Lord, I Need You - May 31, 2015 sermon

By Pastor Greg

While attending a marriage seminar on communication, Jim and his wife listened to the instructor declare: "It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other."  He addressed the men: "For instance, gentlemen, can you name your wife's favorite flower?"  Jim leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "Pillsbury All – Purpose, isn't it?"  Later that day Jim could be heard muttering, “Lord, could You help me get out of this mess”.

There are times in our lives when we most certainly need the Lord, and there are times when we should rely on the Lord.  The mature Christian has learned to tell the difference.  In the same way, a church certainly needs the Lord, but it is the mature Church that has learned to rely upon the Lord.

One of the marks of a mature Christian is the ability to see the needs around them.  A mature church recognizes its responsibility to care for the people of this world.  However, this ability to see the physical and spiritual needs of others can be problematic.  We see the need and, at times, the need is far greater than we imagined.  The need looms before us as a mountain not easily moved.  Seeing the need, concerned Christians come to the Lord exclaiming, “Lord, do something about this problem”.  However, just like the Apostles, I wonder if we are prepared for the Lord’s reply.

One day, while Jesus was teaching a large crowd of people, everyone was getting hungry and tired.  Aware of the problem, the apostles came to Jesus with their solution.  However, Jesus had something else in mind.

Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.” But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” They did so, and had them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full [1] (Luke 9:12-17).

Rather than focus on the miracle, I want to focus on how the apostles responded to Jesus’ command.  Did you notice what they did?  According to Mark’s account, there were 5,000 men and their families (Mark 6:44).  Philip the Apostle said it would take more than 7 months of wages to have enough money to feed the crowd (see John 6:7).  The Apostle Andrew found a young boy who was willing share his sack lunch, but that was hardly enough to feed the crowd (John 6:8).  I can almost picture their frustration.  They show Jesus the mountain, yet Jesus tells them to move it - asking them to do something impossible.  There was no way they were able to fulfill the Lord’s command to feed the crowd.  And yet they did.

Do you think Jesus was surprised to learn that they were broke?  Did the apparent lack of money catch Him off guard?  Of course not.  He knew the group had limited finances, but that didn’t stop Him from giving the command.  Although they objected and pointed out their obvious lack of resources, the apostles obeyed Jesus’ command knowing full well just how much food was back in the kitchen.  This is significant because the apostles began following the Lord’s command long before the food was supplied.  Actually, Jesus only supplied a small amount at a time.  The apostles had to keep coming back to Jesus for more food (see Luke 9:16 – Kept giving).

When I think about mountain moving faith, the feeding of the 5,000 is at the top of my list.  I just can’t imagine the amount of faith it took to walk out into the crowd and begin a ministry with only five loaves of bread and two small fish back in the lunch wagon.  Picture the faith of these apostles as Jesus continued to supply the food.  Their faith in Christ would grow stronger and stronger each time they would come back for more.  And each time, their faith and joy would be multiplied.  Their cry of “Lord, I need You” changed from one of desperation to one of praise.  I wonder . . . had they not obeyed Jesus’ command, would the miracle have even taken place?  I guess we will never know.

This is not some cute story designed to make us feel good about Jesus.  This is a lesson on what kind of relationship we can expect with Jesus.  Just as he commanded the apostles, so too will He command us.  “You feed them,” He will say – giving us an impossible task.  So in response to this teaching, allow me to make several observations and ask a few questions.

1.   What would a church look like if it possessed this kind of mountain moving faith?  How would that church react to the needs it sees all around it?  How would that church respond to the Lord’s command to minister to those needs?  I suppose that church would respond much like the apostles did.  They would begin ministering to those in the community trusting the Lord to supply what was necessary.  They would begin even though they lacked the resources ahead of time.  They would continually place their faith and trust in Jesus to supply the need.

2.   What happens when a church places its faith in what can be reasonably accomplished?  When I say “reasonably accomplished” I am thinking about churches that look at the five loaves of bread and the two fish, then design a ministry to fit that size.  Unfortunately, that is not mountain moving faith.  That’s merely trusting in ourselves and in our abilities.  When ministries are designed based upon what we already have, we minister to ourselves, at best.  The bread and the fish may have simply fed the Apostles and no one else.  In order to feed the crowd, the apostles had to stop listening to their excuses and instead listen to what the Lord said would happen.  The crowd would be fed, He said.  The mountain would be moved.  A church that only trusts in its bank account will never experience mountain moving faith.

3.   What happens when a church neglects to consult Jesus?  In way too many churches, a need is recognized, plans are made, funds are given, and the ministry is launched.  However, nowhere along the way is Jesus consulted.  This is what many churches miss – the clear direction given by Jesus.  The Apostles clearly brought the concern to the Lord, and then He gave the instruction.  Remember, it is the Lord who moves the mountain through us.  A church must come to Jesus with a concern and respond as He leads and directs.

4.   Is it foolish to begin a ministry without first having what is necessary to begin?  I know this sounds like foolishness, but it is only foolish from a worldly point of view.  Jesus demonstrated here that He would supply what is necessary for His followers to accomplish a ministry.  Remember, they came to Jesus with the need.  Jesus is the one who said, “Let’s get started” before the food was supplied.  When the Lord directs a church into a ministry, that church must believe the Lord will provide what is needed to accomplish that ministry.  And when that Church begins ministering in faith, mountains are moved.  The community around the church is changed and the lives of the Christians in that church are transformed.  Nothing builds faith faster and stronger than having the Lord supply what is necessary for a church to change a community.

5.   If I may ask one last question, what does this say about us or other churches with similar circumstances?  What is keeping a church from feeding the 5,000 when they have already been given an abundant supply?  When a church has a large savings account, why are they not moving mountains?  If the Lord has already supplied the seed, why are they not out sowing?

As we have looked at the many examples of people who possessed Mountain Moving faith, their lessons become examples for us.  Their situations may have been different, but the faith required is the same.  Like the great cloud of witnesses who have lived before us, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus as well.  The Lord may not walk among us as He did with the apostles, but the needs in this world remain the same.  The hopeless need hope.  The fearful need strength.  The helpless need help.  The lost need saved.  The hungry need fed.  The homeless need shelter.  The needs of this world loom before us – a Mountain too great to be moved on our own.  Yet the Lord, in His wisdom, has asked His Church to Move this Mountain by allowing Him to work through humble saints.

The Lord, in His wisdom, planted us in this community for a reason.  He has opened our eyes to a need.  We’ve come to Him in prayer mentioning this need.  We feel that He has directed us to minister to the children in this community that do not know the Lord or have drifted away from the Lord.  Yet, this task seems like an immovable mountain.  Have we come to Jesus trusting that He will supply what we need to minister to these children?  Have we placed our faith in Jesus to move that mountain through us?  Since it appears the Lord already supplied us with what we need to accomplish this, let’s get started moving a mountain.

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^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Lk 9:12–17). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.