The Comfort and Compassion of Jesus (Part 3) by Dr. Rod Mattoon

About this sermon

This is part three of The Comfort and Compassion of Jesus . This message was preached on Sunday morning, May 21,2023, at Lincoln Land Baptist Church. Here is an excerpt of the message. The Lord is compassionate toward us in our times of BARRENNESS or the BITE of hunger. * Matthew 15:32-38... Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. 33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? 34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. 35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. 38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. Beloved, Jesus has compassion for us when our cupboards and refrigerator are barren and our tummies roar like tigers. He told us in His model prayer to ask our heavenly Father to "give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11) because He cares about the practical needs of our daily lives. Thousands of people were left with NOTHING to eat. Jesus went to work and asked what food was available. Only seven loaves of bread and a few little fishes were found but that was enough for the Lord. Jesus multiplied this food, providing a fantastic meal for 4000 men as well as women and children who were very, very hungry. It is obvious these folks enjoyed the food for they were fed to the full. They were filled! This word "filled" is from the word chortazo {khor-tad'-zo} which means "to fill or satisfy a person with food; to be fattened or gorged with food." They probably felt like a person after he or she has eaten a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. No one went away hungry, because they all ate, and no one went away half-full but completely satisfied. After everyone had eaten all they wanted, the disciples picked up what was left over of the partial pieces of food. It was seven large baskets that were full of food. From this event, we note several important principles about the Lord. 1. Sometimes, you may experience situations where you are at the end of your rope. You have nothing just like these folks. Jesus has a way of taking your time of barrenness to draw you to Himself and cause you to learn to depend on Him. By allowing these folks to get to the point of nothing after they had used up all of their provisions, He was able to show His compassion, His power, and what He can do in their dire situations. In circumstances like this, the Lord gets all the glory, no one else. The provisions the Lord provides for us are not based on anything we do. He provides for us just because He sees our hunger and has compassion upon us. Praise the Lord! 2. The second lesson is God uses what is available to Him, just like the bread and fish in this story. He will use you if you are yielded to Him. * Romans 12:1-2...I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3. Lesson three is the Lord is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think. The basket used here was the sphuris. This basket was much more like a hamper. It was big enough to carry a man, and it was the kind of basket that a Gentile would use. Seven of these were filled with food after everyone was fed. God is able to multiply what is given to Him. Our God is an awesome God!

Topics

• Love & Compassion
• Jesus Christ
• Encouragement