Help Wanted
Pt. 3 - It's Your Serve
I. Introduction
A recent news article states that with more than 11 million job openings and only 6 million unemployed workers, employers have struggled for more than a year to hire enough people to fill their ranks. Although employers across the economy say they’re struggling to find and keep workers, labor shortages are most pronounced in retail (where roughly 70 percent of job openings remain unfilled), manufacturing (about 55 percent) and leisure and hospitality (45 percent). Businesses today would certainly recognize the dilemma that Jesus addressed in today's text.
Text: Mark 6:32-34 (ISV)
So they went away in a boat to a deserted place by themselves. But when many people saw them leave and recognized them, they hurried on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. When he got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. He had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.
You will remember Jesus makes this statement in Matthew 10, but then also states that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. He is addressing a labor shortage. He is declaring that help is needed. There are a couple of interesting things in this similar passage that I draw to your attention. The first is that the text says that it is a deserted place. The parallel passage in Matthew 14 says it is a desolate place. The word there used for deserted or desolate means barren. That interests me because that means to me that it lacks life, sustaining ability, resources. I would just ask you to stop and look around you today. For all the promises of the nation we live in. For all of the technological advances we enjoy. For all of the material items we possess. I think we could assess our land and say it is barren in that the promises don't produce life. Buy everything and obtain everything that media says we need and still there is no sustainable joy. Our land looks like much like the land Jesus observed. The condition of the people of Jesus' day is exactly like the people of our day.
The second thing I noticed is that Jesus models for us what we do in light of the condition of the people we see like this.
TEXT: Mark 6:35-44
When it was quite late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and it’s already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go to the neighboring farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked him, “Should we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” He asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.” They found out and told him, “Five loaves and two fish.” Then he ordered them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed them. Then he broke the loaves in pieces and kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. All of them ate and were filled. Then the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of leftover bread and fish. There were 5,000 men who had eaten the loaves.
Notice how Jesus' disciples wanted to respond? It sounds like too many of us. When we are safe. When we are fulfilled. When we are saved. Send these folks away. Let them fend for themselves. But notice what Jesus says in response. He puts it back on the disciples. "You give them something to eat!" The disciples admit they can't pull this off. I don't know about you, but I too have come to the conclusion that I personally have nothing to offer folks who are hopeless. I have can't save one person. I don't have the resources or the power to produce a life change. So, when the disciples respond by describing their lack Jesus steps in and produces a miracle. He takes the meager offerings of the disciples and produces a banquet. But notice what He does . . . Jesus produces the miracle (the power, the resources) and then He places the miracle back in the hands of the disciples to distribute.
We are His distribution system for the supernatural as we serve. He provides the answer and expects the disciples to get the answer to the people in need. His arms are only as short as our reach! I also want you to notice what happens. The text says He kept giving to the disciples as long as they were giving it away and He kept giving it to them until everyone ate and everyone was filled.
Jesus models for us how we are to serve. Think about it. When Jesus received the small lunch box, He could have eaten it Himself. He could have fed his 3 favorite disciples. He could have made sure that the wealthy or the popular/important people in the crowd were taken care of. But instead, He feeds them all and even provides extra to make sure all were filled.
I just came to remind you that when you have encountered Jesus. When you have been rescued. When you have tasted the goodness and great grace of God then we must conclude that we have been blessed beyond measure. We have been given more than enough!!! Said another way . . . there are plenty of supplies to go around if you’re willing to serve others. He will multiply resources if He can simply find someone to distribute the extra that He gives them. I believe as long as we will continue to give it to others, He will keep giving to us. Therefore, we must not withhold the more than enough for just a few. We must not withhold the more than enough for certain folks. No, our task is to distribute the great abundance of grace until everyone has been served.
I remind you that this isn’t the only time Jesus fed those around him. On, the night before He is arrested and begins His journey toward to death, He eats a meal with His disciples. Once again Jesus distributes food. He takes bread and breaks it. He takes a cup and blesses it. Once again Jesus models for us how to serve because in this exchange He even feeds one at the table who He knew would betray Him. He didn’t withhold from someone that He knew would hurt Him or that He didn’t like, didn’t trust. Jesus simply served all. He consistently models selflessly and sacrificially serving others. And the really good news is He has given us a place at this table too.
He made it possible through the shedding of His blood and the breaking of His body for us to have access to the Father, to resources, to be full filled. So, today we are going to take communion together to remember and reflect on how He has served us. However, we are going to take it not just to contemplate what Jesus did for us. Today, as we receive communion, I want us to be reminded that as His disciples we must follow His example. We have been served so in turn we must serve. I want us to be reminded that saved people serve people.
Ushers if you will distribute the elements.
It looks like everyone has the elements. Let me make sure. Has everyone been served?
As of Jan. 1, 2020, there are 25,679 individuals incarcerated in 24 state prisons. private prisons or local jails.
April Arthur - Each year, 573 children age-out of the OKDHS foster care system – at age 18 – and are never adopted. 248 children in OKDHS foster care have been waiting for adoption for more than five years. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has 9,000 children in out-of-home care. There are currently approximately 500 children who need to be adopted.
There are 143,930 senior adults living alone in Oklahoma. Of these, 71% are female. 7% of Oklahoma senior households have an annual income of less than $10k and 28% less than $20k.
There are 53,000 students in our surrounding schools. 67.3% of students are economically disadvantaged. There were nearly 46,000 student deaths by suicide in 2020, making it the 12th-leading cause of death in the United States. In Oklahoma, 514,990 people are facing hunger - and of them 183,720 are children.
There were 733 overdose deaths that occurred from 2019 to 2020 in Oklahoma.
More than 1.5 million Oklahomans are unaffiliated with any church and one organization has estimated that at current rates of evangelization it would take 257 years to reach that many people for Jesus. Worldwide there are over 3 billion people in over 7,000 people groups who are currently unreached by the gospel. Unreached means that people don’t have access to the gospel. It’s not that they can hear or have heard the gospel, and they choose not to believe it; it’s that they can’t even hear it because no one around them knows it.
So, it is apparent that not everyone has been served. There is an abundant supply. There is more than enough of Jesus' love and grace to go around but there are those who need to be served. We have a seat at the table this morning. We are being served this morning and we must remember that Jesus needs our help to serve those who are hungry, those who are tired, those who are alone, those who are broken, those who are looking for hope. Let us take the elements and become the elements for those around us! I heard it said, “If we are going to make it hard for people to go to hell - we have to make it easy for people to go to church." We do this by becoming the church that goes to them!
