Greg Laurie - Dinner with Jesus (07/07/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie preaches on the feeding of the 5,000 from Matthew 14, showing Jesus' deep compassion for the hungry crowd despite their shallow motives. Through Philip's doubt, Andrew's partial faith, and a little boy's small lunch of five loaves and two fish, God multiplies it to feed over 5,000 with leftovers. The key takeaway is that God transforms the insufficient and insignificant when surrendered to Jesus, urging us to trust Him with our needs and offer what we have for His use.
Introduction and Personal Update
Good morning everybody. Good to see you. So, the force of nature was here last Sunday. Steve Wilbur, that's what we call him. That's his nickname. Kathy and I were celebrating our 41st wedding anniversary. So, it was a great time. I thought the best sermon I could share is, don't preach on the day of your wedding anniversary, but be with your wife. So we took a little time off. And coming back from that trip, I got myself a whopper of a cold. How many of you have been fighting this sickness? Man, it's been going around. So, I'm a little sick. And I took some cold medication. So, I want to just apologize at the outset for anything I may say this morning. Who knows what's going to happen. Well, let's have a prayer together. Father, we are so thankful to be here today. And we come now to your word, believing that it is true. Believing that you will speak to our hearts today. So, we come to give our attention with intention. As you tell us in scripture, we should have ears to hear what you would say to us. So, speak to us from your word. We ask now in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
All right. Well, we're back in our God Came Near series. And today, we're going to be looking at Matthew chapter 14. So, turn there with me if you would. Matthew chapter 14. This is a chronological look at the life of Christ from all four Gospels. And the title of my message today is Dinner with Jesus.
Why Food and Jesus Go Together
Let me start with a quick poll. How many of you like to eat? Raise your hand. Oh wow, this is the gluttonous service, isn't it? Okay. Well, that's... I'm one of you, for sure. How many of you don't really like to eat? Raise your hand. Okay. There are people like that. Okay. I don't understand you completely. But maybe I admire you. I'm not sure. Well, I'll tell you. You can set a clock by my stomach. I mean, I know what time it is not by looking at my watch, but by the way I feel. I mean, I'm hungry for lunch at around 9:45. Seriously. I mean, I'm just counting it down. And then I'll go to my wife and say, what's for lunch? And she'll be like, lunch, it's 8:30 in the morning. I say, no, it's 11:01. Lunch. And, you know, it's something I think about a lot. And I, of course, like to eat. And I guess I'm not the only one because I read recently that America is one of the most overweight nations on earth. And then to make matters worse, I was reading an article in the paper the other day that said California leads the nation as the fattest state in the country. I almost choked on my pizza while I was reading it. Shocking.
But then they're coming out with these advertisements for these new burgers, you know. Introducing the charbroiled double beef pastrami and roast beef chicken and sausage sandwich. We dip it in butter, then cover it in chocolate. It's a CPR special from Carl's Jr. I mean, what is with these ads and all this food in front of our faces? And then if that's not bad enough, I like to watch the Food Channel. Anybody watch the Food Channel? I actually like it. We know most of the celebrity chefs' names now. One of our favorite shows is Chopped. You ever watch Chopped? Basically, folks are brought in. Sometimes they're professionals. Sometimes they aren't. But they're chefs or cooks. And they compete with one another. And they have mystery ingredients offered to them. And they've had the strangest things put out there that they have to make a meal out of. They have to make an appetizer. Then they need to make an entrée. Then they need to make a dessert. And the judges taste what they eat. And there's one person that emerges as the winner. All the others are chopped. And so, you know, the ingredients for this meal are leftover pizza, peanut butter, and yak brain. You know, and they have to make something out of that.
Actually, one of the shows I really like on the Food Channel, my wife doesn't like to watch it, it's called Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Guy Fieri, I want his job. Or I want to spend a day with that guy. He eats the kind of food I like to eat. Well, I bring this all up because I'm hungry. No, I bring it up because Jesus liked to eat too. In fact, there are so many instances in Scripture of Christ having a meal with people. Of course, we all know the story of Jesus stopping in at the home of Martha, who would prepare a wonderful home-cooked meal for him and his disciples. And we remember after he rose again from the dead, he appeared to the disciples. And what does he do? He's cooking a meal for them. He's making breakfast for them. To show he was in a real resurrection body, he ate fish in front of them.
Jesus' Invitation to Fellowship
And Jesus actually used the picture of eating as a picture of fellowship and relationship with him when he said in Revelation 3:20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and, in the King James, sup with you. Or a more modern translation, have a meal with you. So, this is something Jesus enjoyed doing when he walked this earth. And now we come to one of the most well-known miracles of all of the Bible, the feeding of the 5,000. By the way, this is the only miracle found in all four Gospels. So, clearly, God wants us to pay attention to what happened on this day when 5,000 people plus women and children were fed.
So, let's read about it now. Matthew 14, starting in verse 14. And we'll read down to verse 21. When Jesus went out, He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." He said, "Bring them here to Me." Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. We'll stop there.
The Miracle and Its Backdrop
Now, this is a lot of people's favorite story in the Bible, favorite miracle. I heard about a little boy that was asked what his favorite Bible story was. And he said, "I like the story where everyone loafs and fishes." Well, that's not exactly what happened here. But the idea is communicated that this is one that many people like. And let's sort of get the backdrop of what was happening when this miracle was performed. Jesus was reaching the peak of his popularity. His fame was growing by the minute. If we were to put it in the modern vernacular, Jesus was like a rock star to a lot of people. All of his events would have been sold out. There would have been standing room only. If he were a celebrity today, the paparazzi would have been following him around. There was a buzz about Jesus wherever he was.
There was a great crowd gathering around to hear what he had to say, to watch the miracles he would perform. So on this particular day, the crowd is really swelled. It's pushing 10,000 because we read 5,000 men plus women and children. So now the day has dragged on and the night is falling and the people are hungry. And showing that God cares about every area of our life, we read in verse 14, He was moved with compassion for them. By the way, this word used here for compassion means to have one's inner being stirred. Remember, compassion is not just caring. It's caring enough to do something. Compassion is not just pity. It's pity plus action.
Compassion That Acts
You know, I might see somebody that's hurting and say, oh, look at that person. They're hurting or they're homeless or they look like they could use a meal. So I have pity on them. But compassion is pity plus action. Oh, look at that person in need. Now I'm gonna go and do something to help them in their area of need. So Jesus felt this compassion. Now, here's what's interesting. He knew why they were really following him. And they were not following him because they believed he was their long-awaited Messiah. They were not following him because they wanted to worship him. They were following him, according to John 6:2, because they saw the miracles that he did. You can almost describe them as thrill-seekers. Spiritual groupies, if you will.
So Jesus knew this about them. I'm glad I don't know what people are always thinking. Wouldn't that be depressing? You know, someone's complimenting you to your face and then you could read their thoughts and know what they really think about you. Well, Jesus was omniscient, which means he was all-knowing, and he knew exactly where their hearts were at and he knew that they didn't really want to follow him for the right reasons. Yet we read he cared for them. And I ask you this question. When you look at people without God, does your heart ever go out to them?
Seeing People as Captives, Not Enemies
You know, sometimes I think the problem is we see non-believers as the enemy. We see somebody that maybe is expressing themselves in a godless way in the language they use or the way that they dress or the decisions they make. And we think they're the enemy and we miss the point. They're not the enemy. They are the captive. The enemy is Satan. And the Bible says that they have been taken captive by Satan to do his will. And we need to remind ourselves it was not all that long ago that we too were one of those people. So do we care enough to reach out to them? Jesus did. And he wanted to change them. He wanted to impact them. But these people just wanted entertainment.
You know, it was an interesting statement back from the days of Rome by a satirist named Juvenal. And speaking of the condition of Rome not long before her fall, he made this statement: "All the people of Rome care about are bread and circuses." Bread and circuses. This is the day when the Colosseum was there and the people loved those great events where the gladiators would compete or where free bread would be distributed or they would be entertained in some way, shape, or form. And man, you fast forward 2,000 years and you look at America today and the same thing could be said in some ways. All we care about is bread and circuses. Feed us and entertain us.
Three Key Characters in the Story
But now I want you to see what happens in this story and three primary characters emerge and you might find yourself relating to one of them. Character number one is Philip. Character number two is Andrew, both apostles. And the third character is nameless, so we'll just call him the little boy. You might find that one of these characters is just like you or you're just like them.
Let's start with Philip. So here's the scene. The crowds are closing in and Jesus turns to his disciple Philip and asks a question. Now this is why looking at all four Gospels helps us to get the big picture because John's Gospel, speaking of this same miracle, describes it this way in John 6. Jesus turns to Philip as he sees the crowds gathering and he asks this, "Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all of these people?" Then it goes on to say he was testing Philip for he already knew what he was going to do. I love that. By the way, God always knows what he's going to do. We're never going to talk him into or out of anything. He always has a plan. Sometimes it may not seem like it to us, but he always has a plan and it's always for our good and for his glory.
Philip's Test of Faith
So Jesus asks Philip a question. Where are we going to find food for all of these people? Now this is almost a laughable statement because Philip is standing in the presence of God incarnate. Philip is standing next to the creator of the universe in human form. This is like standing in front of Niagara Falls and asking where I could get some water. I mean, this is the almighty God right there. And the proper answer would have been, Lord, you're God. You can feed them. Of course, there's precedent in scripture of the Lord bringing manna out of heaven, breaking rocks open in the wilderness and water coming out. This would not be a hard thing for the Lord to do.
But instead of saying that, even though Philip had already seen many miracles from the hand of Jesus at this point, he responds and says, well, it would take a small fortune to feed them. So he was missing the obvious. I bring this up because sometimes we think we've learned something and we need to relearn it again. There's an interesting passage in Hebrews 5 that says, you've been Christians a long time now. You ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things over and over. You're like a baby who drinks only milk and you can't eat solid food.
Spiritual Growth and Retesting
And I think that's such an accurate description of some believers today. They've known the Lord for 10 years, 20 years, and they're still like spiritual babies. I saw a couple of older children the other day. They must have been maybe 6 or 7 years old and they had pacifiers in their mouths. Both of them. And I thought that's just a little odd. I think we've moved beyond the pacifier, haven't we? But some Christians are that way. We're 6 years old in the Lord, 15 years old in the Lord, and we're still going over the basics over and over again. You see, sometimes you need to be tested and you need to be retested. And this was a test for the disciples. And maybe you're going through a test right now. Maybe God is testing your faith. And I'll tell you what, I don't like tests. When I was in school, I hated pop quizzes especially. Because the teacher would just drop them on you. And the reason I didn't like them is I never studied. And so I was never prepared.
God will drop tests in our lives. And this was a test for Philip and unfortunately for him, he did not pass.
Andrew and the Little Boy's Offering
Now we come to our second character in the story, Andrew. Now Andrew is a little different than Philip. He carefully surveys the situation and he's looking things over. He looks at the size of this crowd. And by the way, Andrew was originally introduced to Jesus by John the Baptist. Talk about a great introduction. Andrew was one of John's disciples and when Christ came on the scene, John pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." So Andrew began to follow Jesus and then he immediately went out and found his brother, Simon Peter, and brought him to the Lord. So Andrew was a very perceptive guy spiritually. And one trait we see of Andrew is he was always bringing other people to Jesus.
So here's Andrew now. He's surveying the situation and instead of saying what Philip said, he says, "Well there's a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish." Now he's on to something. I don't know how we'll feed them, but there is a boy here with five loaves of bread and two fish. And then he catches himself and says, "But what is that among so many?" So he was close but not quite there.
The Power of a Small Gift
And that brings us to the third character in our story, the little boy. Now in our account here in Matthew, we don't read about him, but in John's gospel, we read these words commenting on the same story. There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish. So who was this boy? We don't know. We figure he was probably poor. Why? Because he had barley bread. See, that doesn't mean a lot to us, but barley bread in that time was the cheapest of all bread that you could purchase. It was something that was held in contempt, usually fed to animals. And then he had two small fish. So those would be like a kid showing up with two stale crackers and some sardines. I mean, this kid had nothing. Or Wonder Bread and Spam. You know, however you want to illustrate it.
But this boy did something that set him apart from all the other boys. And I'm sure there were other children there and other people there that had food. They could have come forward and said, well, I'm willing to share. But this little boy was the one who stepped forward and was willing to give probably his lunch over to Jesus. He gave his lunch as poor as it was to Jesus. The lunch was as insufficient as it could be and the boy was as insignificant as he could be. But the point of the story is that which was insufficient from the hands of the insignificant became sufficient and significant when placed in the hands of Jesus.
God Multiplies What We Surrender
Let me repeat that. That which was insufficient—the lunch—from the hands of the insignificant—the little boy—became sufficient and significant when placed in the hands of Jesus. You know, you may look at your life and say, I don't have a lot to offer God. I'm not a talented person. I'm not a gifted individual. Well, that may or may not be true. But you know what I've discovered is God can do a lot with a little. And you just say, here's what I have, Lord. And it's not much, but I give it over to you. And you watch what God can do. You see, the key is, when God gets hold of it, it can be transformed.
What makes a gift great in the service of God? It's not the magnitude of the gift. It's into whose hands the gift is given. I could go over here and grab one of these guitars and strap it on and plug it in and start playing one of the five chords that I know. And you would not be impressed at all. And you would say, man, that guitar is a piece of junk. Well, no, it's not that the guitar is a piece of junk. It's just that I am not a very good guitar player. In fact, I'm not really a guitar player at all. But then one of our worship team could pick that thing up and play a little lead on it. And you'd say, that's an awesome guitar. No, it's not an awesome guitar. It's an awesome guitar player. You see, that's the difference.
So we take our life and we offer it to God. It's not so much the life, it's the one that we offer it to. Then he takes that life and he does something with it and through it. So here's what you need to do. Present your fish and loaves to Jesus. Bring your Wonder Bread and Spam. Bring your life to him and say, Lord, I would like to be used by you. Because a little can become a lot when it's placed in the hands of God.
Lessons from the Multiplication
And here's what was happening. The disciples were being tested in this area. Could they believe God when things were looking bleak? Could they trust God when they could not see a clear answer to their problem? And this test will come to us as well. In fact, Jesus told us in the Lord's Prayer to pray this on a regular basis: "Give us this day our daily bread." That is not only a prayer where I'm asking God to provide my food and my resources and all that I need in life on a daily basis. But it's also an acknowledgement that everything that I have comes from God.
The Lord wants me to remember on a regular basis to give thanks to him for everything I have has been given to me graciously by him. But then there are those days when maybe a large bill comes and you don't have the money to pay it. Or then there are those times where there's no food on the table. And you wonder, how am I going to get through this? This is when your faith kicks in. And you remember what the Word of God says. And I've been a Christian now for well over 40 years. And I can tell you that the Lord has always provided my needs. Hasn't it been true for you as well? And he will continue to do that. Paul says in Philippians 4:19, "My God will supply all of your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." By the way, notice Paul doesn't say he'll supply all of your greeds. He says he'll supply all of your needs.
How Jesus Multiplied the Food
Now I want you to look at how Jesus solves this problem. Because it's a fascinating combination of the natural and the supernatural. Mark's gospel tells us he has them sit down in groups of 50 and 100. It's very organized. And then we read, Jesus took the five loaves and two fish. Looking up to heaven, he asked God's blessing on the food, breaking the loaves and the pieces. And he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples. And the disciples gave it to the people. See, what he did was he takes a little boy's food. He blesses it. He distributes it. Then the disciples take it. They distribute it. They come back. There's some more. They get it. They take it and distribute it. This goes on and on. It's not like a mountain of bread just showed up. No, as they gave, he gave more. As they distributed, he continued to provide.
So this just shows us that God often works supernaturally through the natural. He gives us what we need when we need it. He never gives us less than we need, but he'll always give us what we need in the moment we need it. And sometimes we'll look at what someone else may be going through in life. Maybe it's very hard. Maybe it's very traumatic. Maybe it's a tragic loss. And we'll say, man, I hope that never happens to me because if it did, I could never trust God through such a thing. Oh, yes, you could. Because if God lets you go through it, he would give you the strength to get through it.
Developing Our Gifts for God's Glory
And I think what we need to do is we need to take the gifts that God has given to us and we need to start developing them. Because God has given certain spiritual gifts to every one of his followers who has been filled with the Holy Spirit. And these gifts don't come fully developed. You have to use them. And that's why Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:6, "I want to remind you to fan into flame the spiritual gift God gave you." And God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you're a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If you're called to encourage others, then do it. If you have money, then share it generously.
And I want you to notice this. Verse 20 of our text. They ate and were filled and they took up 12 baskets full of the fragments that remained. So not only did God provide for their needs, but there were even leftovers. Everybody was full. And by the way, that's the kind of a meal a man likes. A meal that fills his stomach. Right, guys? So these guys were full. And there were leftovers even. And that reminds us that we serve a generous God. Ephesians 3:20 says, Now glory be to God by His mighty power at work through us. He's able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare ask or hope.
The Crowd's Wrong Motives
Now, this clearly was the most popular miracle Jesus ever performed. And in fact, it was so popular that John's Gospel gives us this commentary in John 6:14. It says, These men, when they saw the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is the prophet that has come into the world." Therefore, when Jesus perceived they were about to come and take Him by force and make Him king, He departed to the mountain by Himself alone.
So basically, he performs this miracle. And the guys get together and say, with a show of hands, who wants to make Jesus king? They're eating their food. Let's make Him king. Yes, we want Him king. And they're going to force Him to be king. It's almost laughable that it says they want to take Him by force. So He knows what's up. He knows that their motives are wrong. He knows their agenda is wrong. And this reminds us of a very important point. These people wanted to use God instead of being used by God.
Don't Use God for Personal Gain
You see, they wanted Jesus to overthrow the tyranny of Rome. They wanted Jesus to perform miracles for them. And best of all, they wanted Jesus to provide them with lunch each and every day. Jesus said, No, that's not why I've come. That's not my agenda. I've come to die for the sin of the world. I've come to rise again from the dead. I will not be used by you. And in the same way, there are people today that want to use God. You know, you see this whenever a political cycle starts, right? People start running for office. And all of a sudden, everybody's a Christian. All these candidates are talking about their faith in Jesus Christ and how important their faith is to them.
But I don't believe a person is a Christian just because they say they're a Christian. I look at their voting record. And I want to see if they vote the right way on the issues that are important to me as a person who believes in the teaching of the Bible. You know, they may say to us, well, God is on our side. And I like the words of Abraham Lincoln when he said, my concern is not whether God is on our side. My greatest concern is whether we are on God's side. For God is always right.
Real Compassion Meets Spiritual Needs
But you'll see this in other areas as well. People will use God to get something. Jesus will not be used by people. And these people were trying to use him to pursue their agenda. And he withdrew from them. So now, coming to a close, what do we learn from this story? Number one, we need to show compassion for those who are in need. Again, remember, compassion is not just pity. It's pity plus action. Yes, Jesus met their physical needs. Yes, Jesus filled their empty stomachs. But then after that, if you continue on to read in John's gospel, Jesus went into great depth talking to them about the fact that they needed their spiritual needs met even more than their physical needs. And after this great miracle, he said in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life. He that comes to me shall never hunger. He that believes in me shall never thirst."
Listen, churches and ministries provide for people who are in need. Our church helps people in our community every single day. We distribute food. We distribute clothing. We help people with housing. We counsel them for their marital problems. We reach out to people who are homeless on the streets. We help people who deal with addictions. We do mission trips up to Skid Row. It just goes on and on. We go overseas with Harvest Relief. We rebuild homes in Haiti. We do all of these things and so we should. But if a church or a ministry only provides housing and only provides food and only provides the other things, it does not deal with the soul of the person, then we have missed the point. Because the most important thing is the spiritual need of the person.
Key Applications from the Miracle
A hundred years from now, everyone is going to be dead. It's a profound thought. Kind of a depressing one. But it's true. So even if I fed a person and I've clothed a person and helped to rehabilitate a person, if I have not dealt with them and the issue of their soul and tried to bring them to Jesus Christ, then I have missed what I am supposed to do. These other things have their place. But sometimes churches and ministries will substitute good works in the place of actual gospel proclamation. And I think we need to do both. And Jesus modeled that for us in this story.
Number two. When faced with a need, no matter how large, we need to look to God for the solution. There will come situations in life where you don't have the resources or the ability to respond. Seemingly monstrous things that are beyond your control. You know, I have five grandchildren. Four girls, one boy. And two of the smaller ones, Allie and Christopher, ages two and four. They like me to play a game where I am the monster. And basically I chase them around the house. And so they will come up to me and they go, Papa, Papa, be monster. And they will say it to me over and over. And I say, Okay, on the count of three, I am a monster. One. Two. Three. Roar. And I walk around like this. Now, if I get too close, it freaks them out. So I have to keep my distance so they don't get hurt. I am sort of a benign monster. And they never tire of this game.
But then there are real monsters that come in our lives. Something that is so big and so powerful, we wonder, How can this ever be conquered? Like a marriage that is completely unraveled. Or an addiction you have tried to overcome, but it just gets worse. Or maybe a serious illness with no hope in sight. Or maybe it is a financial monster that looms over and you say, How am I ever going to deal with this?
Tests Build Endurance and Maturity
Well, listen, these tests come in our lives and they are allowed by God to show us our weakness and His sufficiency. Here is what James 1:2-4 says in a modern translation. When all kinds of trials and temptations come into your lives, don't treat them as intruders, but friends. Realize they have come to test your faith and produce in you the quality of endurance and let that process go on until that endurance is fully developed and you will find that you become men and women of mature character and integrity with no weak spots.
When trials or tests come your way, don't treat them as intruders. Treat them as friends. It makes no sense. Everything is going well. I am walking with the Lord and all of a sudden, boom, here comes a trial. God, why are you allowing this? Because He wants you to learn what He is teaching you and He will retest you again and again so you will become a mature man or woman of God.
Number three. Remember, nothing is too small or too big for God to respond to. Just bring it to the Lord in prayer. I love that old hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. It says, Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Isn't that true? You know, we make life so much harder because we just won't pray about it. We try to resolve it in our own ability. And the Lord says, Why don't you just bring this to me?
Prayer Turns Worry into Peace
A verse that every believer should commit to memory. Philippians 4:6. Don't worry about anything. Pray about everything. And the peace of God that passes all human understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Listen, turn your worries into prayers. And there is something right now that is bothering some of you. Turn that worry into a prayer. Turn that anxiety into a petition. Just send it right to the throne of God and say, Lord, honestly, this freaks me out a little bit. I don't know how to deal with it, but I know you do. And I trust you. And I give it to you in prayer.
And finally, number four. Bring your talents and abilities and your gifts and your resources to Jesus. Bring what you have to the Lord no matter how insignificant they may seem to you. You may think, well, they're so small. But you see, God can do a lot with a little, as I said already. Yes, this was a test. And in some ways, I wonder if America is not being tested right now. Look at our country. Look at the racial tension. Look at the uncertain leadership. Look at the terrorist threats happening around the world. It's a test. Will America turn to God? Or will America forget God? I hope we turn to Him. Because I believe judgment is coming ultimately and America needs to turn back to the Lord. And that starts with us.
Invitation and Closing Prayer
Perhaps you're being tested today. Maybe you're facing a great temptation. And you're thinking, man, I don't know if I can resist this. Sure you can. Because 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, There is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. But God, who is faithful, will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the temptation will make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. There's always a way out. He won't give you more than you can handle. But on the other hand, it may be a test where you say, Lord, I can't take any more. This is too much. Well, He'll give you the strength to get through what you're going through right now. Because you have His promise that as His child, He will be there for you.
But let me say this in closing. If you're a non-Christian, if you're a person who has not put their faith in Christ, and you're going through a time of testing, listen, you need God. Sometimes God will allow these things in our lives so we will turn to Him. But far too often, we turn to Him during the crisis and then forget about Him as soon as the need is met. Don't do that. Maybe the Lord has allowed something in your life to wake you up to your need for Him. And here you are in church. You haven't darkened the doorway of a church in years. Or maybe you've never been inside of a church. Or maybe you're watching this online. I just want you to know that the Lord may allow these things in your life so you will turn to Him and find out how much He loves you. And so you will find His forgiveness.
And if you've not believed in Jesus yet, I'd like to give you an opportunity to turn to Him as we close now in prayer. Here are the words of Jesus: Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Or as another translation puts it, Come to Me, all of you who are weary to the point of exhaustion, and you're loaded with burdens and you're bending beneath their weight. I alone will cause you to cease from your labor and take away your burdens and refresh you with rest.
Let's pray. Father, we've heard the words of Jesus. Now we want to come to Him with our needs. Maybe, Lord, there's someone here with a physical need. And the doctors haven't given them any hope. We're praying, Lord, that you will extend your healing hand toward them. Because we remember when Jesus went to that cross, prior to that, He took the stripes on His back from the Roman whip. And Scripture tells us by His stripes we are healed. Will you heal those that need that touch from you today?
We pray for those who have a great financial need, Lord. Would you provide for them according to your riches in glory in Christ Jesus? We pray for those that are experiencing tragedy and sadness right now, and it overwhelms them and they don't know how they will survive it. Lord, will you help them to see they're not alone, and you're more than sufficient to meet their needs.
And Lord, I especially pray now for any that have joined us who do not yet know you. Would you help them to see what they need is Jesus? They need to believe in you and turn from their sin and begin to follow you from this moment forward. Help them to do that. And if you've joined us here today, and you've never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life, you might just pray this simple prayer after me right where you are.
Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, but I know that you are a Savior. And I turn to you now. And I choose to follow you from this moment forward as Savior and Lord, as God and friend. Thank you for calling me and accepting me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Listen, if you prayed that prayer with me a moment ago, you can clap if you'd like, please. If you prayed that prayer with me, and I trust that some of you did, we want to give to you a Bible that looks like the one I'm holding here. This is called the Start Bible, and this is the New Testament with some notes that I wrote that we'll put in your hands for you to take home and start reading. And we want to talk with you about what it means to follow Christ. So over in the corner of our building here at Harvest Riverside, we have a room. It's a counseling room. If you'll go over there, we'll give you this Bible and talk with you after this service. Just say, hey, I prayed with Pastor Greg, and I asked Christ to come into my life, and I want to know more, and we'll help you in that commitment or recommitment you've made to follow Christ.
Well, we're going to receive our morning tithes and offerings. You know, here's an interesting thing about giving. Sometimes I think we feel that giving is taking away from us. But we need to remember that everything that we have comes from God, right? And the Lord tells us to honor Him with the first fruits of our increase. He tells us to bring our tithes and offerings into His place, to our place of worship. And then He says, and then I will provide your needs. I will pour out blessings from heaven. And here's an interesting thing. As the Lord blesses us and we give back to Him, He promises to continue to provide for us. We don't give to get, but we give because we've received. Everything you have has been given to you from God. So now we invest in His kingdom so more people can be transformed with the same gospel that has transformed our lives.
Let's pray. Father, bless this time of giving now, and use these gifts for your glory so more people can hear about Jesus. We commit it to you now. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.