God’s Blessings Will Cost You Everything: Learning to Surrender | Jonathan Evans

yes somebody is looking at a multitude today aren't you and you've been telling God for so long I can't I can't I there too much I can't do it it's too big the project too big the calling too big this too big and your fear is your pride I had to challenge myself on this thought yeah that Pride isn't you just thinking too high of yourself yeah pride is you thinking too low of yourself pride is you thinking about yourself and yourself is in the way from doing what God has called you to ((applause)) do how did the people not lose their song when they were in Chains there must have been a Greater Hope in Christ how do you have joy in jail and praise in a prison I guess as Paul and Silas would say it in Acts 16 they they praised through it and as they praised the jail doors open and the chains fell off and so as we celebrate Black History Month is more than a month it's woven through our history to bring us to this place we we stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us and I want to thank Mr Collins for his investment in my life he's my second dad at 15 years old he came to all of my games at Duncanville High School when I went to Baylor he was sitting up in those stands too and then during this transition he's still an elder to lead me so we love your whole family we're thankful for you guys and and we're standing with you as you've always stood with me I appreciate it ((applause)) all right okay you know you do know people come before ((music playing)) you and if it wasn't for them they would be know you um all of our freedoms the things that we experience now is because people were waiting in the water that's right seeking Freedom through the rivers and you get to we get to just sit here and Worship the Lord ((music playing)) freely come on man and so I'm grateful stand up y'all I got to keep going I got to keep going want to thank you'all for joining us in the house and online we're going with Matthew 14 as we continue our series on the Overflow Matthew 14 and I'm only going to read two verses to you this morning found verse 17 and 18 it says they said to him we have here only Five Loaves and two fish and he said bring them here to me may be seated this is the story as you know of the feeding of the 5000 this story spans all four gospels it's the only mirac Miracle outside of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that he that you will find in Matthew Mark Luke and John in Matthew 14 and Mark 6 and Luke 9 and John 6 you find this story because it of its magnitude and its scope but also its lesson that we're going to learn here today and so we want to make sure that we key in and pay attention as we learn how to experience the Overflow of God in this particular story of the feeding of the 5000 but you need to understand the setting this is a setting where Jesus had just found out based on Matthew 14:13 that John the Baptist has died now Jesus loved John the Baptist based on Luke 136 it teaches us that John the Baptist and Jesus are family this is blood relative John the Baptist John the Baptist was an intrical part of Jesus's life and ministry as John the Baptist would baptized Jesus John the Baptist was the Forerunner for Jesus and John the Baptist based on John 1 129 was the one who called out his position in public Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sins of the world John the Baptist was an intrical part in Jesus's life and Jesus's finding out that John the Baptist has passed away in a gruesome way he had been beheaded and that hit Jesus when he got that news and so in verse 13 you're going to see that he says I need to withdraw I need to withdraw and go to a secluded place he caus his disciples to go with him his disciples and Jesus not only got the news about John the Baptist but they had just gone through a hefty season of ministry where they were healing and and and Jesus was healing and teaching and and all of these things were happening so much so that the disciples had not even eaten have you ever been so busy that you forgot to eat eat the disciples were doing so much for everybody else they didn't even take care of themselves they had gotten into a season where they had not even eaten or weren't able to get any rest because of all that they had been doing even outside of the grief of hearing about John the Baptist so Jesus says let's withdraw we need to go to a secluded place on the northeastern side of the Sea of Galilee and we need to just relax recover restore reflect we need to just get in a season where we just get filled ourselves is there anybody who understands that sometimes it's good to just be by yourself look at all my introverts sometimes there's a season that's needed and you put it on your schedule you just want to be by your self so that you can recover and restore from a season of hard times or a season of doing the disciples were empty in this season and they just needed to withdraw so that they can recover and it says as soon as the boat docked Jesus looked up and saw a multitude and I can tell you what the disciples were thinking they was thinking come on Jesus you mean to tell me we went and had on our plan and our schedule to get rest recovery and restoration so that we can be filled and we look up and there's a multitude of problems why can't I just get a season where I'm just by my self if you're anything like me sometimes you just feel like you just want to take a nap but your phone keeps ringing we going to silence that thing I'm trying to take a nap or in my my Netflix people who get under the covers with socks on your feet because you're just trying to have some time to yourself and then one of my kids are running the room hey Dad can you help me with my puzzle I'm like look at the picture on the box pour a pieces out and put it together and make it look like that I'm trying to be by my or if you're like me you go to The Cheesecake Factory to get yourself a cheesecake and if you're saved you go get red velvet and you and you you have the discipline to wait till you get home and not snack while you're driving because you want to enjoy your cheesecake you open up the box you pull out the fork you're about to go in and you get a text from a friend that say 911 911 you better call the cops I'm about to eat this cheesecake because why I want a season where I can just be by myself and a lot of times we have a plan where we want to take Easy Street we want to get recovered and restored and for some reason we find ourselves getting caught up by another multitude of problems where your plans get changed not because you found the multitude the Bible says the multitude heard where they were going and found them and the disciples are looking out saying come on Jesus send them away send this problem away send this multitude away I don't want to deal with this this is not the season that I am I I need rest recovery restoration I I haven't even eaten myself please do something and Jesus could have said all right you're right hey guys we're going to need you to go away we're going to have to take a time out hey guys we're going to have to do it differently I'm grieving I need some time I don't have the capacity go ahead and move around but Jesus wouldn't do that Jesus would take the opportunity to teach his disciples what you do when a multitude finds you he would take an opportunity to teach his disciples and in the room the room is full of I hope so Disciples of Jesus Christ who want to learn this principle that Jesus would teach them he didn't tell them to go away he said he was teaching them and helping them understand don't you know that your Miracle can reside in this multitude if you send the multitude away you may miss out on your Miracle it wasn't planned you didn't find it that thing jumped out in front of you and found you so the question is what are you going to do and it says Jesus looked up and he saw the crowd the word saw there doesn't just mean see with his eyes it means see with his heart the word saw there means he paid attention to understood or he felt what was in front of him he didn't see what the disciples saw the disciples saw a problem Jesus saw his purpose the disciples saw a pest Jesus saw something else the disciples saw something that was a nuisance Jesus saw something that can receive his nourishment the disciples saw a a burden Jesus saw an opportunity for blessing the disciples saw an obstacle Jesus saw an opportunity and he was going to teach his disciples to see it like he sees it so that they can approach it like he approaches it because life is just a series of multitudes that find you is it not life is just a series of problems one after the other and he's not going to teach his disciples to run that's not what they're here to do he's going to teach his disciples to do what he does and what they are called to do it says he saw the crowd and we know how he saw it because it says he felt compassion the word compassion there means that he felt it in his gut the Ancients used to believe that feelings came from your bows and so when he felt compassion it wasn't just like haa good to see you nice to meet you with a smile it was no I feel what I see and what they're going through so I want you to understand that Jesus feels does he not was he not the one that cried with Mary and Martha was he not the one in Luke 19 that cried over Jerusalem was he not the one that had um compassion over the two Blind Men in Matthew 2034 and healed their eyes and he had compassion over the Widow who had a a son who died and and and he raised the son because Jesus has compassion and it prompts him to move and he says disciples you are called to do the same let let me let me jump out of my story I need to make a parenthetical statement um Jesus has compassion that means that you are not forgotten in your pain it means that you are not forgotten in your sorrow it means that you are not forgotten in your anxi anxiety and depression and the things that you're facing Jesus feels what you're facing in his gut he does not work remote he's right there with you and so you need to understand as a multitude this morning is that he understands exactly what you're going through he'll never leave you nor forsake you and his compassion is in his gut leads him to touch you yeah yeah yeah yeah but how much more can he can be done if disciples follow his lead yeah and so he starts teaching his disciples what you do when you're confronted with a multitude now for some of you this multitude may be people that God brought into your life that you feel like you may be called to but you don't have capacity for for some of you this multitude may be a calling on your life that's much bigger than the experience that you have it may be a project that's much bigger than your ability for some of you the multitude may be you just got your kids out of the house and you're planning to have a good time only for one of them to call you to tell you they got pregnant oh no we got to start over I wasn't planning on this but the multitude showed up anyway and Jesus says Okay um hey Phillip John chapter 6:5 hey Phillip how are we going to feed all these people what do you think matter of fact hold that thought Phillip just hold that thought right there think about it for a second and just Ponder on it then Jesus gets out of the boat while the disciples are saying it says that Jesus got out of the boat and started healing the multitudes in mark 6:34 it says Jesus got out of the boat and started preaching the kingdom hey how are we going to feed these uh how we going to feed them Phillip hold that thought I'm not going to say anything else I'm just going to show you am he gets out of the boat and he starts preaching the kingdom and can you imagine he's grabbing babies who are sick and giving them back he's touching people's ears so that they can hear again he's touching the mouth so that they can speak again he's touching the eyes so that they can see again he's telling the paralytics to get up and walk and pick up your pallet let's go he is out in the multitude all day all day he's out there in the multitude that the disciples are compl complaining about and he's saying this is what we do he's not saying any words he's using his example but he's speaking loud and clear disciples you are not here to hear good messages and just sing songs you are actually here for the multitude you can't just sit and be comfortable life is a series of problems but I'm going to show you what you do with your problems I'm going to show you what you do with the hurt and the pain and the things that come for you it's not going to be easy I'm getting you ready why Matthew 28 go ye therefore and make discip he was going to call them to feed a lot of people they could not be satisfied with their schedule or be satisfied sitting in their own boat and when your schedule gets knocked off and your schedule gets changed because there's something put in front of you could it be that God has called you should it be not just looked at as a problem but be rendered as a purpose why are we disciples for what to complain about the multitude that needs us to be there in order for them to experience Christ he's out into the congregation and in the multitude and he's healing and he's touching and he's preaching and he's taking babies and he's giving them back and he's out there all day giving a message to his disciples I know you wanted to eat cuz you starving and his question wasn't to Phillip in John 6 chapter 5 that tells the story what do you want to eat his question was how are we going to feed him this disciple stuff is off the chain um hey Phillip I've been out here all day what' you come up with when it comes to the question that I asked you about uh feeding the multitudes I mean what did you come up with you know what Philip said man it's going to cost more than 200 Dinara to feed all these people it's impossible 200 Dinara was eight months wages you can't even feed all these people with eight months wages this is something we can't do it oh Phillip oh ((applause)) ocbf I couldn't be Jesus cuz if I I would be like man y'all get on my nerves I can't die for y'all y'all be tripping I asked you the question at the beginning and let you think about it while I spent all day out here demonstrating it I spent all day healing and teaching you were watching me do Miracles all day and when I come to you about the multitude and about the thing that is confronting you you when I come to you about the thing you think is too big for you when I come to you about the problem that you're facing you want to look at your resources as the determining Factor on whether you can do something so you going to talk about your money the disciples were ready I'm telling you the disciples were ready to get these people out of here yeah they were just ready to get rid of the problem the disciples were like all right folks I hope you had a good time uh it's getting late I'll see you on the next episode of Jesus heals what Phillip you don't get it and so the conclusion of all of the disciples based on that conversation that Jesus had with philli as an individual was found in Matthew 14:1 15 they said it's getting late and the place is desolate finally it's time send the crowds away so that they may go get something to eat send the crowds away so you're watching Jesus and you decide that you want to handle the problem culturally you want to send the problem to the culture because there seems to be more capacity there it seems to be easier there and I won't have to take responsibility there so I'm going to send it to the culture and let the culture deal with it and Jesus is thinking did y'all not see me turn water into wine Peter did you not see an experience when I multiplied the fish where your boat was about to sink in Luke 5 Andrew and John y'all y'all didn't see that you didn't see when I was in the crowd and the woman with the blood issue came up and I felt her amongst all of those people and healed her instantly with and I wasn't even paying attention you don't see you didn't see me calm the storm in the sea so you just really don't believe in my power do you because you want to send your problems first and foremost to the judge yes you're going to go to your shrink or your palm reader you mean to tell me the first advice for that young girl is to go to the clinic you mean to tell me you don't know what to do as a dad and you had the same struggle so you just going to give your son your old magazines cuz you don't know what to tell him oh I'm sorry was that too real I'm from the world I don't know where y'all from but we like to shift responsibility to the culture cuz we feel like we don't have capacity and Jesus is like you don't remember that's how we want to handle things as disciples who know God's word enough to know that he's a miracle worker and a way maker and our conclusion is now we're just going to send them to the Villages where they can pay a price when the price has already been paid so we don't remember that Jesus saved you saved your marriage brought your kid back restored you emotionally reconciled your relationships protected you transformed you gave you hope filled your emptiness when you had had no no way to go and we want to send it to the culture we not going to take no responsibility well Jonathan this doesn't sound like overflow it sounds like you're calling us ((music playing)) out it was a setup because when Jesus asked Phillip how are we going to feed him yeah in John chapter 6:5 it says that Jesus asked him testing him for he knew what he would do don't you know God already knows what he's going to do with your multitude it's in front of you and he's like so what we going to do about this and you're like I know an easy way out and he already knows your Miracle resides directly in your multitude and we're running from it um Jesus um have you ever had a test that just don't go away you know why it doesn't go away look at Matthew 14:16 but Jesus said to them they do not need to go away you give them something to eat it's not going nowhere because I want you to feed him I want you to take response stop running where are you running where are you going where are you sending it to it's not going away because I placed you there for you to take responsib AB ility to feed them I'm getting you ready acts: 18 says I need you to go all over the world Jerusalem Judea Samaria all over the world with this gospel there's a whole lot of feeding and it's not going to be convenient this is what I need you to do take responsibility disciples you give them something to eat I know you didn't like that call I know you feel like you don't have capacity for what's in front of you trust me I know I know you feel like it's too much and guess what you're right you're right it is too much the stage is too big the problem is a multitude and you cannot solve it you're right you're right about what you're dealing with you're not wrong you're not crazy and Jesus says you feed it and you're thinking what how can I do this because jeson Jesus will often let you be in front of a multitude so big that when you experience that multitude all it does is reflect back to you your own insufficiency you know you're facing a multitude when you can only think about how you can't do it because the multitude is going to communicate to you how small you are and the disciples could only see their insufficiency in light of this multitude they can only see how little they have and so when Jesus said no I need you to take responsibility that's why it's not going anywhere I'm not letting it just run off I know you want to push it off on other people I know you want to push it off on the culture I know you want to push it on I know you want the easy way out cuz we all want to sit on a beach I know that's what you're looking for yeah but um you feed them and immediately we respond the way the disciples did in verse 17 and they said to him we only have here Five Loaves and two fish I I ain't got ((applause)) it thanks for the little boy there that gave the the sardines and crackers but what is that Andrew said in chapter uh John chapter 6 Andrew said what is this for this multitude what is this I I I don't got it there's there's no way that two fish and Five Loaves there's no way that my ability my experiences my creativity my lack of capacity emotionally like there's no way that I have enough to handle what you put in front of me so why is it in front of me you say Jonathan this don't sound like no overflow this sound like a mess I know Jesus knew he knows you don't have enough when the multitude showed up he already knew what he was going to do he knows you lack the capacity ability experience he already knows all that did he not know that Moses couldn't talk he already knows that David shouldn't have even been chosen he's the last child and he probably had a different mother than his brothers I can get to that in a different sermon he got left out on purpose because First Corinthians 1: 27-29 says God doesn't choose the great things in the in this world he chooses the lowly he doesn't choose the wise he chooses the fools that's why he would be calling 12 untrained men to go train the world he already knows you don't have enough because if you had enough you would start boasting about your enough he's shredding that from you he already got that and we consistently tell him I consistently told him I yep no find another way no he said no you feed them on but I don't I can't I be quiet quiet I already knew that when I called you to this multitude somebody is looking at a multitude today aren't you and you've been telling God for so long I can't I can't I there's too much I can't do it it's too big the project too big the calling too big this too big in your Fe fear is your pride I had to challenge myself on this thought yeah that Pride isn't you just thinking too high of yourself pride is you thinking too low of yourself pride is you thinking about yourself and yourself is in the way from doing what God has called you to do and I said Jonathan you're prideful so prideful in fact that you'll tell Jesus about the two fish in the Five Loaves but won't consider Jesus with the two fish and the Five Loaves Jesus we only got two fish we only got Five Loaves can't do it and Jesus hits them you ever heard of the term you got molly wapped they got molly whopped Jesus says bring them here to me come on ocbf y' I know you don't have enough I know you can I mean many of us are doing this right now currently I can't I and we're trying to figure out where to go with this and it's still there and we're talking about are not enough and you know what to give to Jesus cuz this it's the very thing that's challenging you to do what he's telling you to do in the first place and he says just give it to me there's some one hitter quitters in the Bible when Peter wanted to walk on the water he said bid me to come to you and Jesus just said come and when he said come all of a sudden he was standing on top of his circumstances that he was originally afraid of he said just bring them to me you're looking at your capacity and you're skipping over the Cross of Christ haven't I done enough give me you're not enough and watch me turn it into more than enough I'm challenging us at the cliff to give it to Jesus how do you know when you've really given it to Jesus because you're no longer burdened by it and you're no longer the sole proprietor of manipulating the outcome of it Jesus you're going to have to do something with this cuz I ain't got it he said bring them here to me do you know what Jesus is he likes mathematics but he doesn't deal in addition he deals in multiplication see many of us are adding things up and things don't add up and we're like this don't add up he's like I don't do addition I do multiplication I had a preacher tell me once he said what's 3 + three I said said six he said what's 3 * 3 I said nine he said what's 5 + 5 I said 10 he said what's 5 * 5 I said 25 I said oh my goodness he said what's 10 + 10 I said 20 he said what's 10 * 10 I said 100 he said that means it can look the same but it's not the same in the hands of a multiplier if you give it to Jesus he can multiply a capacity you didn't think you have has he not done enough Phillip I've been out here all day give me the fish and the loaves you're right uh matter of fact um you're so right about your lack that what you shouldn't do is take the two fish and Five Loaves and go straight to your multitude you're going to look like a fool that's not the equation the equation is you lack you give it to Jesus Jesus gives it back and you go the disciples were still called to be responsible they gave it to Jesus and Jesus blessed it he blessed the not enough in his hands a lot of us don't get an expansion of our capacity or our territory in large because we complain about the two fish and the Five Loaves instead of giving it to Jesus and asking him to bless the two fish and the Five Loaves and Jesus started the process of multip multiplying it back into the hands of the disciples so that they were able to do something they thought they could never do and he was teaching them when I leave you you're going to have to remember this principle when I'm no longer here I'm going to empower you by the Holy Spirit and you need to know that you can feed a multitude that you yourself can't without me but if you place it in my hands I will be able to multiply a capacity you don't have so that you can be the disciples that I'm calling you to be not to run from it but see it like I see it feel it like I feel it let it render purpose in you give it to me so I can give it back to you so that you can do what I've called you to do um at this point the disciples are still starting in I'm still hungry you got me out here feeding folk yeah CU there's a principle called give and it will be given back to you he will pour out on your lap of full measure he'll press it down shaking together and running over by the measure that you give it will be returned to you so he had them feed ((music playing)) hungry said I'm going need need you to do this you want me to give I'm hungry yeah welcome to the life of the disciple I wish it was easier but he doesn't let us off the hook just because we're hungry he teaches us the principle of you feed the multitude and then watch what I do because when he multiplies he over multiplies if you look at verse 20 as we get ready to close it says and they all ate the multitude and were satisfied they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces 12 full baskets why were there 12 full baskets because there was 12 hungry disciples they had two fish and Five Loaves and left at the end of the evening with 12 full baskets God didn't give them back each two fish and Five Loaves he gave them more than they could eat in one day that's right because it was the Overflow of the multiplication of Jesus Christ when we give it to him and he gives it back to us is there anybody that knows and can testify that he can do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that you can ask or think according to the power that works in you because we serve a god who's a multiplier so ocbf I know it's a multitude but take what your have and give it to him because when you give it to him he will multiply it back to you in ((applause)) return I hope you're not too hungry to give because if the disciples don't feed the multitude they also have no food that is the principle of overflow are you willing to give when a multitude finds you yeah and Jesus won't let you off the hook amen amen let's give him a hand clap of praise for the word as we continue to learn and grow together I want to