Welcome to the Plenteous Redemption podcast, where the cross and the culture are on a collision course for discussion. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. Unto the Jews a stumbling block, unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Now, here's your host, Thomas Ervin. Mark chapter 6, making our way through this book. And we got about 50 some odd verses to cover this morning. No, 60, 65 verses. Is that right? No, 56. I must've wrote this backwards. 56 verses to cover this morning. I didn't think it was 60, but 56 verses. to make our way through this morning and we'll do our best to cover all this information and put out a few notes and see what we can learn. Let's start with verses one through six. Mark chapter six, verses one through six. And he went out from thence and came into his own country, and his disciples follow him. And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue, And many, hearing him, were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? And what wisdom is this, which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James? Oh, so Mary had other children, apparently. And Joses? Oh, she had more than one other children. and of Judah and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them, a prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could not there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, So, the first thing we would note is His disciples followed Him. Doesn't that seem like just a natural idea, just a common truth that should just be, it should just go without saying that the disciples followed Jesus Christ? Why would you claim to belong to Jesus Christ and have no intention of following Him anywhere or doing anything He says? They follow their master or their leader and learn from his instructions. Imagine that. What if disciples did that rather than bickering and whining and crying and fighting amongst themselves and doing absolutely nothing Jesus told them to do and instead doing the exact opposite in far too many ways. That'd be nice if people who claim to be disciples were actually disciples. Now, these people understood that Christ was not trained in the standard schools of divinity that they were accustomed to. In fact, they're marveling at His ability to teach and do the things He's able to do because they're looking around and saying, who trained Him? Who taught Him? You know, that's common today. One time when I was living in Egypt and I was planning to go down to Dolan, Florida to go to Bible school and There was this Southern Baptist preacher there who was just really... kind of haughty and high-minded. I mean, he was just, it was just kind of, it was ugly. And he said, so you're going to Bible school? What Bible school are you going to? And I said, well, I'm going to the DeLand School of the Bible. He said, well, I've never heard of that one. So is it an accredited school, a university? I said, no, it's just a local church Bible school. He said, oh, so you don't plan to be a, how do you say it? You don't plan to be a head pastor. And I said, well, I said, the churches that you attend wouldn't want me to be their head pastor. And he said, why do you say that? And I said, well, and that's the idea here. How does he know this? Who told him these things? How is this possible? And yet he could teach with such clarity and authority. And they were amazed by it. Now, also, we would make note that Jesus was a carpenter. People often say, you know, they talk about those silent years of Jesus, and they weren't really silent. The Lord told you what He was doing. He was either growing in stature as a child, or He was working as a carpenter. He didn't, He wasn't a basement dweller. He wasn't playing video games. He wasn't living off His mama and daddy till He was 30, 40 years old. He worked. He had a job. It amazes me today how men who are in ministry, men who are pastors, even missionaries to some extent, they look down upon men who work full-time and pastor, and they call you a lay pastor or a part-time pastor, and it couldn't be further from the truth. The Apostle Paul worked with his hands and did his ministry. Jesus Christ worked with his own hands and did his ministry. It's an honorable thing, and it should be more common and likely will become more common as The wonderful privileges we have enjoyed thus far as churches in America is destroyed. And it's all on its way out the window. So he was not some lazy bum living off his parents. He was working. He was productive. He learned a skill. His mommy and daddy didn't take him to football and basketball. Those are not skills. That's playtime. I heard a guy say the other day, there's about 400 basketball players in the NBA. 400. What are the chances that your little boy is going to be one of those 400? Not likely to happen. Now, if you teach him how to build something, you teach him how to put a fence up, you teach him how to mow the lawn, you teach him how to fix a car, how to fix a tractor, whatever, do something productive, he'll carry that on with him for the rest of his life. But I won the high school championship 30 years ago. Well, good. Great. Who remembers that other than you? Who cares other than you? Jesus Christ was not caught up in the, you know, the things that parents subject their children to, just mostly for stature, but he learned something. He was working. And you think about being a carpenter in his day. There's no power tools. You know, you don't go down to the lumber store. You know, when I need lumber, I just go down to the lumber store. They've already milled it to a certain size, and I can just take it home and work with it. No, you've got to go cut your tree down, then you've got to cut it up yourself, and then you've got to shape it and do what you need with it on your own. It's a whole different matter. They're looking around saying, who taught him how to teach like this? He's a carpenter. Why can't you be intellectual and be a carpenter? Why can't you be a Bible teacher and be a carpenter? Who says that it has to be one or the other, or why would you suggest that carpenters are somehow, somehow they lack the ability to be teachers? That's just a, that's very bigoted if you ask me. It's not very kind. And then they were offended at him. Now it looks like it was probably his family that was offended at him. But they mention all these wonderful realities about Jesus. He's a carpenter. He's a great teacher. He's teaching with authority. I find that offensive. Why? Why would you find that offensive? Why would that not be a positive thing? Their conclusion is that he is offensive, and so the Bible teaching, the hard-working carpenter who takes care of his family and is a help, they find that offensive. Man, that is so relatable to today. If you're successful in any way, and you're working and producing and providing for yourself and your family, and you're successful, then you're evil. They need to take away from you and give it to somebody else because they can't have you being successful. In fact, simple ideas of character like showing up on time, working hard, doing what you're supposed to be doing is now considered white supremacy. What a ridiculous idea. You're a white supremacist if you believe you're supposed to be on time and do what you're supposed to do when you get there. And so, I guess that's just what will have to be based on their definition. Now, a prophet is not without honor in his own country. People often quote this and say this about themselves, and I get the sentiment, I understand what they're trying to say, but we are not prophets. We are Christians. I'm afraid that we are conflating often our bad attitudes and improper way of living or improper representation of the Lord. We're conflating that with a prophet being without honor in his own country. They're not the same thing. I believe the principle is mildly applicable to us, but it is one we should use with care. We shouldn't walk around, you know, we, we, we, you know, we, hammer our family or friends and we nag at them about going to church or believing in Jesus. And look, you should give them a hard time when you can, but do it respectfully in a loving, kind way meant to be constructive. Don't nag just to nag. Don't yell at people or give people a hard time just to give them a hard time. You want to do it in such a way that is constructive, that is helpful. And so we want to make sure that our attitude is not offensive rather than the gospel. The gospel is going to be offensive. There's no way around it. But you can help that. My mom and I were talking out on the street corner yesterday, and she was asking why we do this and why we do that. And I was telling her that my goal is to present people with the name of Jesus Christ as kindly as we can in our town. and not be offensive, they're already going to be offended at the gospel. They're already going to be offended at the truth. I don't want to add to that with a disrespectful or, you know, overbearing display about Jesus Christ. We want them to be offended at the gospel and the gospel alone. And then there's this last part, you know, verses five and six that prosperity preachers like to use and abuse Now, let's read verses 5 and 6 again real quick. Verse 5, and he could there do no mighty work. All right, so you see the context. He wants to do some sort of mighty work. And he says he could there do no mighty work, save. So he did a work, but it was not a mighty work. And so he said, there I could do no mighty work, So he did works that were not mighty. And so what was the work he did that was not mighty? Healed the sick. So according to God, healing the sick is not a mighty work. People believing in Jesus Christ, that's a mighty work. And so when it says that he could do no mighty work there because of their unbelief, well, what would prevent you from taking part in the mighty work, the trusting in Jesus Christ? It'd be your belief. And so this is often misused and abused. So the Bible says that Jesus could do no mighty works there because of their unbelief. So instead, he did works that were not mighty. He healed the sick. Saving souls is far more significant than healing physical bodies. They remained in their unbelief. Healing them improves the flesh but does nothing for the soul. So if I, one time this guy stopped, a really nice guy, we were in the land and we were on the street corner and he stopped. He thought, man, this is really neat what you guys are doing, standing out here on the street. He's like, this is what I do. I fix people's cars. He was a Christian, had a testimony of salvation. He was a really nice, genuine young guy. And I said, well, do you tell them about Jesus? He's like, no, I just feel like if I fix their cars that, you know, later maybe they'll let me tell them about Jesus. Okay. I was like, well, maybe. I was like, but also, What if you fix their car, and then they go get in a wreck and die before you tell them about Jesus? And he's like, God, I didn't think about that. So you just helped them die and go to hell. So I mean, I appreciate the sentiment. I really do. I think you seem like a really nice guy, and you're trying to do something nice for people. But what people need is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we had a good conversation and moved on. All right, verses 7 through 13, verse 7. And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits, and commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only, no script, no bread, no money in their purse, but be shod with sandals, and not put on two coats. Now, that is not instruction for me and you. That was instruction for them, and that day at that time. And we'll talk about it in a second. But later, he sent them out again. When he was sending them out, he said, you need to take with you what you need, and also buy a sword. And the reason that's important is because some people find it to be, they think it is spiritual to be as impoverished as they can. And they think it is spiritual to have no home and to have nowhere to live. We just read that Jesus was a carpenter. And he had a place to live until he set out on his ministry to go out and preach and to teach. So this is not instruction for us to follow. Verse 10, and he said unto them, in what place soever ye enter into a house, there abide till you depart from that place. Now how come people who want to live like Jesus, so they say, and live in poverty, how come they don't just show up in somebody's house and go abide there? I'm here to stay. No, you're not. Not unless you're in New York. In New York, you could do that. You just plop down in somebody's house, and apparently the law will allow you. But down here, that might get you... Yeah, that might get you you-be-gone. That might get you shot. Verse 11, and whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart, thence shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. And they went out and preached that men should repent, and they cast out many devils. Now who's among those 12? Judas. Judas is out preaching this same preaching and casting out devils and doing all these things just like everybody else. Isn't that amazing? So that means, that means, When somebody comes in here and sits down and they look the part, you just don't know. You've got to be careful and take your time. That's why the Bible says, lay hands on no man suddenly, because you just don't know. And they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them. Now, the way this chapter is laid out is amazing. you have Jesus sending them out right here in verse 13, but then in verse 30, look at verse 30 real quick, and the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. We get the report, the follow-up there, but in between we get the situation with John the Baptist. And so it's just interesting the way the Lord laid that out. Now, this time the Lord sends out the disciples and tells them to take nothing. Don't take anything with you. Take one coat, put some shoes on your feet, and that's basically all I want you to go with. And there was a reason for that. This is training. This is the Lord teaching. This is the Lord discipling and preparing His disciples for what they're going to have to go through in the coming years. Now later he tells them, you need money, you need a sword. When you go out, you need to be provided for. So again, this is not a prescription for modern missions. Though, my wife and I, when we were going to go to Uganda, we didn't want to go on deputation. We had this negative opinion of deputation. And a lot of it came from a misrepresentation of deputation from people who were teaching us. They have a terrible idea and a horrible misconception of what deputation is and how it can be a help to missionaries. And so we just bought into it and didn't want to do deputation. And so we were going to move to Uganda and, I don't know, work or start a coffee shop or start a business. And it just wasn't practical. It just wasn't going to work out. You can't do that. In fact, just to go there and start a business, it's not even a realistic idea. You can't just show up in a foreign country and start a business or work. You've got to get certain visas. I mean, there's a lot, you know, this is not in Paul's day when Paul could just show up somewhere and you could do what you want. There were no, there were none of these odd laws about visas and all that stuff for crossing borders. Now you can't do that. You show up in a foreign country and you start trying to work or start a business, you're going to end up in jail in that country. And it's very serious. That's why it's so important for missionaries to be able to get the visas they need and to be able to do what is necessary to stay in the country. It's very difficult, can be very complex. Now, that doesn't mean, you know, this idea doesn't stop people from attempting to live in odd forms of deliberate poverty to prove their connection to Jesus. which has no connection to Jesus Christ whatsoever. That is, Jesus Christ told you and told me, you are supposed to provide for your family. You're supposed to provide for your own. And you don't need to, it is not spiritual, it's not a blessing for you to walk around in some form of ridiculous poverty on purpose. Now, when the gospel goes to the uttermost parts of the earth, missionaries need funding. They need protection. They need visas. They've got to take care of their families. There's so much that they're still responsible for, and they've got to go out and preach the gospel and tell people about Jesus Christ and build churches and take care of the needs of those people. It's a very complex, difficult situation to be in. You wouldn't believe how many Prayer letters go out per month from missionaries all around the world. Our visa was suspended. The visa we were getting is no longer available. The visa that is available, they're trying not to give it to us. They're making it harder. They raise the price. It's just a constant battle trying to stay in the country that they believe the Lord wants them in to preach the gospel. And so you need to pray for them. We do all we can to help missionaries to be able to do that. We want the Word of God flowing into those nations. And so whatever we can do to help support good missionaries, we want to do that. Now the idea of shaking off your feet. Now don't sit and argue with someone who has no interest in what you have to say. Repeatedly, the Lord indicates that you should give the gospel to everybody. You should not sit and argue with anybody. So if somebody shows up and they just want to argue, just, I tell you, exactly what I did when I talked to that homeless guy out in downtown Lousdale, he comes up and we start talking, and I tried and I tried and I tried to give him the gospel, tried to tell him about Jesus, and he's just an insane person. And all he wanted to do was argue. And so, I mean, the guy was completely insane. We were talking about the Bible, and I was telling him about the King James translators, and I was telling him that one of the King James translators was reading the Bible in Hebrew with understanding when he was three years old. You know what he said to me in response? He said, well, my mom says I was talking as soon as I was born. I was like, all right. So I stuck my hand out and said, hey, man, it was great talking to you. Have a great day. And so he got the message and kind of awkwardly scurried off. It wasn't going anywhere. He didn't want to hear anything. He didn't want to talk. Every time you try and tell him something or pin down some truth to get him to think about it, and all he wanted to do was argue about it or try and boast of himself as though he compared to, one of the King James translators, or Jesus Christ, or anything of that sort. And I had some really odd ideas about Jesus that, Lord help him, that's all I can say. Try to get on the gospel and then move on. If they just want to argue, just say, hey man, Jesus Christ died for you on the cross. You got to trust in Him before you die. Nice talking to you. Bye. Just have a nice day. We sow the seed faithfully to those who want to listen. Now, we sow the seed, period. But if we find somebody who wants to talk, that's who we want to give our time to. We find someone who wants to argue. That is not someone we should give our time to. And I can't tell you how many hours I have spent out on a street corner arguing with people who could care less about Jesus Christ, did not want the truth, did not want to learn, did not want help. Their life is a total mess. They know they're sinners. They know they're on their way to hell. I'm trying to offer them the solution, and all they can do is argue. And so, this is what happens. You're talking to someone, you're arguing with someone on the street, and sometimes it gets animated, it gets maybe even heated, and people are walking by and driving by, and all they see is a Christian standing on the street corner arguing with somebody. It's just, it's a negative all the way around. Don't waste your time on it. This passage informs us there are different levels of punishment in the lake of fire. The Lord says, the men of Sodom will fare better in the judgment than these people. Now, that's not how we think about it. We think, man, Sodom and Gomorrah, that's the worst of the worst. Well, not according to the Lord. According to the Lord, there's something worse than that. It is worse to reject Jesus than it is to be a drunkard, a fornicator, an adulterer, or a Sodomite. God said, Those of you here who saw me, who heard me preach, who should know better, you rejected me, and so for you, it is gonna be far worse for you on the day of judgment than it was for Sodom and Gomorrah. Imagine delivering that message. I'm sure it didn't win friends and influence people. Not in a good way. The people who lived in these sins can repent and be saved. If you're a drunkard, you can trust in Jesus Christ and you can repent of being a drunkard. If you're a fornicator, a homosexual, an adulterer, a murderer, a murderer, you can repent and trust in Jesus. That's the question people always like to ask. They always like to ask on the street, well, what about Hitler? What if he trusted in Jesus? Well, if he had trusted in Jesus Christ, his sins would have been forgiven, his soul would have been saved, and he would have gone on to be with Jesus Christ in heaven. So far as we know, he did not do that, and so he has most likely lifted up his eyes in hell being in torment. And then we'll just note, they went out and preached that men should what? Repent. Such a plain statement in the Bible. So how could you join yourself with a group of Christians who teach against teaching repentance? That makes no sense to me whatsoever. It couldn't be any more clear. The Lord said they went out and they preached, repent. It just seems interesting to me. All right, let's read verses 14 through 29. Verse 14. And King Herod heard of him, for his name was spread abroad." Now, he heard of Jesus, but he doesn't know who this is. He's confused. In fact, what I think it is, I think Herod's got a guilty conscience. He put an innocent man to death because of a stupid dancing girl, and now his brain is telling him, you shouldn't have done that. that it's weighing heavy on him. And so he hears about Jesus, and King Herod heard of him, for his name was spread abroad. And he said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. So Herod thinks John the Baptist is back from the dead roaming the streets looking for him. How's that? You think that man's sleeping good at night? You better bring in some more dancing girls or something, you know, drink it off, because it's not going to get any better. Verse 13, or verse 15, sorry. No, go back. Did we finish reading verse 14? Let's read it again. And King Herod heard of him, for his name was spread abroad, and he said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. Others said that it is Elias, and others said that it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John whom I beheaded. He is risen from the dead. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John and bound him in prison. For Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife, for he had married her, for John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. That's some boldness. You know who Herod is? He's the Tetrarch. He's the governor. He is in charge of that entire area and can do what he wants with you. And John stood in his face and said, it is ungodly for you to marry your brother's wife. And Herod did it anyways, and it didn't work out well for him. Verse 19, therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him. This wouldn't be the first time or the last time that a man's wife was angry at a preacher. He keeps telling the truth. If that man's going to keep telling the truth, then I want him dead. I want out of here. We're going somewhere else. We're moving. We're not staying here. You wouldn't believe how many men are drug around this country from church to church because of their wife or their 16-year-old daughter. My daughter, she's offended at what you said. Good. Tell her to repent and get her mind right, and then she won't be offended anymore. Well, my wife just thinks, you know, you shouldn't have taught that. Well, what else? Well, let's sit down together and meet with your wife, and I'll bring a pen knife, and I'll cut out all the parts of the Bible she thinks I should not preach. And you just let me know, and I'll bow down to your wife, since you have. And so, here we are, Herodias, she's not happy. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee, and when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, now, danced and pleased Herod, and them that sat with him. Now this is his, as far as we can tell, his niece. This was his brother's wife, and this is her daughter. So unless she had this daughter with somebody else, this is his niece, and here he is getting his perverse gratification from watching his own niece dance around the room. What a weird situation. It never occurred to me to invite my niece over to dance around the room in front of me and my friends. That's just me. Now, we do live in a very odd and perverse time where men are roaming this country looking for little girls to gratify themselves with because they're a bunch of sick pedophiles. And I know a solution to that. In fact, I saw somebody wearing a t-shirt the other day that said, dead pedophiles don't re-offend. No, I mean, if you have allowed yourself to go that far that you would do that to a child, what is left to be done with you? We're gonna cut you loose and turn you back out into society? I don't think so. Not with my children around. And so, that'd fix the problem, but your government's too, it's not that they're too weak, they're too compassionate to those people's mindset. That's dangerous. You're in a sad state of affairs when your government is showing compassion to a bunch of men that would physically harm children just to gratify their perverse sexual ideas. No other reason. The king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he swore unto her, whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee unto half of my kingdom. That's what happens to men who are led around by their flesh. This is what happens. I'll give you half of everything I got if you keep dancing like that and you come in here and you satisfy me like that, man, whatever I've got, I'll just give it to you. You know how many men are in trouble right now because they couldn't get their eyes where they're supposed to be and keep their hands where they're supposed to be? And now their finances are destroyed and their marriages are destroyed and their families are destroyed because they thought it was okay to go bouncing around town with a dancing girl. Not a good idea. And she went forth and said unto her mother, now it's all been downhill from here and it just goes further off the cliff at this point. And she went forth and said unto her mother, what shall I ask? And her mother said, you never should have been in there. Put your clothes on. Don't act that way. That's ridiculous. No, that's not what she said. What shall I ask? And she said, the head of John the Baptist. So what else would you expect this girl to do with her life? That's her mother. I want you to kill a preacher and have his head brought to me on a charger so I can, you know, what, put it on display? I mean, what are you going to do with it, you sicko? And she came in straightway, just so eager to do what mommy said. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry. But you made your stupid, ridiculous promise, and now you feel like you have to go through with it. Now why was he sorry? Yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother." Oh, here, Mommy. What a wonderful gift. Herod was listening to John. Herod was being swayed by the preaching of John the Baptist. He had great admiration and respect for him, but it doesn't matter how much you respect a man that God sent to preach to you, if you're going to continue to live in sin. At some point, those two are going to come in conflict with each other, and you're going to have to make some hard, hard decisions. The sooner you remove the sin from your life, the better equipped you will be to succumb and to listen to the preaching from God's Word. But if you're going to allow the both to linger, one's going to win. And so here we are with a dead preacher because a man couldn't keep his lust together and keep his hands off his brother's wife. Again, something I've just, you know, there are some things in the Bible I just don't struggle with. My niece dancing for me and my brother's wife are definitely two things I don't think I will ever have a problem with. Praise the Lord. I just, I don't get it. I don't understand, but that's not only what happened in the Bible, that's where we are today. You gotta watch your children. You gotta watch your wife because people are roaming this country who will just take them and do the most horrendous things you can imagine with them. and we're in such a bad place. I hate it. I hope the Lord will give us a great awakening and bring back godly men of character that will be a blessing to see. All right, let's read verses 30 down to the end of the chapter, and then we'll go through as many notes as we can. Verse 30, And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 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. So that's another idea. This is one that I do struggle with. The Lord said to the disciples, you're worn out. You can't even sit down and eat. I want you to come out, separate yourself together, not go on vacation by yourself, not get away from God's people. God said, I want you as brethren to take yourselves apart and rest. Rest together. Calm down, get some rest. Verse 32, and they departed into a desert place by ship privately, and the people saw them departing, and they knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and out went them, and came together unto him. And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them. Now, when you see the multitudes doing the ridiculous things that they do, do you just get angry, or do you have compassion? Are you concerned or are you just frustrated at their, they are sheep with no shepherd. A sheep always needs a shepherd, otherwise it's going to go and get itself involved into something stupid. And so Jesus looked out at them and had compassion, and would expect us to do the same. Because they were a sheep not having a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him and said, this is a desert place, and now the time is far past. Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred penny worth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? Go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks by hundreds and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven and blessed and break. the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them. And the two fishes divided he among them all, and they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of fishes. And they did eat of the loaves, and were about five thousand men. And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship and go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling and rowing, for the wind was contrary under them. And about the fourth watch of the night, he cometh under them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them." He's just strolling along. Can you imagine that? You're out, you're rowing that boat and doing everything you can to get that boat going against the wind, and all of a sudden Jesus just comes walking by on the water. Yeah, that'd be something. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out. For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid." That's the thing to do with Jesus. Be of good cheer. Life is going to The storms of life, the toiling of life, the labor of life is gonna beat you down enough, but we should always return back to Jesus and be of good cheer. You've gotta be able to cheer yourself and the Lord. If not, man, this world's gonna beat you down. Verse 51, and he went up unto them into the ship, and the wind ceased. And they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure and wondered, For they considered not the miracle of the lobes, for their heart was hardened. Neither did they consider the last time they were on a boat together, crossing the sea, and a storm came, and Jesus was asleep on the ship. When your heart is hardened, you don't think about all the great and wonderful things God has already done for you. All you see is the immediate situation, and you don't think about the wonderful things the Lord has done. Verse 53, and when they had passed over, They came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship straightway, they knew him, and ran through the whole country, or the whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. And whithersoever he entered into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him. that they might touch, if it were, but the border of his garment. And as many as touched him were made whole." So this idea with him feeding the 5,000, this is ultimately what it boils down to. They said, we don't have what it takes to minister to this multitude of people. And Jesus said, well, what do you have? And as long as they were willing to bring to Jesus what they have, As long as they were willing to take the little bit that they had and sacrifice it to Jesus Christ, He could use that to minister to the multitudes. The same is true for us. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Well, how are you going to do that? Well, what do you have? What could you give to Jesus Christ that would allow you to accomplish that? And if you will sacrifice that to the Lord, the Lord will use that for His honor, for His glory, and will use you to do what you could never do on your own. Amen. We hope you enjoyed this podcast. You can learn more about our ministry by visiting www.plenteusredemption.com. You can hear more Plenteous Redemption podcast audio at www.plenteusredemption.media. Please comment below if this podcast has been a help to you. Also, inform us of future topics that would interest you. Thank you again for listening to the Plenteous Redemption podcast.