Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

The Doer of the Impossible | Series: Who is Jesus? | 06-29-08

The Doer of the Impossible
Luke 9:7-17

  I. Facing an Impossible Situation.

II. Faithfully Serve Regardless.

III. Be Confident in the Outcome.

Full Text 

Jesus had been traveling around Galilee, a region of Israel,
preaching and healing people and
even raising a couple of people from the dead.

King Herod was the Roman ruler over Galilee.
He had his spies everywhere.

John the Baptist had prepared the way for Jesus' ministry
by preaching repentance, a turning back to God,
combined with baptism.

He was very outspoken and fiery.

He spoke out against King Herod for
sleeping with his brother's wife, Herodias,
who was also his niece.

Herod liked John's preaching.
And he also feared John as a prophet and a holy man.

But Herodias hated John and wanted John dead.
As a compromise, Herod had John thrown into prison.

Everything was fine for a while.

But then, during a drunken party that
contained a seductive dance,
Herodias got her wish:
the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

Herod's conscience was bothering him something fierce.
Which brings us to Luke 9:7-9.

"7Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9But Herod said, 'I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?' And he tried to see him."

John the Baptist had never performed a miracle.

But McGarvey and Pendleton point out that
there was a prevalent idea among the ancients that
departed spirits were endowed
with superhuman powers.

So Herod believes that Jesus is
John the Baptist come back from the dead
bringing all these supernatural powers.

When it says Herod sought to see Jesus
we find out later it was to kill him.

Maybe he thought he could keep Jesus in the underworld
if he killed him again.

But I'd like to focus on the question
Herod asked about Jesus in Verse 9.
"Who is this?"

It is the same question that
Jesus' disciples asked when He calmed the storm.
"Who is this?"

That is an important question that
each and every one of us needs to answer.

The answer to that question
effects every area of our lives.

It effects our world view,
including our happiness and contentment.
It effects our relationships.
It effects our personalities.
It effects who we are.
As Christians we are growing to become just like Jesus.
And, of course, who you believe Jesus is
 effects your eternal destiny.

In the coming weeks we're going to take a look at Jesus.
We're going to see who Jesus is.

Today we are going to see Jesus as


As a little back ground to our text,
we covered Verses 1-6 when we studied
Jesus choosing his 12 apostles.
Jesus had sent them out without him.
It was like a training session.
They were doing the preaching now.

We read of their return in Luke 9:10.
"When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida."

Let's look at the map.
Look at the top middle.
On the northeast of the region of Galilee
see the city of Capernaum?

When Jesus began his ministry
He moved his base of operations
from his home town of Nazareth to Capernaum.

Jesus probably waited for their return in Capernaum.

When the disciples returned,
Mark tells us so many people kept coming to them
that they didn't even have time to eat.

So, in order to get away from the crowds so
Jesus could debrief and teach His disciples,
(and get a bite to eat!)
they sail 5 miles away to Bethsaida.

It is just to the right, to the east,
in the region of the Geresenes.

Verse 11.  "But the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing."

Since it was only a 5 mile walk
(people walked a lot more back then)
the crowds followed on foot.

Jesus has a big heart.
He and His disciples are tired and hungry, but
He's back to preaching and healing again!

Now, let's see the disciples
I. Facing an Impossible Situation.


13He replied, 'You give them something to eat.'
They answered, 'We have only five loaves of bread and two fish-unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.' 14(About five thousand men were there.)"

Remember, Jesus and His disciples had come to this place because they didn't have time to eat.

The crowd followed,
so the disciples are thinking about food!

When they bring it up to Jesus,
they have to make it sound spiritual.
I mean, they're with Jesus, right?
So they act like they're concerned about the crowd
even though they are beyond hungry!

Jesus tells them to feed the crowd.

They don't have any food. 
John tells us they went out into the crowd
searching for food and
Andrew found a boy with 5 loaves and 2 small fish. 

Yes, women, I know.
It's just like us men to not think of little details like food.
No, we haven't evolved into anything better in 2,000 years!

The Eastern loaves were thin and small,
like a good-sized cracker.

The fish were about the size of a sardine.


This was no more than a good snack for a boy,
much less feeding 5,000 men.

What we have here an impossible situation!

There is no way you could feed the group here today
with 5 crackers and a couple of sardines.
How could you ever think of feeding 5,000 men?

Besides, that wasn't even enough to feed
Jesus and His disciples who were starved to death.

IMPOSSIBLE!

Most of you have felt like you were facing
an impossible situation at sometime or another.
Some of you feel that way right now.

Maybe a loved one is ill and maybe dying.
You feel so helpless because
there is nothing you can do.
It is impossible for you to make a difference.

Maybe there is a job that needs done at work and
you are over-whelmed by
the size or complexity of the task.
Maybe it means learning new skills.
It is an impossible situation.

Maybe your kids are headed to college and
it seems there is no way the bills will be paid.
You are facing an impossible situation.

Nick Vujicic was born in 1982 in Brisbane, Australia.
His mother was a nurse and his father a pastor.

Everything was normal.
But for no apparent reason,
Nick was born without any limbs.

His father took one look at him and threw up.
The nurses held Nick down low until
a blanket was wrapped around him so
his mother couldn't see him and be shocked.
Then the nurses just stood there and cried.

Having had an uneventful pregnancy and
no family history to expect this condition,
imagine the shock Nick's parents felt
when they saw their first born, brand new baby boy.
No hands and no arms.
No feet and no legs.

How would their son live a normal happy life?
What could he ever do or become
with such a massive disability?

The family had little money (his father was a preacher)
to develop anything to help such a helpless child.

The prospects of needing to be
beside their helpless baby 24/7 for the rest of their lives
was disheartening.

What an impossible situation.
-------------------------------------------
When the disciples came to Jesus,
asking Him to send the crowds away so they could eat,
did you notice Jesus' response in Verse 13?
"He replied, 'You give them something to eat.'"


Jesus had just turned the 12 apostles loose for the 1st time.
They went throughout the region
preaching and healing people,
because Jesus had given them that power.

Now He tells THEM to feed the people.
But with so little, how could they feed so many?

IMPOSSIBLE!!!

Luke 9:16.  "Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people."

Facing this impossible situation
Jesus begins by praying to God and
thanking Him for the food.

Maybe the disciples thought
Jesus was a little too tired and not thinking straight.

Maybe they thought He was going to teach them
to be grateful for what you have,
no matter how little it might seem.

But then Jesus starts breaking up the crackers and fish and
giving out these miniscule amounts of food to be
passed out among the crowd.

Now the disciples have a choice to make.
Will they take the food to the crowd?
Or will they give up and eat it themselves?

The situation is hopeless.

The disciples can see no way that
their efforts will do any good.

If you can't see any good coming from your work,
why do anything?
Now would be a good time to give up.

But they obediently start passing out the food,
even though the situation was impossible.

So here is our 2nd point today.
II. Faithfully Serve Regardless.

When you face an impossible situation,
don't give up.
Do what you can.

There is an old saying,
"Pray like everything depends upon God and
work like everything depends on you."

And that is such an effective approach.
Turn to God.
Pray your heart out when it seems hopeless.
Trust God's will to be done.
Then get to work.

Never stop faithfully serving God.

If someone you love is seriously ill,
go and be with them.

You don't have to talk much.
Hold their hand and pray for them.


Bring them a book or video or something
to occupy some of those long, lonely hours.

Listen to them.

Smuggle in some White Castles.
No, No.  Don't do that!

When you do what you can,
you are faithfully serving King Jesus who said in Matthew 25:40, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
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If you face an overwhelming task,
pray, and then take a look at it and
break it down in chunks.
Determine what you can do and get started.

Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

It doesn't say, "If you like your boss."
It doesn't say, "If you think you can do it."
It doesn't say, "If it's not too hard or boring."

Just get started.
It is faithfully serving the Lord Jesus.
-------------------------------------
When the money doesn't seem to be there and
college continues to approach,
pray and then
keep checking out the grants and loans.
Look for extra work you can do.
Just keep doing what you can.


Jesus said in Matthew 6:33-34.  "33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [He's speaking of food, clothes, the necessities of life] will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Whether it works out or not
faithfully serve and trust that His will will be done.

Nick Vujicic may not have had any
hands or feet; no arms or legs,
but his parents loved him and
decided they would do what they could.

They took care of their baby
just as if he were a normal child,
as much as they could.

And through the years they continued
to love their little boy with no limbs.
They took care of him themselves.

I Timothy 5:8 tells us that "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

Little Nick brought his parents so much joy
as they faithfully served God
by providing for their son.

So, what happened to the disciples' impossible situation?
Luke 9:17.  "They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over."

5,000 men ate. 
5,000 men ate until they were full!
5,000 men had all they wanted
from 5 crackers and a couple of sardines!

What a miracle!!!

The situation was impossible.

He again taught the disciples to
just trust and obey.

Do what you can and
leave the results up to Jesus.

And when you do that, you can
III. Be Confident in the Outcome.
And that is still good advice to us today.

As you serve that loved one who is ill,
You may feel helpless, but
just being there and
talking with them
can mean so very much to them.

You are making a difference.
You are impacting a life.
God is working through you.
You are being Jesus to someone.

You may never know the good you have done
whether or not they make it.
Jesus does the impossible through you.
You can be confident of a good outcome.
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And when you face that impossible task,
and as you do chunk after chunk,
you might be surprised at your progress and
even how quickly and how well you did it.

Jesus and you make a good team.
Jesus can do the impossible through you.

And even if you don't succeed,
you have gotten something done and
Jesus is proud of you.
You can be confident of a good outcome.
-------------------------------------
And when you think of college and finances,
usually when you work and do your part,
there is enough money to survive.

You may not have all the amenities you want.
You may not have the movie channels or
a new car or
new clothes,
but you will have what you need.

God will take care of you.

And sometimes it almost seems miraculous
the way God provides.


You can be confident of the outcome.
----------------------------------
And what about little Nick?

He is in his 20's now.


I wish I could say that Jesus performed a miracle and
he grew arms and legs and hands and feet,
but He didn't.

I wish I could say that someone invented
robotic arms and legs and hands and feet for Nick,
but no one has.

Nick still has no limbs.
Let's see if Nick's life is worth living.

Video.
























Well, Nick is a little older now.
He's in his mid-20's.
He has degrees in accounting and
financial planning.
He invests in real estate and the stock market.
He is the head of an international charity.
Nick owns his own company.
He is a motivational speaker for
both religious groups and corporations.
He has already met with
dignitaries of different countries.

Nick faced an impossible situation.
But Jesus is the "Doer of the Impossible."

What impossible situation are you facing?

The most impossible situation is
how to get rid of
the guilt and consequences of your sin.

Jesus can do that, too.
I John 1:7 tells us the blood of Jesus purifies us of all sin.
Let Him do the impossible in your life.

Come to Him in faith,
repenting of your sin and
being baptized into Him.

will wash away your sin.

If your are ready to take that step this morning,
or if you've already done that and
would like to place your membership with us,
come forward as we stand and sing.