Lessons Not to Miss from Dinner

June 13, 2021

Lessons Not to Miss from Dinner
Following the Servant
Mark 6:30-44

“O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!”                                                                                                               Jeremiah 32:17

 “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”                                                      Luke 18:27

Apart from Jesus’ resurrection, this is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels (Matt 14:13-21; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13).  Ideally, a time of rest follows a time of ministry; it’s good to reach out to others, but we also have to make sure we’re physically rested and spiritually filled as we serve.  As we minister to others, we start with what we have, and we trust God to multiply what we offer to Him.  Like in each of Jesus’ miracles, in the feeding of the five thousand we see demonstrated Jesus’ love and care as well as His control over creation, and it shows that God will always make a way, even in an impossible situation.

John 6:15

1.    A time to is biblical (vv. 30-32)

When you see God use you, !

“If we don’t come apart, we will come apart.”                                                            -Vance Havner

Make sure you take your .

2.   We’re called to be kindhearted and (vv. 33-37)

Numbers 27:16, 17

Jesus is the rejoicing Shepherd of Luke 15:4-6
Jesus is the “good shepherd” of John 10:11
Jesus is the “chief Shepherd” of 1 Peter 5:4
Jesus is the “great Shepherd” of Hebrews 13:20
Jesus is the Shepherd Lamb of Revelation 7:17

People have spiritual needs that we should be aware of and .

John 6:6

3.   We’re to do whatever we can to meet people’s needs (vv. 38-44)

People have physical needs that we should meet as we have .

Matthew 25:31-46

Even in their unbelief, the disciples did .

“Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,”                                                                                    2 Corinthians 3:5

God will allow problems to invade our lives that are beyond what we can handle because He wants us to .

“Jesus looked at the situation, not as a problem, but as an opportunity to trust the Father and glorify His name.”
-Warren Wiersbe

Matthew 4:4

John 6:49-51

The point of His miracles is to show us His .

What’s something going on in your life right now that seems as impossible to you as trying to feed 15,000 people with a handful of bread and a few fish?

Put your bread and fish in His hands, , and be obedient to His Word!

 

Daily Meditations
 
Memory verse: “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” Mark 6:34
 
Monday
Read Mark 6:30-44.  What do you think was Jesus’ purpose in having the apostles report about their mission? 
 
 
What benefit is there in sharing failures with a group? What benefit in sharing successes?
 
 
Do you have a tendency to work too much or too little? 
 
 
Tuesday
Read Mark 6:30-44.  When Jesus invited the disciples to come away to a remote place, what does that say about the balance of work and rest?
 
      
What would be your ideal timing for periods of rest? 
 
 
What kind of activity in what kind of place restores your spiritual energy and equips you to resume ministry with renewed energy?
 
 
Wednesday
Read Mark 6:30-44.  How is a spiritual sabbatical different from a vacation? Can the two be combined?
 
 
Have there ever been times that you were so tired you seemed to have no compassion? 
 
 
What is the remedy for this deficiency?
 
 
Thursday
Read Mark 6:30-44.  Are peoples’ “felt needs” sometimes different from what they really need? How can you determine what are the real needs of the people to whom you minister?
         
 
How can we meet the physical needs of people without that being the only focus? 
 
 
How can we advance the gospel of salvation without neglecting the physical needs of people? 
 
 
 
Friday
Read Mark 6:30-44.  How is the response of the crowd a warning for us (see also John 6:15,26-27)?
 
 
How did Jesus keep the feeding of the five thousand from being something more than just meeting their physical needs? 
 
 
Was the miracle for the benefit of the crowd or for the disciples (see Mark 8:16-21) or both?  Why?
 
Saturday
Read Mark 6:30-44.  Have you ever known of a situation where the resources and manpower were clearly inadequate to complete the ministry task that God had unquestionably assigned? What happened?
      
 
What are some events that have brought you the most spiritual encouragement and prompted the most praise to God? 
 
 
Have these situations often come out of impossible challenges?

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