themiracle, then you glorify him
for his wisdom, because he choseto do what is best according to
his will.
So this morning, what I want totalk to you about is when you
(07:52):
are waiting on your miracle.
Everybody say waiting, when youare waiting on your miracle,
because this is the hardest part.
When you're waiting, you'rewondering God, what are you
going to do?
And sometimes we're not surewhat to do when we wait and I
think that's what this story inGod's word is all about when you
are waiting on your miracle.
In fact, here's what'sinteresting the feeding of the
(08:13):
5,000,.
You can turn with me to Mark,chapter six.
The feeding of the 5,000 is theonly miracle of Jesus repeated
in all four gospels.
It's the only one.
They all tell differentmiracles and some of them.
There's a miracle in two orthree of them, but this is the
only one.
That is the same miracle in allfour.
In other words, I think thatJesus really wants you to know
(08:34):
and to believe and to understandthis miracle in your life.
If you believe that, say yeah.
So here we go.
The only repeated miracle inall of the four Gospels.
When you're waiting on yourmiracle number one, the word is
wait.
Everyone say wait Because it'sinteresting.
Wait actually means somethingdifferent in the Bible than it
(08:54):
does in our English language.
The word wait means somethingdifferent to Jesus than it does
to you.
Mark, chapter 6, verse 30, saysthe apostles returned to Jesus
and they told him all that theyhad done and taught.
Now, earlier in the chapter inMark, chapter 6, it says that
Jesus sent them out two by twoto do ministry.
(09:17):
You know Jesus' goals with thedisciple wasn't just to keep
them close to him, but he keptthem close to him to teach them,
so that he could send them outto do ministry.
And that's why he does thatwith you.
Jesus calls you closer so thatyou can learn from him, you can
live with him and you can becomelike him so that he can send
you out and you can do ministryin your life and in your
(09:39):
community.
That's what he's called you todo as a disciple.
He's called you to be amissionary wherever it is that
you live, so you can feel theexcitement of these disciples.
They come back.
The Bible says that they've goneout and they've taught many
things.
The Bible says that they havecasted out demons, that they
have healed the sick.
Jesus gave them authority to dothat.
(10:01):
He's not giving me authority toheal the sick or cast out
demons.
If he has you, I would like totalk to you.
Let's meet this week if we can.
And so he sends them out.
They come back.
They're all excited Verse 31,.
And you won't believe whatJesus says next.
In verse 31, he said to thembecause they're all excited,
tell them about everything thathappened.
He said I want you to come awayby yourselves to a desolate
(10:23):
place and to rest a while, formany were coming.
What is Jesus saying?
Jesus saying you have beenserving me so hard, you've been
serving me so strong, but youcan't work forever.
Jesus says when you work hard,you gotta rest hard.
Notice that, jesus, as you areserving Jesus, jesus cares about
(10:46):
your rest.
Jesus doesn't just want you toserve him every single second
and serving others every singlesecond of every day.
Jesus also wants you to stopand he wants you to spend time
with him.
That's what God callsSabbathing.
That's what God calls restingtaking a day a week or even
resting in an evening time orwhatever it might be, but just
(11:07):
stopping and saying God, you'vegot this.
And resting in Jesus Christ.
He cares about our rest.
Jesus is telling his discipleshey, why don't we go on a little
vacay, getaway?
Vacations are biblical.
Amen.
I mean, man, god is so good.
And so he says why don't wecome away?
Because y'all have been so busy.
You haven't even had a chanceto eat.
(11:28):
They were exhausted.
You feel exhausted today.
You feel tired today.
Have you been going hard?
Have you been working long?
Verse 32, and it says and theywent away in a boat to a
desolate place by themselves.
Not only are vacations biblical, but so are cruises.
Can I get an amen?
They got on a boat with Jesus.
(11:49):
Man, they are getting away.
Where's all my cruise?
People in the room Raise yourhand.
Have you read the articlesabout?
Like the senior adults, theydon't put their money into the
assisted living.
They just hop from cruise tocruise to cruise.
I can get on board with that.
That's a dad joke, don't worryabout it.
Okay, so that is my kind oflife, right there.
That's what I'm talking about.
The question is see, here'swhat's happening in the
(12:10):
disciples' life.
They're exhausted, they'retired, they don't feel like they
have anything left.
Jesus sees it, jesus loves them, jesus cares, jesus says let's
get away.
They were in the middle oftheir testimony.
They needed a miracle.
They had been, jesus had beendoing miracles through them.
Now was the time that Jesuswanted to do a miracle for them,
that Jesus said I'm gonna getyou away and I'm gonna get you
(12:32):
guys some rest.
In other words, are you findingyourself today in the middle of
your miracle?
Are you finding yourself todayin the middle of your story?
I remember there was a day in mylast church I was the pastor of
one of the campuses and Iremember we had a prayer and a
worship night and they calledfive or six different families
(12:53):
to get up and to share theirtestimony and the worship
department put it together andthey asked, michelle and I, my
wife and I to be the last onesto share our testimony and we
didn't know what everybody elsewas gonna say.
And they all got up and theyall talked about this miraculous
story, about how they had thisproblem and God did a miracle.
And man look at God.
And we get up and one of thefirst times in my life I don't
(13:17):
know what to say, and I'm thepastor, I'm speechless, because
we were in the middle of ourmiracle and we weren't exactly
sure what to say because wedidn't know the end of our story
.
It was the beginning of ourinfertility journey.
It was where we were about, inthe middle of our adoption
journey, and we did not knowwhat God was going to do.
And so all we could telleverybody was we're in the
(13:39):
middle of our miracle.
We don't know what God's gonnado.
God may answer our prayers andhe may not in the way that we
want him to, but either way, godis good and God is enough.
What do you do when you wait?
Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 31,you can write it down says but
(14:01):
they who wait, everyone say wait.
They who wait upon the Lordshall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wingslike eagles.
They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint.
The word wait is quavah.
Everyone say quavah.
The Hebrew word for wait isquavah.
Quavah means, on one hand, itmeans to wait in terms of being
(14:23):
patient, to wait in terms ofbeing patient, to wait in terms
of resting, to wait in terms ofstopping, but it also has a
different connotation.
They're both equally true ofthe word kavah.
And it means to wait in termsof serving, like a server
waiting on tables.
So, in other words, what do wedo when we're waiting on our
(14:45):
miracle?
We're resting in Jesus, we'repatient for him to provide,
we're trusting in Jesus in themeantime, but we're not stopping
serving, worshiping Jesus andhelping others for God to do a
work in their life too.
We're waiting, which is theboth end.
It is resting and it is serving.
If you're listening, say yeah,which means that life is a
(15:07):
balance of time with Jesus andministry for Jesus.
Your life is a balance of timewith Jesus.
You're spending time with himto get filled with Jesus, so
Jesus can send you and you cango into ministry for Jesus.
That's what we do when we arewaiting on our miracle.
The second thing we do iscompassion.
(15:27):
Everyone say compassion,compassion.
This is a very interesting wordin the Bible, in verse 33 of
Mark 6,.
It says now many saw them goingand recognized them and they ran
their on foot from all thetowns and got there ahead of
them.
What's happening?
Jesus and the disciples are onthe cruise ship.
They're going on their vacaygetaway.
(15:48):
They're sailing along the shorelooking for a desolate place
there on land, and there areliterally thousands of people
that recognize the disciples,recognize Jesus, all the
miracles that they had done, andthe crowd is literally can you
believe this?
Running along the shore andkeeping up with the boat.
So they're keeping up with theboat and literally the Bible
(16:11):
says that the crowd beats Jesusand the disciples to their port,
to their dock, where they weregoing to take their vacation
excursion.
And so there's the crowdwaiting for them and the
disciples.
You know that they're mad atthis point, right, because Jesus
promised them a getawayvacation.
But the crowd saw them, noticedthem, chased them.
(16:36):
And that's exactly what peopledo.
Hear me, when God is workingand changing people's lives,
people can't help but want to bea part of it, because everybody
wants their life changed insome supernatural way.
If you believe that, say yeah,see what God does in you, god
(16:57):
wants to do through you in thelife of someone else.
It says when Jesus went ashorehe saw a great crowd, we know.
Later on they tell us that itwas feeding the 5,000, but
remember the 5,000 were just5,000 men.
There were also women andchildren that were there,
historians and theologians, andall that, and tell us that this
(17:19):
could be upwards to 30,000people.
So there are the disciples onthe boat.
They need a miracle.
They're exhausted, they'retired, they're starving, they're
hungry.
And here is Jesus.
He sees the crowd and Jesuscannot help himself.
Jesus values the crowd evenmore than he values rest.
He recognizes them as they ranthere and he goes ashore and he
(17:43):
sees them and he has compassionupon them.
The Bible says, because theywere like sheep without a
shepherd and he began to teachthem many things.
The word compassion issplagthonzomai.
I will not ask you to repeat itfor the person's sake in front
of you.
Splagthonsomai is the Greekword and it literally means that
(18:04):
Jesus was moved with compassion.
In other words, he felt itdeeply in his heart, he felt it
in his soul, he felt thecompassion for them in his gut.
In other words, that's howJesus feels about you.
Don't ever let the devil tellyou how Jesus feels about you.
When Jesus looks at you, helooks at you with compassion,
(18:28):
with love.
Jesus loves you more deeplythan you could ever realize,
than you could ever comprehend,than you could ever understand.
Jesus has compassion on thepeople and, it says, because
they were like sheep without ashepherd.
In other words, jesus looks outto the people and he sees that
they are aimless, they'rehopeless, they're just wandering
(18:52):
in different directions.
They don't have a leader, theydon't have a shepherd, someone
who truly, seriously cares fortheir soul and can provide for
their eternity.
And Jesus has compassion onthem because Jesus desires to be
their shepherd.
John 10 says that Jesus is thegood shepherd.
He knows his sheep, his sheepknows him.
(19:14):
He lays down his life for thesheep.
His sheep hears his voice andthey follow him.
Don't you think that Jesus ranup and hugged as many of the
30,000 possible people that hecould have?
Don't you think that Jesusphysically cared for them and
loved them, but at the same time, the Bible says that he did
what was absolutely best forthem, that he taught them many
(19:39):
things?
The most important thing thatJesus can do for you is to teach
you the most important thingyou can do with Jesus is just to
get in his word and to get intoprayer and let Jesus speak to
you and let Jesus teach you why?
Because Jesus wants to pour outhis compassion upon you.
He is even compassionate aboutthe little things, the little
(20:03):
prayer requests in your life.
One of you sent me this story.
One of you said I'm not a fanof morning commutes.
Remote work has been a blessingto.
This.
Person Said no traffic means nostress, they said.
But now I have to go back tothe office every day in Atlanta.
Monday morning I get in my carand I am praying on my way to
Atlanta and I'm claiming thepromises of Jesus.
(20:25):
Why?
Because they probably want tocast the demons out of the
Atlanta traffic, I would imagine.
Said ask, he's claiming thepromises of Jesus.
Ask anything in my name and itwill be given to you.
This man asked for a smooth,stress-free drive.
He said he turns on hisdevotional right after he prays
and the first scripture was John14, one don't let your hearts
(20:46):
be troubled, john 14, 14,.
Ask anything in my name and Iwill do it.
He said it was a sign.
He said the drive went great toAtlanta.
Jesus casted out the demons.
So the next day, tuesday, hisdrive, he prayed again, turned
on his devotion.
He said, immediately, playedJohn 16, 23,.
My father will give youwhatever I ask in my name John
(21:10):
16, 24, ask and you'll receive,and your joy will be complete.
And this person said well, myjoy is complete because he had a
stress-free drive going back tothe office.
He said God still speaksthrough his word.
And he said God cared about me.
He cares about you the bigthings, he cares about you the
little things in his life.
Why?
Because he has compassion uponyou.
(21:30):
So here's what I need us tounderstand this morning is that
you are called to receiveJesus's compassion for you.
Receive it, jesus, I believe it, jesus, I receive it.
You can't feel it unless youbelieve it, unless you receive
it.
But the point isn't just toreceive it.
The point is to reflect ittoward other people.
The word compassion, heresplagphanzomai, is a word that
(21:55):
is only used for Jesus in theBible.
In other words, only Jesus isthe source of this compassion
and only Jesus can give you thiscompassion for other people
when you go to restaurants, whenyou go to grocery stores, when
you just go out and about, whenyou go to your job, when you go
to a sporting event, whereveryou are, just look around and
you will see sheep without ashepherd who are desperate for
(22:19):
Jesus.
And just as you have receivedhis compassion, you can give his
compassion to others.
So number one wait.
Number two was there withcompassion.
Number three is the wordthrough.
Everyone say through.
Number three is through.
John 6, 35 says and when it grewlate, his disciples came to him
.
35 says and when it grew late,his disciples came to him, came
(22:40):
to Jesus, and said this is adesolate place and the hour is
late, so send them away to gointo the surrounding countryside
and villages and buy themselvessomething to eat.
It's kind of funny to me,because you can tell like the
disciples are a little bitcompassionate, but mostly
sarcastic, right, like a littlebit like Jesus.
They all look hungry to us.
(23:00):
What's happening?
Jesus is talking for a verylong time.
He's talking until thenighttime.
Jesus is long-winded.
If you think I preach long, I'mjust trying to be like Jesus.
Can I get an amen?
Right, that's what he does.
Right, and so Jesus is teachingall of these truths to all of
these people and us.
Right, and so Jesus is teachingall of these truths to all of
these people.
And the disciples are lookingat their watches, like is this
(23:21):
vacation going to happen or not?
Like are we going on thiscruise or are we just going to
stay here?
And so they see a littlecompassion, jesus.
They look hungry to us,probably an excuse.
Really, what the disciples aresaying is send them away so we
can go on vacay, so we can gohit the cruise up again.
Verse 37,.
Don't you love it when Jesussays something you don't expect
(23:43):
and often it's not what youdon't want to hear.
Jesus comes back and he said oh, they're hungry, are they?
He said why don't you give themsomething to eat?
Wait, wait a second, jesus,like you told us that we had
been serving.
You told us that we had beenworking.
You told us that you were gonnaget us some rest.
And, jesus, there could be30,000 people out here and it
(24:05):
would take 200 denarii for us tofeed all of these people.
That could be $20,000 in ourmoney.
Today.
We checked our togas.
We don't have it.
Jesus, 20,000.
We ain't got it.
So how do you expect us to feedthem?
And Jesus, in this moment,flipped the script and he was
(24:25):
teaching the disciples somethingincredibly important that you
and I need to learn, and I wannabe honest with you.
I've never seen this in thepassage before, I've never heard
anyone say this before, butthis is what Jesus showed me
this week, and I believe it wasfor me and I believe it was for
you.
And here's what I think thatJesus is saying that Jesus
didn't just want to do a miraclefor them, he also wanted to do
(24:48):
a miracle through them.
See, here's the deal is that weget all caught up I get all
caught up, sinfully in themiracle that I need fleshly, to
where I am fixated, to where I'mfocused.
Jesus, I need you to do thisfor me that I forget or even
have compassion upon people thatneed a miracle too.
And so what Jesus is teachingme is Jesus, he's saying to me
(25:10):
that, jesus, I want Chip, I wantto do miracles for you, but you
need me to do miracles throughyou just to serve other people,
to provide for other people, tolove other people, to witness to
other people.
Someone wrote this week andthey said in 2020,.
My life as a salon owner came toa halt, but the real storm
(25:32):
started long before.
They said within seven months.
We lost six family members inseven months, including my
husband's father, who hadsecretly battled cancer, she
said.
At the same time, my littlesister was spiraling into
addiction.
The weight of grief wassuffocating.
When COVID shut everything down, we felt God leading us to
(25:52):
start our lives in Oregon, overin Georgia.
So we took the leap, trustinghim.
But everything went wrong.
Our home flooded, a dishonestcontractor scammed us and our
son battled a terrifying,undiagnosed illness, she said.
I was at my breaking point.
I cried out to God in anger,questioning everything she said.
(26:16):
But in the middle of mydesperation, jesus met me.
Jesus led us to a treatmentthat helped our son.
And through it all, she said,he gave me an unexpected gift a
miraculous ability to paint, andwe started as an outlet for my
grief, turned into a career, nowproviding for my son's medical
(26:38):
needs.
Life didn't go as planned, butGod uses every struggle for his
purpose, even in the suffering,she says.
God is still good.
There are still miracles thatGod is yet to do in this family,
and here's what I love.
They just joined our worshipteam.
She just joined as a singer.
She just joined as a singer, hejust joined as a guitarist and
(27:01):
even while they're waiting forGod to do more miracles in their
life, they are serving God inthe waiting.
That it's not just what Godwants to do for them, but it's
also what God wants to dothrough them.
He answered and he said yougive them something to eat and
200 denarii.
They said that's what it'sgoing to cost.
So Jesus didn't want to dosomething for them, but through
(27:23):
them Mark 6, 38.
And he said to them how manyloaves do you have?
Go and see.
And when they had found out,they said five and two.
We know in the gospel of Johnthis came from a little boy.
Here's what I find thisinteresting when Jesus wants to
do something through me orsomething through you sometimes,
here's how we feel Jesus, Idon't have the emotional
(27:44):
capacity to give anybodyanything else right now.
Jesus, I don't have anything tooffer Jesus, I don't have
anything left.
I don't have anything to give.
I don't have anythingemotionally.
I don't have anythingphysically.
I don't have anythingemotionally.
I don't have anythingphysically.
I don't have anything mentally.
(28:04):
I don't have anythingphysically.
Spiritually, jesus, I am justspent.
Isn't it interesting that Jesusdidn't provide through the
apostles?
In other words.
They found a little boy.
The little boy gave them thebread and the fish.
And then Jesus said in verse 39,he said then he commanded them,
all the people, to sit down ingroups on the green grass.
So they sat down in groups byhundreds and fifties.
This is very significant thathe mentions here in Mark.
(28:26):
Notice how Jesus did not justfeed people individually.
Everyone just sit down and I'mgoing to feed you.
Why?
Because they would just eat thefood and they would have a meal
and they would not know exactlywhat had happened, but because
Jesus sat them down in groups ofhundreds and fifties.
People were sitting incommunities.
So they're sitting and they'retalking and they're eating and
(28:49):
they're experiencing thismiracle together in the midst of
community.
That's what I believe that Godloves to do miracles within the
context of community.
That's what I believe that Godloves to do miracles within the
context of community.
We see this happen all the timewhen people get together in,
like Sunday schools andconnection groups and groups and
Bible studies and all thesethings that we offer in our
(29:11):
church and that other churchesoffer.
When you get together withbelievers, god just seems to do
amazing things in people's lives.
Someone sent me this story justtwo days ago.
They said this past summer my80-year-old mother faced a
life-threatening emergency aruptured colon caused by a tumor
that had been growing for years.
(29:32):
Before surgery, the nursesgathered around her and prayed.
The surgery was successful, butshe went into septic shock and
for a week doctors weren't sureif she would even survive.
Yet against all odds, she didsurvive.
Icu nurses kept telling her youshouldn't be alive.
God has you here for a reason.
(29:54):
Through every step 52 days inthe hospital, a month in rehab,
33 rounds of radiation, 12rounds of chemo she was
surrounded by prayer.
Her church family at MacklinBaptist, our church, first
Baptist Church, powder Springs,sunday school classes and even
hospital staff lifted her up.
Her hospital room was linedwith over a hundred
(30:15):
prayer-filled cards for her andshe used every one of them as an
opportunity to share the gospelwith other people.
Her goal was to simply livelong enough to see her grandson
get married on March 22nd.
But this morning this personwrote me.
On this day, just this week,just one week before the wedding
(30:35):
, her doctor gave her the newsshe is now cancer free.
The tumor is completely gone,completely gone, she said,
through surgery, healing, prayerand the love of God's people.
She is living proof that Godmoves through community.
(30:56):
We prayed, he answered and tohim be all the glory.
I've seen this before when youget to be a part of a group,
when you get in Christiancommunity with other people, god
loves it.
When his kids love one anotherand when you pray for one
another like that, I have seenpeople healed.
I have seen people saved, Ihave seen children return home.
(31:18):
I've seen God do miracles,providing in so many different
ways.
And I have seen whencommunities get together and
pray for miracles and Goddoesn't do it.
And that's when the communitiescome together even tighter and
they support one another andthey console one another and
they comfort one another becauseyou're there for one another
and you encourage one another.
(31:39):
If God's not doing the miracle,then that means that God has
something greater in store.
God loves to do miracles withinthe context of community and he
loves to do miracles throughhis people.
So, number one wait.
Number two compassion.
Number three here we see thatGod wants to work through you.
(31:59):
And number four is satisfied.
Everyone say satisfied.
Last point and we're done.
Verse 41,.
And taking the five loaves andthe two fish, jesus looked up to
heaven and said a blessing.
In other words, even Jesusneeded his father to do this
miracle, just like you need Godto do a miracle in your life.
Jesus broke the loaves and hegave them to the disciples to
(32:21):
set before the people and hedivided the two fish among them
all.
Here's what's interesting.
Jesus said why don't you feedthem?
The disciples said it'simpossible.
$20,000, 30,000 people we couldnever feed a crowd like this.
And here they are doing it Allin only Christ, because of the
(32:47):
power of Jesus.
In Mark, chapter six, verse 42,says and they all everyone say
all and they all ate.
And they were say it with mesatisfied, do you know?
The word satisfied in the Greekchortazo means that you are
hear me abundantly filled,physically, emotionally,
(33:19):
mentally, spiritually.
Another definition of this wordis just to simply be stuffed.
In other words, you're so fullof Jesus.
Jesus has given you so much ofhimself that you're satisfied,
because nothing else could eversatisfy you besides him.
This story is a reminder to usthat only Jesus can fully
(33:43):
satisfy the deepest needs ofyour soul.
I even wanna say something verystrongly that you'll just have
to forgive me Jesus will evensatisfy you more deeply
personally, than the miracle youwant him to do for you, jesus,
is the deepest satisfaction ofyour very soul.
(34:06):
So one thing I have to remindmyself, and one thing I want to
encourage you to remind yourself, is let's not get so fixated
and focused on the miracles thatwe need, even though we need
them and even though we pray forthem, and even though we ask
God for them and even though webelieve for them.
But let's not forget, as wewait to have compassion upon
(34:29):
other people, that God wants towork miracles through you in
their life too, and that Godwants to satisfy you in the way,
even through the way, that youserve him.
Someone wrote me their story acouple of weeks ago that said
there have been moments where Ihave stopped in my tracks,
questioning my path, strugglingwith loss, longing for answers
(34:53):
that I may never receive, theysaid.
I cried out in pain, searchingfor understanding, but in the
silence.
Jesus, you came.
Jesus, you came to remind me tobelieve, to trust, to have
faith.
Jesus, you came to remind me tobelieve, to trust, to have
faith.
Jesus, you've given and you'vetaken, but it's never been
(35:15):
without your purpose.
Jesus, you have surrounded mewith love, even as Jesus, you
have called others home.
You have given me the assurancethat one day I will be with you
, jesus.
And then again they said so.
I pause, I listen and I trustbecause, jesus, you are enough.
(35:37):
Only Jesus can satisfy thedeepest needs and longings of
your soul.
This is the most fascinatingpart of the whole passage.
This is the most fascinatingpart of the whole passage.
And they took up 12 baskets fullof broken pieces of the bread
and of the fish.
And I read everybody this weekwhy are there 12 baskets?
(36:00):
Nobody can explain it.
There's a lot of speculation.
This is why I think it isBecause the disciples were in
the middle of their miracle.
They needed a miracle and Jesussaid I'm gonna take you away.
But while they were going away,jesus said now I need you to
serve again.
And so now they feel depleted,now they feel empty, and now
they just feel like that.
They're caught in this rat raceof constantly serving and Jesus
(36:23):
saying no, I've got somethingfor you, but I wanna do
something through you.
And at the very end of thestory, they didn't just get a
piece of bread and a fish.
Jesus handed each of hisdisciples a whole basket of
bread and fish.
And Jesus is saying I'm going totake care of you.
(36:46):
I'm going to give you more thanenough.
You, I'm going to give you morethan enough.
I'm going to give you all of me.
Trust me, wait for me, serve me, show my compassion to others,
show them, through yourself, themiracles that God can do in
(37:08):
their life, and I'll satisfy youand I'll satisfy them.
And that's why he calls us towait, to show compassion, the
things that God wants to dothrough you and how God wants to
satisfy you, because themiracle isn't the point of the
story.
Jesus the miracle worker is.
We need Jesus the miracleworker is.
(37:31):
We need Jesus the miracleworker more than we need the
miracle itself.
We don't use Jesus for miracles.
We go to Jesus for miracles,but we pursue Jesus because he
is the only one that can satisfythe deepest needs of our very
(37:55):
soul.
I'm gonna ask us all to bow ourheads and close our eyes, with
every head bowed and every eyeclosed.
Maybe you're here today and youdeeply, desperately, need God to
do this miracle in your lifeand you're waiting, and you're
(38:20):
in the middle of your story andyou don't know how it's going to
turn out.
And this morning, maybe youjust need to tell God.
God, while I wait, I'll serveyou, use me in the lives of
others, but, god, I pray thatyou would satisfy me in you.
(38:43):
Satisfy me, god, with yourself.
And maybe you're here thismorning and you can't pray that
prayer yet, because you haven'tgiven your life to Jesus.
And you want this Jesus, youwant a relationship with Jesus,
you want Jesus to do thesethings in your life and to make
your life count and matter, likehe's doing with the disciples,
(39:04):
like he's doing with hischildren, with his believers.
So maybe this morning is themorning that Jesus can do the
greatest miracle in your life,and he will not tell you to wait
.
He will tell you yes, right now, he will do this miracle in you
.
He promises right now, and thatis when you give your life to
him, he will save you thegreatest miracle he could ever
do for you.
So, right here, right now, Iwant to encourage you just pray
(39:27):
to the Lord Jesus and just say,jesus, if you've never done this
before Jesus, I believe thatyou died on the cross for my
sins and I ask you to forgive meall of my sin.
Jesus, I believe that you rosefrom the dead.
And so, jesus, I give my lifeto you and I believe in you.
I believe that you're my Lord,I believe that you're my God, I
(39:51):
believe that you're my God, Ibelieve that you're my Savior.
And the Bible says that if youconfess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord, believe with yourheart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved.
Jesus, we thank you for that.
We love you in Jesus' name.
And all God's people said putyour hands together.
Put your hands together foranybody that gave their life to
(40:13):
Jesus.
This morning, we're so thankfulfor all that God is doing.
I just want to ask you to standup right now, and we're going
to worship Jesus together herein just a minute.
But I just want you right now,just to focus on him and just to
remember that he is the onlymiracle worker in your life, and
Jesus out of his wisdom.
(40:34):
He has a purpose for his timing, he has a purpose for his will,
he has a purpose for what he isdoing in you, in the way and in
the time that he does it.
And so, while you're waiting,you get to worship him this
morning.
Let's worship Jesus if he'sdone the miracle.
Let's worship Jesus if you'rewaiting on the miracle, because
(40:57):
he's the same miracle workerwherever you are in your journey
.
Let's worship him togetherright now.
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