All right, it is a blessing again to be among you this Lord's Day and to be able to stand before you and to preach God's word. If you would please take your Bible and turn to Mark's Gospel, chapter eight, Mark's Gospel, chapter eight. At home, we've been going through the consecutive study in this particular gospel, and so. I just felt in the matter of normalcy to just continue to preach to you as I would if I was at home preaching to the folks there in our place. Mark's Gospel, chapter 8, and our text will be taken from verses 1 through 21 this morning. The scriptures read that in those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come from afar. Then his disciples answered him, How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness? He asked them, how many loaves do you have? And they said seven. So he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and gave thanks. And he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before them. And they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled and took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Now, those who had eaten were about four thousand and he sent them away and immediately got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha. Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, testing him. But he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation. And he left them and getting into the boat again, he departed to the other side. Now, the disciples had forgotten to take bread and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. that he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets, four fragments did you take up? Then they said to him, twelve. Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up? And they said, seven. So he said to them, how is it You do not understand. And that is our theme this morning. How is it that you do not yet understand? Let's again ask God's help in the preaching of his word. Fathers, we come to your word. We come to your place of worship this day in this your church. We pray, Father, that you would open your word, illuminate its truths to our hearts and speak to us from it. Help me, Father, as feeble as my efforts may be, Father, to be your mouthpiece in speaking forth your word to the people of God this day. And may Jesus be glorified. For it's in his name we pray. Amen. We all understand and recognize that faith is an indispensable element to the walk of a Christian. The Bible sets forth very clearly that without faith it is impossible to please God. For he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. one element of our faith is that reality that God is. That doesn't just mean that God exists, but that God is all that he declares himself to be in his holy word. The Bible teaches that one aspect of who God is is that God is sovereign, that God rules and reigns over all the affairs of men in all of life. The Bible teaches us that in many places, such as Daniel 4.35, where it says all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he, that is God, doeth his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can say unto him, What doest thou? Now, most accept God's sovereignty. over the nations. Most would say that God is sovereign when it comes to the large events that occur in the world. But when we exclaim that his sovereignty extends even to the minutest details of our lives, people squirm. It is a truth that we delight in. When we think that things are going in life as we would want them to go, when the life in which we are living is going pleasing to ourselves, then we're happy to delight. And yes, God is in control. God is sovereign. God is on the throne. But what about when our life is not going as we desire? What about when life is hard and life is difficult and many dark providences come and many struggles are there before us? Do we remember that God is yet on his throne and God is yet in control? Is it not at those times sometimes when we tremble in our faith? And yet, is it not when faith is most needed in the Christian walk? A belief that though the circumstances of life are not as we might desire them or as we think they ought to be, that God is sovereign and that God is controlling all things and ordering all things for the good of them that love him and who are called according to his purpose. Or as Ezra declared, God is upon all them for good that seek him. Beloved, this is when faith, the concept, becomes faith, the practice. This is when we don't just talk about faith, but we need to live faith. We need to embrace faith. We need to have a faith. that continues to exist in God's care for us and control of the details of our lives. With all the disciples had heard up to this point in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all that they had witnessed with their eyes, one would think that the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ would have had a steadfast and unmovable, and a strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet the reality is, in our narrative, Christ asked the disciples not once, but twice, how is it you do not understand? How can it be that you do not yet understand A question that is not irrelevant to all of us who sit here today. Maybe you've been a Christian for years. Maybe you've been a member of this church for many years, a faithful servant of the Lord. And yet are there not times when the Lord comes to us or needs to come to us and ask this question? How is it you do not understand? Where is your faith? This morning we want to open up this passage under three headings. First of all, we will look at the events that lead up to this question. Second of all, we'll look at the events surrounding the question. And then lastly, we'll draw some lessons from the question itself as we ask it of ourselves. First of all this morning, the events that lead up to the question. The Lord Jesus Christ, in asking this question, how is it you do not understand, did not come out of the blue. It came within the framework of a certain context, and we need to understand that context. First of all, there is the context of the proclaimed compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ for the well-being of all who follow him. The setting in this passage is in the remote area of the wilderness by the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We find that Jesus had been ministering in the more Gentile area of that day. He had been over in the region they called Decapolis, on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. And we find that the events in verses 1 and following, in the first part of this chapter, were occurring on this eastern side of the seashore. Now, these people had gathered. Perhaps they had heard the testimony of the demonic man. Jesus had previously ministered into that area, and back in chapter 5 had healed a man that was possessed with demons in that same area. God saved that man, delivered him, and then left that area. And perhaps this man had been zealous for the cause of Christ and his testimony had gone out. People have known this man. He had lived as an animal in the caves and had been buying by chains. And now he is walking around whole and normal. And no doubt when he was asked what had happened, he would tell them, Jesus of Nazareth has delivered me. And now Jesus comes back into that same region of the area. And a multitude gathers at Jesus' feet to hear and to see Jesus. They had been there in that setting, the passage says, for about three days. Now you think church is long sometimes around here. I know our people sometimes think church can get a little long. Folks, they had been ministering, Jesus had been ministering to the people for three solid days. You know, I don't know how that unfolded, if it was nonstop teaching during all the daylight hours or what had occurred. But all we know is the people were there and they hadn't moved for three days. And Jesus had continued to open his mouth and to speak many things to these people and minister to them in many ways. It was most likely that on the third day, that Jesus healed the death man that's referred to in chapter 7 in the previous verses. Doubtless, perhaps, some of these people had planned to stay a while. They had come and they brought a little bit of food with them. But it's the third day and whatever they had brought now had been long spent and was all but completely exhausted and gone. Now, notice here in the passage, we know this passage where Jesus feeds the thousands. We've heard this preached and read many times. But notice in this passage that it isn't the crowds complaining of hunger that gets the Lord's attention. The Lord Jesus Christ is ministering to these people. And he's not hearing over here a bunch of people complaining about their stomachs grumbling and about the fact that the food is all gone and that they're hungry and they want to get out of there and go feed their bellies. That's not what occurs. Note that it wasn't the sensitivity of the disciples to the needs of the people. It wasn't the twelve that came to Jesus and said, Jesus, you know, we've been here a long time and the food's gone and the people are hungry and we need to do something. Notice that it was the Lord Jesus himself who noticed and took note of the needs of the people and recognized the real need that existed. It was Jesus in verse two that said, I have compassion on the multitude because they have now been with me three days and nothing to eat. It was Jesus who took the initiative It was Jesus that was sensitive to the needs of the people and it was Jesus that took the initiative to make sure that the people were fed and their needs were met. Now, though his ministry in this place was drawing to a close, they were in a remote location and there was no food availability that was ready at hand. There wasn't any large towns close at hand where the people could have gone and bought food. There wasn't any place where they could go to a fast food drive-in and pick up a Wendy's burger. There was no public supermarket where they could have stopped in and bought some food and brought it back. They're out in the middle of a wilderness. in a barren area, Jesus is about to dismiss the crowd and let them go on their way. And lest they faint in the midst of their journey, Jesus is so concerned, not just for their spiritual well-being, but their physical well-being as well, that he doesn't want them passing out on the road as they travel home. He doesn't want them so physically exhausted for the lack of food that they would have a physical collapse in their journey home. So Christ, being God in the flesh, here proclaims that which had often been set forth concerning the true nature of God, that the Lord is gracious, that he is full of compassion, that he is slow to anger, and he is a God that is great in mercy. You see here the genuine concern of our Lord Jesus Christ for the totality of humanity, for not just the spirit of man, but for his body as well. And so we hear, we see here in verse 2, the proclaiming of Jesus of his compassion, where he says, I have compassion on the multitude. But it doesn't stop there. Notice, second of all, not only is there the context of the proclaimed compassion of Christ, but there is the context of the demonstrated compassion of Christ for the well-being of his followers. The Lord Jesus is not one who is all talk and no action. Now, you've met people like that. We see the brother in 1 John that is rebuked, that comes up and sees one that is hungry, that comes into the assembly and they know that he's needing food. And they come up and say, we'll be praying for you, brother. And they put their arm around his neck and say, God bless you. But then they don't do anything to alleviate the pain of hunger that's in the brother's belly. They said, this isn't real love. Real love doesn't just say, God bless you, brother. Real love doesn't just say, I'll be praying for you. When there's the opportunity and when there is the ability to alleviate and help that need, beloved, that is real love. Well, Jesus is the epitome of love. And he demonstrates that love very plainly. He's not one who loved in word only and not in deed. Christ sees the real need and he goes to work immediately to meet that need. He calls the disciples together. He asked them to go out and to see what is available. Now, notice in calling the disciples together, he's not seeking their input. He says, brother, we got a problem of hand. What do you think we ought to do? That's not what Jesus does here. Then call the twelve in for a little powwow and say, John, what do you think? Peter, what do you think? Jesus already knows what he's going to do. He already knows how he's going to meet that need. And he didn't, in reality, even need the 12. He could have just spoke and brought food into existence. But the reality is he wanted to awaken the sensibilities of the disciples to the needs of others. It was Jesus again, remember, who has compassion on the multitudes. The disciples, it seems to indicate, are a little bit clueless up to this point as to the needs of the people. And so Jesus seeks to awaken them to that reality, to help them overcome the it's not my problem syndrome. So easy it is for each of us to live our lives, and as long as our bellies are full and our needs are met, we can come in here and worship together and go home. And yet, sitting among here this morning may be those who are hurting and have needs, and we didn't even speak enough with one another to even ask and to inquire and to find out what needs might be among us this day. Well, we're not that different than the disciples. Cycles are just worried often about themselves, not even thinking about the needs of the people. Yet no sooner had they come to see the situation through the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ, that they also begin to recognize their inability to do anything about it. Because notice what they say in verse four, that the disciples answered him and said, how can one satisfy these people with the bread here in the wilderness? Lord, We have no means whereby to feed these people. We see the problem now. Our eyes are now open. These people are hungry. But there's thousands of people here and there's no way that we can feed these people. Nothing that we have within us that can meet the needs of these people. We see that this is the same thing in reality that happens to each of us when God, in grace, opens our eyes as sinners. That as soon as we see our sin through the eyes of the Lord and come to recognize our true spiritual state before God as being lost and undone, then it is soon thereafter, or in conjunction with that, that we often come to the recognition that while I'm in this state, there's nothing I can do to change it. That I am dependent upon God. That I'm dependent upon Christ. that it is of his mercy that must save me. It's not long before we realize we can't turn over a new leaf. There's nothing we have to offer God that would meet and satisfy the great longings and needs of our soul. How can you who are accustomed to doing evil do good? In the same way that a leopard can't change his spots and the Ethiopian can't change his skin, We come to see that we who have a nature that is against God cannot of ourselves change that nature apart from God. Well, where would food sufficient to feed thousands come from? You would think that the disciples would have understood from the previous feeding. See, this isn't the first time they've been in this situation. That's what's so amazing about this passage. Jesus, on a previous occasion, had fed five thousand people under similar circumstances. You would think that the disciples would have remembered that. You would think that the disciples would have brought that back to the attention of the Lord and would have been discussing this. But it's interesting that there's no mention of that here. So the disciples are beside themselves. Oh, my, what are we going to do? We have no ability. There's nothing here. How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness? It's not possible. They had forgotten so quickly that the things that are impossible with men are possible with God. Yet it is striking that Christ doesn't rebuke them here. Certainly, we might have expected, hey, what is wrong with you disciples? But no, there's no words of rebuke. Rather, the Lord Jesus Christ simply asked them how many loaves go out, find out what is available, what's at our disposal and bring it back to me. And we find then from those seven loaves that Jesus feeds over 4000 people. And that's estimated to be 4000 men, probably addition into that were women and children. So probably a crowd of around 10000 people fed from seven loaves of bread and a few fish. And when it is all done. There are seven baskets of fragments, heaping baskets, that are collected. Everybody's eating to their heart's desire and they pick up the leftovers and they have seven huge bushel baskets of food left over. Beloved, when Jesus Christ meets a need in our life, he doesn't just meet it partway. Jesus can meet our needs in ways that go beyond what we could ever comprehend or beyond oftentimes what we ever even expect. After collecting the excess, Jesus sends the multitudes away and he and his disciples get in the ship and they move on to another region, now back over on the western coast of the sea, back in the realms of Israel. Well, notice not only is there the context of the proclaimed compassion of Christ and the demonstrated compassion of Christ, but now there is the compassion that he has even on his enemies in verses 10 through 13. No sooner do they arrive on the western coast than there they are again, the scribes and the Pharisees, again seeking to trip up our Lord Jesus Christ, to try to discredit him, to somehow make some accusation whereby they can bring charges against Jesus and discredit him before the people in their jealousy and envy of Christ. Despite all the scribes and Pharisees had heard, they continued to convince themselves that Jesus wasn't the Messiah, that Jesus was not the Christ of God. Now, what had these religious people seen and heard up to this point? They had seen the lame walk. They had seen blind people be able to see. They had seen deaf people unable to hear. They had seen people possessed with devils, the devils cast out, and those people now normal and healthy. They had heard how Jesus had calmed a raging storm in the midst of the sea. And they had witnessed, or at least heard, of Jesus feeding the hungry with a little. Isn't it amazing then what they ask him? In verse 11, they come out and they dispute from him. And the measure and the means of that dispute is this. Give us a sign. Show us something and we'll believe you're the Christ. Do something miraculous. Do something unordinary. Do something spectacular. Prove to us that you are the Christ by some sign. Their demand for a sign again revealed Christ's compassion even for his enemies by virtue of his response. Because notice how Jesus responds to them in verse 12. He sighed deeply in his spirit. And he said, why does this generation seek after a sign? Now, why is this compassionate? So many proofs had been manifest, attesting Jesus' claim to be the Messiah. Jesus did not come without signs. He'd come with multitudes of signs. So many signs had been set forth before these Jews all the way up to this point, and yet they continued to reject him in light of all those signs that they had seen. What greater sign was there than that even of his compassion on men, where he showed compassion on the multitudes in so many ways? And yet, the reality was Jesus knew and understood that no number of signs, no magnitude, no degree, no amount of physical signs would ever remove the blindness of unbelief in the heart of a sinner. He could have done all kinds of things. He had done all kinds of things. And yet these Pharisees remain hardened in unbelief. You see, there's nothing except the grace of God that can remove the blindness of unbelief. That should teach us that what people need today is not more institutes on creation studies to try to convince them that there really is a God that made the earth in six days. Look at these rocks. Only God could make these rocks. Look at these trees. Let's go study that. What the world needs is not more apologetics in the realm of creationism or in areas in which we might say there's some kind of physical evidences of sign. What the world needs is the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only through the preaching of the gospel that the blindness of sin is removed and the eyes are opened. So rather than making their final judgment more severe by giving them more signs that they would reject, Jesus does not entertain the request, but then gets back in the boat and moves back northeasterly, back across the sea. It's interesting to note that these two events together, the feeding of the four thousand and the Pharisees seeking of a sign were a fulfillment of what Mary proclaimed before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke one fifty three, he has filled the hungry with good things. And the rich he has sent away empty. See what he just did there? He had filled the hungry with good things. And these Pharisees who are rich in their self-righteousness and in their mind, he sends them away empty. He doesn't entertain them. He sighs deeply. So we see in all three of these events the compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated. We see it proclaimed, we see it demonstrated, and we see it even as he has compassion on his enemies in dealing with them. Our Lord is a good Lord. Second, notice the events now surrounding the question. The circumstances are in verse 14. Now, the disciples had forgotten to take bread and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. So having this encounter with the Pharisees, they get back in the boat and they begin to head back across the sea. And it's not long before maybe their bellies are growling a little bit. And one of them says, oh, who has the bread? Peter, wasn't it your turn? And before long, they realize that, wait a minute, we only have one loaf of bread in the boat with us. A search of the ship reveals that this is the only provisions that they've brought with them. Such an oversight would doubtless lead one another to seek to set the blame on the others. I can imagine impetuous Peter. John, it was your turn. You were supposed to get the bread. No, Matthew was going to do it this time. Now, we don't know whether the job was the job of one particular disciple. Maybe it was Judas who had the bag. Maybe it was his job to secure the provisions. Or maybe the implication was it was all their responsibility, each to take along their provision. But whatever the case, the circumstances are clear. They're in the middle of the boat, in the middle of the sea, and they only have one loaf of bread. And from these particular circumstances point, directly back, if we look at this, to the miracle earlier performed where Jesus was able from just a few loaves of bread to do what? Feed all the thousands, 10,000 people. And now here they are in the boat and they're all struggling and worried and anxious and having a fit because they only have one loaf of bread. It's amazing, isn't it? You look at that, you think, hello, who's sitting in the boat with you? Is this not the bread of life? Is this not the one who just fed 4,000 and 5,000 and has done all kinds of miracles, and yet they're all tied up in knots over this issue of one loaf of bread. Notice the dialogue in verse 15-17. Jesus then charges them and says, Take heed. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. He has a spiritual lesson, and he intervenes. They're over here arguing about the bread, and so Jesus has a spiritual lesson that he wants to teach his disciples. But the disciples, seeking to make sense of this statement of the Lord, just reason among themselves blindly that what's going on is they're talking about the one loaf of bread, and that's what Jesus is referring to. In verse 16, they reason among themselves, saying it's because we have no bread. Jesus is upset too. He's hungry. He knows there's only one loaf of bread, and whatever Jesus is saying in verse 15 has to deal with that. But the reality is Jesus was warning them about some deep spiritual lesson. He had a spiritual lesson for them to learn. And we find that it's here that Christ stops the whole discussion and asks the question of our text in verse 17. So when Jesus sees what's going on, the disciples over here are wrestling about only having one loaf of bread and Jesus teaches them some spiritual truth concerning the leaven that the Pharisees teaching that the Lord Jesus Christ and says, wait a minute, guys, hold on. Why do you reason among yourselves that you don't have any bread? You've missed the point altogether. Do you not perceive? Do you not understand? And is your heart that hardened? Is your heart still hardened? And I wonder this morning, how many times does Jesus have a spiritual lesson to teach us? When we come to his house and the word of God is opened and the pastors preach faithfully the word of God and Jesus has some portion of the bread of life that he wants you and I to listen to and take heed and eat from and learn. And yet we come and we're worried about a loaf of bread at home. We're worried about some earthly circumstance and some physical thing of life. Some spiritual lesson so important to be gained. And yet here we are often focused on earthly circumstances so that like the twelve, we miss we miss it altogether. Jesus had some deep spiritual lesson to teach them, and they can't get their eyes off of one loaf of bread. Now, notice what Jesus does in his explanation in verses 18 through 20. In his statement, Jesus then begins to tie together the two events of a miraculous feeding and the engagement with the Pharisees, and he makes an application that is relative to the present circumstances. He says in verse 18, having eyes, don't you see? Having ears, don't you hear? And don't you remember? It's almost as if he's knocking on their door. Hello? Anybody home up there? Do you remember where we were just a few days ago? You remember what I did with the 10,000? And Jesus rehearses the miraculous feeding of the two of past events. And just as a little leaven affects the whole loaf, is there not here the lesson, the reality that a little unbelief can leaven us in many ways? Blind us oftentimes to what is so obvious. of missing God's compassion and his concern and his mercy and his ability to help us in any circumstance and situation of life. It's almost laughable when we think of the reality that these twelve disciples are in a boat, worried about one loaf of bread. Listen, they're not on a ten-day departure across the sea. They're not out on some three-month journey to the Far East. They're going across the lake. It's probably 10, maybe 15 miles across. I mean, are they really going to starve to death between point A and point B? The fact that they only have one loaf of bread in reality wasn't even a big deal. How foolish that they would focus on the shortage of provision in the presence of the one who had fed 5,000 on one occasion and 4,000 plus on another occasion. Thus, his words are searching. Having eyes, didn't you see? Hello? Anything up there? You know, didn't you see what just happened? Having ears? When Jesus proclaimed compassion on the multitudes, is he going to let his twelve disciples starve to death in the boat in the middle of the sea? I mean, some savior he would be. some religious leader Christ would be, letting his twelve disciples starve to death after feeding thousands. Not hardly. That is not the kind of Savior Jesus is. So he points them back to the two previous occasions in which he had fed the multitudes. They saw and they heard what Christ did. And yet shortly thereafter, they had completely forgotten his gracious provision and compassion. We do the same thing. God meets our needs every day, gives us strength, health. We're out of a job. He provides a job. We have a hurt. He meets that need. And we go on and we go down life's road and it's not very long where we come across another bump. And it's like we forgot everything that Jesus has ever done for us up to this point in life. It's like an insurmountable object before us. It's like Christ has never helped anybody. And Christ can't get me through this crisis. And Christ can't help me with this need. Is it any wonder that Jesus asked them How is it you do not understand that their unbelief is unbelievable? I mean, when you look at it, when you think of the twelve and all that they see and all that they've experienced and all that they've been through with the Lord Jesus Christ in these first eight chapters of Mark, that they would still have a heart of unbelief at this point is unbelievable. They had yet, though, to really fully grasp. Who Jesus is. A declaration that would come later with Peter's proclamation, thou art the Christ, that he is indeed the bread of life. Now, brethren, as we look at this passage this morning, what is there here for you and I? As we seek to draw lessons from this question, as we ask ourselves, how is it we do not understand? Is there not something that we can draw from this? And I do believe there are a number of lessons. First of all, how is it that you do not understand that you, like me, are not so unlike the disciples of Christ of old? We look at this story, and as I said, it's almost laughable. I mean, it's really, it's almost funny to think about the 12 disciples arguing over a loaf of bread when Jesus just fed 4,000 people. I mean, you know, you think, hello. You know, it just, it's amazing. And yet, while it is easy for us to look at this narrative and quickly judge the disciples to be so foolishly blind to their own sin. How could they have forgotten, we say? Yet at the same time, are there not things in each of our lives to which each of us, or even at this very hour, blind of in our own life? Blind spots, areas of unbelief, areas of doubts and fears concerning God. God has proclaimed himself clearly in the Word of God. Perhaps we've been in church for years and we know that this is a certain area of the character and nature of God. And yet, it wasn't just three of the disciples. It wasn't nine of the disciples who had forgotten that Jesus was in the boat with them as they were anxious about possessing only one loaf of bread. But all twelve are caught up in this thing. The implications is that it is easy for all of us to slip into a realm of unbelief in some areas of our life. But if we really look hard and far enough, we'll find that there are areas of unbelief and doubt in all of our lives when it comes concerning Christ. They'd all slipped into a little leaven of unbelief that the Lord sought to correct by his rare words. And none of us are exempt from blind spots in our own lives of unbelief and sin. And that is why it is so vital that we come to the house of God and we come to the word of God on a regular basis. And we ask God to search us out and examine us in the light of the Holy Scriptures and teach us and reveal to us those things. that need strengthening or need to be forsaken in our lives. Christ's question to the disciples prompted them to examine their present focus in the light of the truth of his word. Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, have you not heard? Have you not heard the teaching of Christ? So again, how many times have we heard the nature and the character of God. And then we go out and we live sometimes as if God is totally different than what we've heard, what we've heard preached, what we've seen with our eyes as he is revealed and caring for his children in the word of God. We should all pray and ask God to reveal those spots and those blemishes in our lives that often bring about areas of unbelief and enable us to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know what? Sometimes it's an adversity that we do that best. You know, when life is going good, everything's going well, all the providences of God are sweet. Let's be honest. We're oftentimes not nearly as close to the Lord in those seasons as we ought to be. It's almost sometimes as if God's on autopilot and he's back there and we go through the motions of our duties of devotions and commitments. And yet the reality is one is it oftentimes that we fall to our faces and cry out to God, but it's in seasons of adversity and dark providence and difficult days. that cause us to really lay hold of Christ and really, by faith, look to the Lord. It ought to be in those days that we truly come back to the Lord and ask Him to search me and try me and see if there be any wicked way in me. And Lord, we believe, but help thou our unbelief. Second of all, how is it you do not understand the great need for faith in your daily life as a believer? I was raised in a church where faith was like a ticket to get into heaven. You went forward, you got it, you stuck it in your pocket and you didn't worry about it. And it was there when you died. And you'd pull it out at death and say, here, Lord, I'm a believer because I said a prayer, because I joined a church, because I was baptized, because I had a religious experience. But most of the people in those churches would go off and live all their life without any reflection on Christ and following the Lord. Faith was just something you needed one time to get you in heaven. But that's not the faith of the Bible. The faith of the Bible is practical. The faith of the Bible is needed every day that we live our lives. The faith of the Bible was needed to get up this morning, put our clothes on and get here to the house of God. The faith of the Bible for a Christian is the faith that will help us tomorrow go to work. and do our job and do the things that we have to do tomorrow and fulfill our responsibilities. And in the midst of doing those things, live following the Lord Jesus Christ in all of our decisions and in all of our ways to the best of our ability for the glory of God. We find that the faith that saves is the faith that keeps us. who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, Peter writes. Our faith often falters when our eyes are set on the circumstances of life and not on the God of those circumstances. Right next to them, all the time they're arguing, is the bread of life himself. The incarnate God who spoke and created heaven and earth. And they're over here. Oh, man, Peter, it was your fault. Oh, man, Judas was supposed to get the bread. What are we going to do? All they can see is the present circumstance of life. And all the time, the Lord Jesus, who had fed thousands, was right next to them. They had forgotten Christ. And instead of delighting in his presence, wouldn't you like a boat ride across the sea with Jesus for an hour or two? I mean, I would love that opportunity to sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean, all if you read again in these narratives, the times with Jesus and his disciples alone often seem to be limited, because up to this point in his ministry, everywhere Jesus went, they were pressing him. Every time he stepped out of the boat, the crowds were there. And here is an opportunity for the twelve to commune with Jesus, to have sweet fellowship with the Lord. to enjoy this leisurely sail across the sea in the presence of the Lord. But all they can do is see the circumstances of life that are before them. Instead of delighting in his presence, they're consumed with what's going on. in the circumstances of life. And do we all not know days like the disciples when we get so caught up with the details of life and the circumstances of life that we lose sight of the person of Christ? That we forget the Lord is there. He's with us every step of the way. They were so focused that they missed the important truth that Jesus was seeking to teach them. Their sinful discontentment and their lack of faith caused them to be anxious and to worry about something that was not even really a problem in itself when they should have been resting and communing with Christ. And how many times do we worry and get anxious and get all focused upon some hump in the road of life and forget about who put the hump there? Who's in control of what? That hump there is not by an accident. God in his divine providence has allowed this to happen and allowed that to happen. And who is this God that has allowed this to happen? But the God who has pledged himself to us, who loves us, that if you're his child, is committed to your good and to your well-being and is bringing everything in life to make you more and more like his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How vital you learn to sit at the feet of Jesus and faith and draw strength from him in those seasons. And as we assemble here today, are your eyes of faith on Christ? Or did you come through those doors with all kind of baggage? All kind, your mind's all distracted about all kinds of circumstances of life. And sometimes maybe they're pleasant circumstances. Maybe you're thinking, man, I don't have all my Christmas shopping done. I even got the tree up. I haven't even decorated. We haven't got the cookies. We got company coming next week. You know, your mind's all over the place when we should have left all that stuff outside those doors and come in here with the eyes of faith and say, Lord, I just want to learn from you and be more like you today. What do you have to teach me from your word? For it is here once again that we are to focus upon Christ instead of dwelling on the one loaf circumstances of life. And then thirdly, how is it you don't understand that Christ has never let one of his children down? Never. And E.V. are never. Again, the journey across the sea was at the most 20 miles. And at the most, maybe a five mile walk to the next large city. No matter how slow the boat had gone, And how dead the wind had been that day. These 12 disciples would not have starved. Because they only had one loaf of bread, they had a loaf of bread, and that's the funny thing. So they had no food at all. They had some food. They didn't have enough, they didn't have what they thought they needed, but they had all that they needed. They had everything that they needed right there, and they just were blind to that reality. Can you imagine Jesus who fed the thousands, again, letting the twelve starve? Not hardly. David said, I am young and now I am old, and I have never, I've never seen the righteous forsaken. Never. Never seen God let his child down. Never seen his seed begging for bread. David says, I'm an old man. I've seen a lot of things in my lifetime. I've never seen the Lord disappoint one of his followers. Never. Beloved, God has promised to take care of you if you're a child of God this morning. And he doesn't just to take care of you in the good seasons of life, but in all the seasons of your life. Has God ever let any of you down? He's never let me down. My life has not always been ordered the way I would have liked it. Circumstances have not always been pleasant and easy or there's been many hills and many, many difficult valleys in which to walk. But I can say as David, the Lord has never disappointed me. He's never discouraged me, never let me down in any circumstance of life. How often we worry, we worry when we should be trusting. How often we're anxious about the details and circumstances of life instead of just leaving it to God and trusting him and committing ourselves to him, having eyes we see, having ears we heard. But how is it we do not yet understand? That all that come to him, that Christ will take care of them. And that he will truly it's not just a nice verse to quote, but he will work all things for our good, that he will meet all of our needs through his riches in glory, through Christ Jesus, that he will never forsake us or leave us. Beloved, we forget that sometimes. Beloved, we're feeble creatures when we really think about it. Sometimes we think our faith is strong. Oh, what what what weak faith? What weak faith? I mean, we come across little bumps that sometimes just throw us into a tizzy. Let us not lose sight in the sovereign God of the Bible, who orders everything for his glory and for our good, as he's promised. And then lastly, this morning, how is it you don't understand that God is compassionate to sinners? In light of everything we've read this morning, this is the God we serve. The Lord Jesus Christ is not hard in his heart. He was even compassionate here upon his enemies. The Lord Jesus. Is exhibited so much compassion But even his enemies couldn't say anything against that reality. And beloved, this same Lord Jesus Christ that proclaimed compassion and demonstrated compassion. Is resurrected, is alive, who's sitting on his throne this morning and he's ready to forgive and still has compassion on needy sinners. He's still there. He's still the same Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. He hasn't changed. This same Jesus who looks on the multitudes and weeps because of their unrepentance. Still weeps because of unrepentant sinners. And has compassion on all who will come to him in faith. Maybe there's one here this morning. The thought Jesus wasn't interested in you. Oh, how wrong you are. The fact that you're even here this morning demonstrates the reality that God is concerned for you. And then he wants you again one more time to hear his word. One more time to have the gospel preached to you. One more time to have declared to you that Jesus is merciful and Jesus is forgiving to those who come to him in faith. Will you sit there this morning And shut your ears and close your eyes to the pleas of a savior who loves sinners. Or will you not in faith embrace him and lay hold of him this day? Let us pray. Our father, we thank you for your holy word. We thank you for its truths and for all that it teaches and instructs us. Father, we we pray that you would forgive us for the multitudes of our unbelief. Oh, there's not one of us here that is not guilty of the sin of unbelief in many aspects of our life. Even this day, Lord, cleanse us. Help us to believe more surely and strengthen our faith. and save those who have yet to trust you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. so so so so so