I’m going to turn it over to you here, Chris, And if you just want to share with the young people what God’s put in your heart. Okay, thank you, Bob.

There’s a passage of scripture that has been very encouraging to me. The Lord brought it to my attention when I was in college and, you know, as a young person. And really, to be honest with you, it’s been one of the mainstays for me, even going into evangelism and then pastoring a church in Ireland and being involved even in evangelism there and in the broader European area. You know, it’s amazing to see what God is able to do in this world. And, you know, I’m going to be looking at Matthew chapter 14. I trust it will be an encouragement to you. You know, a lot of times when Jesus did a miracle in the physical arena, it was really a picture of what he wanted to do in the spiritual arena. You know, you think about it. Jesus knew that these disciples were going to be really responsible for getting the gospel around the world. They didn’t fully understand it at that time. But the whole time that Jesus was with them, he was constantly pointing them to that, constantly training them for the work that he had for them. And, you know, God has a work for each one of us. no matter where you come from, what your background is. God has a special plan for you, really a custom-made, you’re a custom-made tool in his toolbox, in his hand. He wants you to enjoy your relationship with him. He wants to use you in a special way. Even Ephesians tells us that we were created in Christ Jesus unto good works or for the purpose of good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. So in the mind of God, he has a work that he wants you to do. There’s people he wants you to reach. There’s an impact that he wants to use you to make. And that’s the burden Jesus had for his disciples in Matthew chapter 14. To give you a little bit of background, they had just heard about the death of John the Baptist. Then they get into a boat and they cross over to the other side of the sea to a place that the Bible describes as a deserted place. and in Matthew chapter 14 verse number 14 it says that after that happened when the people had followed him on foot out of the cities they heard where Jesus was verse 14 says that Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude and he was moved with compassion toward them and he healed their sick now I don’t think the disciples were excited about that because in verse 15 it says when it was evening his disciples came to him saying this is a desert or a deserted place and the time has now passed send the multitude away they may go into the villages and buy themselves a vittles or something to eat. Jesus had compassion on these people he saw their real need the disciples were not really too keen on that but Jesus had a plan not just for these people he had a plan for these disciples and what he wanted to teach them. Jesus tells them something in verse number 16 and something again in verse number 18, and he gives two statements here that I really believe embody what you and I, throughout our whole lives, are going to need to do. Two truths, really, we need to take on board, steps of obedience that we need to obey him and to do if we are going to see the Lord Jesus do the impossible through our lives as individuals. So in verse 16, he tells in this. He says, Jesus said unto them, they need not depart, give ye them to eat. Now you got to understand there was a lot of people here. At the end of the passage, we’re told there were 5,000 men besides women and children. Commentators differ. There could have been 15, 20,000 people there, maybe more. All we know is that there were 5,000 heads of household there. Now at the end of the day, whose responsibility would it have been to make sure that each family unit had something to eat. Well, it would have been those 5,000 men. But there are times when God takes somebody else’s burden, their spiritual need or physical need, even whatever, but he takes their need and he places it right at your front doorstep. He says in so many words, they need not to part. You give them something to eat. Now, you know what? We don’t like that. In fact, our generation, we like to just kind of look after big number one. We like to look after ourselves, but that’s not what Jesus wants us to do. Okay. You can’t just be a self-pleaser and be a God-pleaser at the same time. It’s not going to work. Okay. And what we’re going to see is when you are a God-pleaser, he will look after you. We’re going to see that in a minute. But to begin with, the first step of obedience these disciples needed to take is they needed to recognize their responsibility, even though it was somebody else’s burden. It was somebody else’s need. Somebody else was in trouble. There was a someone else had, they needed to own up to the responsibility that Jesus had given them to meet the need. Okay? For instance, you might know some people who are lost. They’re not saved. They don’t know if they have a relationship with God. Well, you know what? God says to you, go into all the world and preach the gospel. You may know a Christian brother or sister, and they have something difficult they’re going through, maybe even as a result of a poor choice they’ve made, and God tells us to bear one another’s burdens and on and on the list goes and as you grow and get older those responsibilities will not diminish they will often multiply you know whether you you have children or a spouse whatever the case may be as God expands your realm of influence there’s going to be more and more of that and so you and I would do very well to heed what Jesus is saying here to first of all recognize our responsibility that’s what that’s the way we’ll put it when Jesus says to you, they don’t need to go anywhere. Don’t put your head in the sand and pretend like the problem’s not there. You give them something to eat. Well, if we really do that, if we actually do that first step and recognize our responsibility, you’re going to recognize very quickly your inadequacy to do that. Okay, now that is not because there’s a problem with you or with me or anybody else. That’s just the way God made us. We are weak. It’s the way we are. In fact, the disciples are honest, and I’m glad they were in verse 17. They don’t run away from what Jesus told them to do, but in verse 17, they say to him, we have here but five loaves and two fish. No way that they’re going to feed those thousands of people with that. That wasn’t even enough to satisfy 12 men, 13 if you include Jesus. There’s no way. And you might look at some of the things that God has burdened you about, even as we’ve been talking. Maybe you thought of this person or that person or this burden or that burden, whatever. And you think, you know what? I really think that something needs to happen there. Maybe God wants to use me to do something there, but I can’t. I don’t feel adequate. I’m shy. I don’t know the words to say. I don’t even know where to begin. Well, you know what? You’re in good company. Do you know you can read the Bible from cover to cover and you will never find God getting someone in trouble for their inadequacy. You’ll never find God rebuking someone for their weakness, ever. In verse 18, it’s interesting to me what Jesus doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, oh, you should have more than five loaves and two fish, or don’t you know how to feed 5,000 men and their families? No, he doesn’t say that. He says this simply, and this is the second thing we need to do. Bring them hither to me. Basically, he’s saying this, I know that you don’t have enough, but what you do have, I want you to give it to me. Look, I know you’re shy. I know that you don’t know what to say, but I want you to just, in dependence, surrender what you do have to me. Okay? So first of all, we need to recognize our responsibility. Secondly, we’ll put it this way, we need to release our resources. Now, what does that look like? This is the teenager, the adult, whoever, kid, whatever, that says, Lord, all that I am and all that I have is yours. I’ll do what you want me to do. I’ll say what you want me to say. If there’s anything in my life that doesn’t please you, you bring it to mind. And Lord, I am going, I’ll play ball. I’ll do what you want me to do. I’m going to cooperate with what you want me to do. Well, what would happen if you actually did that? What would happen if you actually stepped out and said, okay, Lord, you know, I have no idea how in the world you could use me, but I believe you want to. And you’ve called me to do, you know, X, Y, or Z, whatever. And Lord, I’m going to take that responsibility on board. I’m not going to run away from it. I’m going to own up to it. And Lord, I’m also going to take that second step. And Lord, all that I am and all that I have is yours. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. Here I am. Use me. What does Jesus do then? Well, let’s see what he does here. Verse 19, it says this, He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass and took the five loaves and two fish. Okay, well, first of all, Jesus takes control of the situation. Luke’s parallel account tells us that Jesus had the disciples sit the multitude down in companies of 50 and 100. You know, even if they had enough food, a big truckload of food there to feed everybody, How do you even go about feeding these thousands of people? I mean, look, I’ve got five kids. I mean, and they’ll be running around all over the place. How do you even sit everybody down organized, making sure everybody gets enough food and all that kind of stuff? Well, you know what? Jesus has a plan in mind. He doesn’t ask you to, with your own smarts, figure out how to meet the need. All he asks you to do is to surrender to him, to trust him, to take steps that he calls you to do. He’s already got the plan figured out. you don’t got to worry about figuring it out he’s got to figure it out um so he commands the multitude of sitting on the grass so jesus will take control of the situation you watch you surrender he will take control he will lay on your heart specific things that need to be done or said but the main thing is you take that first step of surrendering to him and owning up to your responsibility okay and he will uh it might be through something you read in your bible it might be through something you hear it might just be a simple prompting of the holy spirit in your own heart but he will show you exactly step by step what needs to be done. So he takes control of the situation. It says he took the five loaves of two fish. He looked up to heaven and he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples and the disciples to the multitude. Now, question for you, did Jesus bless those loaves and fish before or after they were handed over to him? After. Listen, watch this. The surrendered life is the blessed life. He cannot bless what is not in his hands. You have to surrender your life to him. Say, Lord, I’m yours, whatever you want. Here I am, best I know how. And you’ve got the blessing of God. He desires to bless you. He desires good things for you. That’s what he wants. You don’t have to try to achieve or attain God’s blessing. He, as a father, desires to just pour it out upon you. But you need to surrender to him so that it can be in his hands, so he can do what needs to be done. And then it tells us he actually used the disciples to do it. He didn’t just hand it out himself. He could have. but he handed it to the disciples, the disciples of the multitude. And then what happened? Verse 20, they did all eat and were filled. Was the need met? Yes, it was. It definitely was. And they took up the fragments that remained, 12 baskets full. Well, you know what happens is you think, am I going to be okay? If I surrender everything to God, am I going to be looked after? Am I going to be taken care of? Well, you know, how many baskets full do they have at the end? 12. How many disciples? 12. That’s kind of interesting. You know, I imagine that the disciples probably thought they were giving away everything they had. They were probably wondering, well, we’re going to go hungry, and it might not hurt us to fast, but I’m not really looking forward to that, you know. And then at the end of the day, they come back, each with a basket full of food. Do you know what? You recognize your responsibility. You release your resources to God. Do you know what’s going to happen? He’s going to not only use you to meet the need, but you know what he’s also going to do? He is going to ensure that in your heart and soul, the very core of your being, that you are more satisfied, more fulfilled than you ever would have been before the surrender. That’s what he wants to do. And I hope that’s an encouragement to you. Verse 21 is just an exclamation point on the end of the whole thing. They did eat and were 5,000 men beside women and children. Yep, it was impossible. There is no way it could have been done apart from God. But that’s what God does. he delights in doing the impossible through you. I hope that’s an encouragement to you.

Amen, Chris. Thank you so much for that. Now, there’s something you need to know, young people. Okay. Chris has not been around here. He’s not heard a whole lot about Thee Generation, but what he just described is what we are completely passionate about. Did you catch it? total surrender. Listen, your life is not your own. Yield to him. Total dependence. You can’t do it. God can yield to him to meet the needs of those around you in this world. Oh man, praise the Lord, Chris. Thank you so much for that. And young people never forget the banner cry of Thee Generation is total surrender, total dependence. Thank you for listening.