Good News Baptist Church
Sundays January
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  • House Of The Lord
  • My Soul Will Wait (Psalm 62)
  • Your Love Defends Me
  • Love Of God

  • Introduction

    This morning as we continue our series The Way, the Truth, and the Life, we remember that last week, while the disciples of Jesus had been out preaching in the cities and towns of Galilee, Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, executes John the Baptist at the bidding of his wife and daughter.
    One of the things I want us to look at this morning is a map of the area of Judea and Galilee before we go any further.
    I know this is not super readable, but we will zoom in in just a minute. The area that is surrounded by blue is the region of Judea and Samaria.
    The regions outlined in Purple are the regions of Galilee (to the northwest) and Perea (southeast). These were the areas ruled by King Herod Antipas.
    Galilee is the area that Jesus has sent out His disciples to preach about the kingdom. Galilee is There on the eastern side of Galilee, we find a body of water, and that is the Sea of Galilee.
    Let’s zoom into that section for a bit.
    We can see in this picture a little more clearly the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee. There at the northwestern part of the sea we find Capernaum, the home base for much of Jesus’ ministry. We remember that from this place is where Jesus told His disciples to get in a boat and cross to the other side. The other side would have been in the region of Gergesa, that was situated in the area of Gadara, and this is where Jesus frees two men from extreme demon possession. Then, they are asked to leave, so they sail back to Capernaum. From Capernaum, they travel southwest by land to the town Jesus grew up in - Nazareth.
    There in Nazareth, the people who knew Jesus did not believe His message, so Jesus leaves with His disciples and begins to preach all through the towns of Galilee. As they make their way back to Capernaum, Jesus sends his disciples to preach. While they are preaching, John the Baptist is executed, and when the disciples return, Jesus receives the news that his cousin has died and been buried by his disciples.
    This is where we find ourselves today, and that backstory is important to what we will study in our passages this morning.

    Why Some Lives Impact and Others Don’t

    I’ve titled this message Why Some Lives Impact and Others Don’t. At first glance, it doesn’t seem that there is rhyme or reason in who or what God uses to impact the world. We see it in the Bible and we’ve seen it in our lifetimes - some people seem to have an amazing platform and God uses them to greatly impact others for Christ. Others that have the platform and the fame don’t seem to be used as greatly. And then you have some people that are wealthy that claim to be Christians, and yet, they don’t seem to have a far reaching impact for the Gospel despite their desires to have that.
    Meanwhile, there are those that seem to have nothing, and they seem to be have been used to impact many people’s lives for Christ. Others in the same circumstances can’t seem to even have an impact on their own families. At first glance, it seems that it is just random selection by God as to whom He will use to impact this world with the Gospel.
    But there is an answer to this observation. There are reasons as to why some lives impact others lives while some lives have little to no impact for the cause of Christ. Hopefully, today’s study will help us know some of the reasons why.
    The events that are covered today are found in all four Gospels -Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Since we left off in Mark last week, that is where we will pick up this morning.
    Mark 6:27–31 KJV 1900
    27 And immediately the king [Herod Antipas] sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him [ohn the Baptist] in the prison, 28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29 And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. 30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
    This is a natural thing that we would expect from Jesus and His disciples. to get away and spend some time in solitude after this terrible news. They were in need of processing all of this, but the crowds that followed Jesus were so many now, that once again, the disciples and Jesus find it difficult to even get a meal in without the crowd pressing in on them. We find in Luke the destination to which Jesus takes them. Luke 9:10
    Luke 9:10 KJV 1900
    10 And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.
    So, multitudes are following Jesus again, the disciples return from their preaching missions, and news of John the Baptist’s execution is heavy on everyone’s hearts. They need a place to decompress, debrief, recoup, and reorganize so Jesus says, “We’re going to a Bethsaida, a place that is not a crowded.”
    But Matthew explains a little more how they left
    Matthew 14:13 KJV 1900
    13 When Jesus heard of it [John the Baptist’s execution], he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.
    Once again, Jesus and His disciples get into a boat, but as they sail, the multitudes track them on foot and follow them.
    And you might think, “If they are going across the sea of Galilee, how did the multitudes follow them on foot so well?” And that is a valid question, especially when you read John’s version.
    John 6:1–2 KJV 1900
    1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
    So, how di d they follow Jesus if they were on foot? Well, the answer lies in the map.
    If you will notice, Bethsaida lies just north east of Capernaum. The ship would have followed the coast to arrive at Bethsaida slightly more quickly than the people that followed them on the coast could get there by foot. Also considering that those that were following Jesus were in a crowd (crowds generally go slower than small groups of people traveling) and that they had many that were sick (that would have slowed them down even further).
    So, once they arrive at Bethsaida, look at what happens.
    John 6:3 KJV 1900
    3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
    He’s got enough time to get up on a mountain side and sit with His disciples for a little while before the crowd arrives, but before too long, the crowd does indeed arrive. Have you ever gotten home after a long day, taken precautions to be able to rest, sat down on your couch or in your recliner kicked off your shoes only for someone to knock at your door, or your husband or wife to say, “Hey, I got a job for you...” -Deep sigh of desperation...-
    I imagine this was what it was like for Jesus. See, Jesus, as we studied on Wednesday, was fully God and fully man. This means that He got tired. And at this moment, He was tired of the constant presence of people, but not only that, and don’t miss this, He was sad. His cousin, the man that had prepared the hearts of the Jews to repent and turn to Jesus, the man who had baptized Jesus, the one who had proclaimed for all to hear, “This is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world,” that same man who had paved the way for Jesus’ ministry - John the Baptist - had just been beheaded.
    Jesus needed this time away. He needed to be alone. And when He finally gets alone with His disciples, the multitude shows up again. How would you react? Would you tell them to just leave you alone for a second? Would you be angry? Would you run away? Look at what Jesus does.
    Mark 6:34 KJV 1900
    34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
    He sees the multitudes and begins to teach them. Luke tells us that those that needed healing, Jesus healed as well. But evening starts settling in and the disciples get a bit concerned.
    Matthew 14:15 KJV 1900
    15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
    So Jesus asks a question, and we find it in John 6:5-6
    John 6:5–6 KJV 1900
    5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
    Remember, they are in a desert place. No stores around for miles and Jesus asks, “Where can we buy food for all these people?”
    Look at Philip’s response and the rest of the story.
    John 6:7–14 KJV 1900
    7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
    This is an amazing miracle. But there are several things to note here. The most obvious is that the miracle is done by Jesus. Feeding 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and two fish is no simple task, but that is not what actually happened. Note that in v.10 it says that there were only 5,000 men.
    John 6:10 KJV 1900
    10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
    Conservative estimates of the multitude go up to 15,000 people with others estimating around 25 to 30,000 once you account women and children.
    So, Jesus is the miracle worker, but there was a boy present that made the impacting gift. Most people probably did not even know that it was a boy’s lunch that Jesus used to create the food. But this boy had five loaves of bread and two small fish. The fish would have been salted and dried fish, and the loaves that Jews typically made were only about a 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick, but they were round and as large as a dinner plate. So they do not get sliced, they get broken or torn.
    Mark 6:41 KJV 1900
    41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
    What an amazing miracle! It is so crazy to think that one boy had an impact on at least 15,000 people. But how, and maybe more importantly - why him? Why not use the disciples’ money? Or why did they not take up an offering? Why not use the combined food of the entire crowd?
    What qualified the boy to be used over any other option?

    He Was There

    You should be proud of me; I came up with this one all on my own. Not really, I had some help from Andrew. John 6:8-9
    John 6:8–9 KJV 1900
    8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here…
    It is very important to realize, and some of you may think that there is no reason to even mention it, but I believe that it is important to not just have the understanding, but that we analyze the enormous meaning of the boy’s presence in the crowd.
    How much of an impact would this boy have made had he stayed home? How much of an impact would he have made had he not been there? None! He could not have been used by Jesus had he not been present that day.

    He Was Paying Attention

    When Jesus told the disciples to feed the people, this was a conversation between the disciples and Jesus. Yes, it is possible that the disciples went around asking who had any food, but even if they did, why did Andrew only account for 5 loaves of bread and two small fish from one boy? Because of two things - one, this boy was paying attention to the need; and two…

    He Was Willing

    The boy had a choice to make with his lunch. He could very well have kept it. Jesus could have asked this boy for his lunch and the boy could have very easily said, "No." He could have said, "Well, how about I give you 3 loaves and 1 fish?" If he would have, I personally do not believe Jesus would have used his lunch.
    But he heard the Master, saw a need, willingly gave ALL he had.
    But notice something else.

    He Was Alone

    It really seems that this boy was alone. You might say that there were thousands of other people with him, but I want you to note how many other people gave up their lunch - zero. I find it very hard to believe that in a crowd of 15,000 people, he is the only one to have food - especially when you account for all the mothers that would have been present. Now if it were only men, sure, they may have forgotten, but moms? probably not. However, there was only one boy that was willing to give his meal up.
    He was alone in his stand, and it seems he was alone and apart from his family. Andrew didn’t say, “There is a boy and his parents,” it was just, “There is a boy here.”
    So, the boy was THERE, he was PAYING ATTENTION, he was WILLING, and although he was ALONE in his giving, Jesus was able to use him greatly to make an enormous impact on thousands and thousands of people. And what kind of impact did he have? John 6:12-15
    John 6:12–15 KJV 1900
    12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
    The crowd was filled, there were left overs, and the Jesus was revealed even more to the people, not just as a prophet, but the prophet. The Messiah. Which is why they wanted to make Him king.
    So what does that mean for us? It means that we have the ability to be used greatly by the Lord if we adopt certain qualities. I want to look at one quality from Jesus and these other qualities from the boy to make a point about how our lives can be used to impact the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
    Before we get into that though, I want to review our mission as a church.

    Our Mission

    We exist to make disciples of Jesus Christ that impact the world with the Gospel. Why? Because that is the stated mission of the church as commissioned by Jesus Himself as recorded by both Matthew and in Mark. This is what will give God the most glory; this is why we exist.
    Our primary mission is not to sing together. Our primary mission is not to gather twice a week. Our primary mission is not to sit and listen to sermons every week. Our primary mission as a church is the mission God gave the church. Yes, it is good, and it is commanded that we sing together and that we be attentive to the message of the Bible preached and taught by others. But the PRIMARY mission of the church is to ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,’ to ‘make disciples of all nations.’
    Our mission is to be an impact for the Gospel. Since that is true, we must then consider the following: What would make us qualified to be an impact?

    Be There

    “Mike, that doesn’t make any sense...” But of course it does. You and I need to be where God wants us to be, not just where we want to be. Sometime where we want to be is in direct conflict to where God wants us to be. Not only that, but you will not be able to experience God at work if you are not where God wants you to be.
    The prophet Elijah was told by God in 1 Kings 17 to be in specific places.
    1 Kings 17:1–9 KJV 1900
    1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
    Elijah had just announced a drought and a famine in the land, and God directs him to go to the brook, the creek, the crick (as some southerners would call it) called Cherith. This was a minor brook. There were at least 14 other major rivers and streams to which Elijah could have gone, but guess where the ravens were Door Dashing food to? That’s right, not the Kidron River, not the Kishon or the Jordan rivers - but to the little brook, Cherith. Elijah could have thought to himself, “Any of these other major rivers and tributaries would be way better supplied with water during the drought, so I am going to go there.” But he would have not experienced God’s provision of food in this miraculous way had he gone anywhere but to the Cherith Brook.
    After the brook dries up, God tells Elijah, “Go to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon. Go live there, and I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you.” There are several problematic things about this command.
    Zarephath is enemy territory. At the beginning of this chapter, we read that Elijah gives the news of the drought to King Ahab. Ahab was a wicked king of Israel. He had no regard for God or any of the prophets. He was so evil that he is the standard of comparison that God uses after Ahab dies. Other kings were compared to Ahab so as to describe there level of wickedness. Phrases throughout 1 Kings can be found such as, “And so-and-so rule for so many years and was evil, but he was not as evil as Ahab.” But Ahab married a Sidonian princess named Jezebel. Jezebel was super wicked too. She hated God and served the false god Baal. She had flooded Israel with Baal worship, and this is one of the reasons that God sent a drought over the land. But Jezebel was born only a few miles away from Zarephath in the capitol of Sidon. Elijah was deep in enemy territory going there.
    Elijah could have very well reasoned within himself that going to any other city in Israel would be more beneficial than going to Zarephath in Sidon. There, they did not like the God of Israel. But there were people in Israel who would have way more sympathy toward a prophet of God. Not only that, but they would have better means of taking care of Him. The widow woman in Zarephath was preparing her last bit of flour to make her and her son their last meals. Then, they were going to watch each other starve to death. And this is the place where God wants Elijah to go? Yep. But why? Because God has prepared something so that both Elijah and the Widow can see and experience first hand the miraculous power of God even in a pagan land.
    So Zarephath is problematic because it is enemy territory and Elijah is a wanted and hunted man, it is a pagan land, and a poor widow that is about to starve is supposed to feed him for what ends up being three and a half years. But had Elijah not been THERE, he would have not experienced God in that manner, and the widow and her son would have starved to death.
    If we continue looking at Elijah’s life, we find that near the end of the drought, God calls Elijah to confront the evil king. Elijah confronts 850 false prophets that had been leading the nation away from God and ends up executing them after God shows them and Israel that God is the one true God and that Baal is nothing.
    But after all this, Elijah gets scared because Jezebel puts a hit out on him, so he runs away to the other side of the country. There, God meets him and basically asks Elijah, "What are you doing HERE? I want you back THERE, because I have work for you THERE. You are to anoint a new king, but you can't do it HERE, you must go THERE."
    We need to be where God wants us. Be THERE. Be where God wants you to be! If God has placed you here, BE HERE! Let me tell you, you miss out on so much when you aren't here! You miss out on personal blessings, you miss out on being a blessing to others; you miss out by not being in the places that God has for you to be.
    If God has placed you in a ministry - BE THERE, don’t skip out, don’t pass up the opportunity. You will miss out on experiencing God, and so will others.
    So be there, and also,

    Pay Attention

    We miss so much of God working around us because we simply do not pay attention. We must actively and intentionally look for God at work around us. A bout a year and a half ago we went through a study called Experiencing God, and this was one of the focuses of that study - that God is at work around us and we need to look away from ourselves and look around to find where we can join God in His work and be an impact. You and I need to get our eyes off of ourselves and look around. Jesus told His disciples, in John 4:35 “35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”
    Don’t think you have it all figured out, watch and see where God is working, where He is calling you into His work, and only then will you be able to start to make an impact.
    So Be There where God wants you to be, Pay Attention and look for areas you can be used in, and thirdly,

    Be Willing

    Be willing to do what God wants you to do. Be willing to sacrifice. Be willing to sacrifice your time and your comfort and your plans. This is where I want to look at Jesus’ example. What had Jesus gone to do? To be alone with His disciples. To decompress, to regroup, even to mourn the loss of His dear friend, cousin, and fellow minister of the kingdom. He went to a deserted place on purpose, as He did any time He wanted to be alone. But when Jesus saw the crowd, when He saw their need (and He saw this because He was paying attention), He was moved with compassion to feed them both spiritually and physically.
    We get so caught up in ourselves that we don’t often notice, and then when we do, we offer up excuses like, “Well I am just so tired. Sorry, I can’t because I have other plans. Oh, I would serve in that area, but that really cuts into my ‘me’ time.”
    Self-care is important, Jesus modeled it for us, but our culture places it in category 1 when we should never be in first place. We have elevated self-care to a point above seeking God, yet Jesus clearly taught and modeled, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
    Jesus needed rest. He needed to be able to eat a meal without a crowd pressing in on Him, and so did His disciples. But He was sensitive to what the Father was telling Him. At least 5 different times Jesus declares that he did not say or do things of his own will, but of the will of the Father and what the Father wanted Him to do.
    Be willing to give up your things. Do you think that boy was looking forward to eating his food all day? If he was like me he sure was. In fact, I’m surprised the boy still had the food that late in the evening, but he did, and he was willing to offer it to Jesus.
    Romans 12:1 KJV 1900
    1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
    That word service means “worship.” It is your reasonable, your logical, way to worship - to offer not just your voice in song, but your whole body for God to use it as He likes.
    When the animal sacrifices were made, they didn't just chop off a lamb's leg and offer it, and let the lamb hobble off on the other three. It was a complete and total sacrifice! But how many hobbling Christians do we see because we haven't offered our all to the Lord?
    "Lord, I will give you my Sunday mornings and evenings, but that's it." And off we hobble. "Lord, I will come to church EVERY service, but I am not willing to teach or help in a class, even if that is what you want me to do." And away we hobble,
    "O Lord, I will come to church and teach and sing and even give my tithes, but don't ask me to give to missions." And away we roll in our wheelchair.
    "Lord you can have all of me, but I will NOT be a missionary; I will not leave Cedar Rapids.” Or maybe, “I have big plans and I will not STAY in Cedar Rapids, but Lord, you can have everything else." And away we go on our crutches, thinking we have sacrificed, when God won't even use that.
    Paul said, "I am CRUCIFIED with Christ!" He no longer lived the way he wanted, he no longer went where he wanted, he no longer spoke how he wanted, nor did he react the way his flesh wanted. "But Christ lives in me." The secret to Paul's success in ministry and the secret to how he was able to impact the world is in the fact that he was a dead man, long before his execution. He willingly presented himself completely, and God was able to use him. Have you willingly presented yourself completely and without reservation?
    So Be There, Pay Attention, Be Willing, and

    Be Prepared to Stand Alone

    When I stand before the Lord and give an account for all that I have done (and all that I did not do), I will be alone. I cannot bring my wife, my kids, my pastor, my friends, my co-workers, or anyone else into the conversation to try to excuse myself. If I must obey God and no one wants to follow Him with me, then I must follow Him alone.
    Many know the song, I Have Decided To Follow Jesus, but do we mean the words? How about the verse that says, "Though none will join me, still I will follow." Do we mean it?
    And when God says to me, "Why weren't you THERE? Why weren't you WILLING?" It will not be an excuse to say, "Well no one else wanted to be there. My kids didn't like it. My co-workers would have made fun of me. I wouldn't have had any friends." There will be no excuse; there will be no one else. It will be me, one-on-one with God.
    You might say, "But I am a nobody!" This boy has no name. Obviously, this boy had a name, but we don't know it, and chances are, the crowd there didn't know it. He was a lad, of no significance to the rest of the thousands there, until he let himself be used. Even then, only ONE of the FOUR writers that documented this story even mentioned him. And the only thing that they mention was that he was there, and had a lunch.
    You might say, "But I'm not just a nobody, I don't have anything!" Well, neither did this boy. Look at verse 9 again with me.
    John 6:9 KJV 1900
    9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
    Do you see what I am seeing? Even the disciples and everyone around them didn't think much of this boy's lunch. "What are they among so many? Lord, there are a couple of fish and some small loaves of bread, but that is nothing in comparison to what we need."
    Why didn’t Jesus tell the disciples to buy bread and then miraculously multiply that bread? Because Philip expressed the doubt that everyone had - John 6:7
    John 6:7 KJV 1900
    7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
    “Even if we had 200 pennyworth of bread, even if we had 200 denarii (which 1 denarius was 1 days labor), even if we had 200 days wages we would not be able to buy enough bread for everyone to have even a little bit.”
    What does Jesus respond to? We have been noticing this for a while now, who remembers, what has Jesus chosen to respond to? FAITH. Is Philip’s statement a statement of faith?
    No. It isn’t even a statement of willingness. Philip didn’t say, “Lord, I’ll run to the bakery and get as much as I can if that is what you want.” He flat out said, “We don’t have enough.” It was a statement of finality.

    Application

    Why do some lives have impact and others don’t? The answer is not as complex as we would like it to be. It usually boils down to these things. Are you where God wants you? Are you paying attention to Him in the world around you? Are you willing to give and do whatever it is that He asks of you? And are you prepared to do it even if no one stands with you?
    Jim Elliot said this:
    “Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” ― Jim Elliot
    Do you truly believe that this is where God wants you to be? Then the next question is, are you living, as Jim Elliot put it, "to the hilt" like this is where you belong? Are you fully committed to doing what God wants you to do within this body of believers we call Good News Baptist Church?
    If God is directing you somewhere else, GO THERE! Whether that is a church, a job, a new set of friends, a ministry. Go THERE, and when you get there, BE THERE with all your heart.
    God has placed you in your family. Don't be daydreaming about a different spouse. Be THERE. Teenagers, don't go wishing you had different parents. Be THERE where God has placed you, and let God use you THERE for your benefit and the benefit of others. Don't be half a world away, or even a few miles away from where God has placed you.
    Are you WILLING? Has there been a time where you gave your ALL to Christ? Not some, but all?
    Maybe you are here this morning, and you would say, "There was a time when I gave Jesus my all. I laid my life on the altar for Him to use as He sees fit, but I have slowly taken parts of me back, and I am nothing but a hobbling Christian." I beg you, give your life back today! God will not use just half of you to great effect, He wants your all. "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot.
    Maybe you have been afraid to follow the Lord to the places He is leading you, or obeying in the things He is telling you to do through Scripture and wise council. Maybe it's because you know you would be the only one. No one would have your back. Friends may fall away, enemies may criticize, and you would be all alone. I ask you this morning to stand up for Jesus, and remember His promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. And when it seems that we are alone, the creator of the universe who loves you deeply is THERE helping you. Hebrews 13:6 “6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
    And maybe you are here this morning, and you do not know Christ as your Saviour. Let me tell you something, it is no coincidence that you are HERE. If you don't know if you would go to heaven when you die, God has allowed you to be HERE, NOW for a reason.

    Invitation

    I am going to ask everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes. We are going to have a short time of invitation, and I am going to ask some questions, questions I’d like for you to respond to, but I do not want to embarrass anyone.
    The first is for those that are not saved, that have not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, and by faith asked Him to forgive them of their sins.
    If this is you and you’d like to know a bit more about salvation, would you raise your hand?
    For those that are saved - Is there an area that God has touched your life in? Are you where God wants you to be? Are you paying attention to the world around you and to God’s direction in your life? Are you even willing to follow Him, or are you holding something back? What is it that is keeping you from making an impact for the Gospel?
    Is there anyone here that would say, “Mike, part of that sermon was for me, would you pray for me?”

    Life Group

    Warm Up
    1. Did anything stand out to you about the sermon? Any questions or comments about it?
    2. When have you seen someone with “very little” (time, money, gifts) have a surprisingly big impact on others? What happened?
    ​
    3. Think of the boy with the five loaves and two fish. If you were his age in that crowd, how likely would you have been to hand over your lunch? Why?
    ​
    4. Have you ever felt like a “nobody” or like you had “nothing much to offer” spiritually? How did that affect your willingness to serve or speak up?
    Scripture Focus
    5. How does Elijah’s obedience to be there (Cherith, then Zarephath) parallel the sermon’s point about being where God wants you?
    Heart Focus
    6. Of the four traits in the sermon—Be There, Pay Attention, Be Willing, Be Prepared to Stand Alone—which is most challenging for you right now? Why?
    7. Where do you suspect you might be “somewhere else” mentally or spiritually instead of being fully there where God has actually placed you (home, work, church, school)?
    8. What fears surface when you think about being willing to give God “all” instead of a safe portion—loss of comfort, control, reputation, relationships?
    9. When have you sensed you should take a stand or obey God knowing you might stand alone? What did you do, and what did you learn from that experience?
    Application
    10. What is one specific “loaf and fish” in your life—time block, skill, relationship, resource—you can intentionally place in Jesus’ hands for Him to use? What will be your next step with it?​

      • Mark 6:27–31KJV1900

      • Luke 9:10KJV1900

      • Matthew 14:13KJV1900

      • John 6:1–2KJV1900

      • John 6:3KJV1900

      • Mark 6:34KJV1900

      • Matthew 14:15KJV1900

      • John 6:5–6KJV1900

      • John 6:7–14KJV1900

      • John 6:10KJV1900

      • Mark 6:41KJV1900

      • John 6:8–9KJV1900

      • John 6:12–15KJV1900

      • 1 Kings 17:1–9KJV1900

      • Romans 12:1KJV1900

      • John 6:9KJV1900

      • John 6:7KJV1900

Good News Baptist Church
http://www.gnbc.church
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