Sunday Morning Worship Service

if you have your bibles if you would turn with me to the Book of Mark and we're going to be reading in chapter 8 and we're going to start at verse 17 but we're going to kind of just look over this passage throughout the duration of this message Mark chapter 8 says and when Jesus knew it he saith unto them talking with his disciples why reason ye because ye have no bread perceive ye not neither understand he's asking them this question have ye your heart yet hardened having eyes even though you have eyes you're unable to see having ears ye hear not and do ye not remember he he's looking at his disciples in a Stern rebuke saying do you not remember when I break the Five Loaves among 5 th000 how many baskets full of fragments took ye up and I think the disciples kind of with their head down you know kind of have a coach talks to his players after uh the missing an assignment or something and he they said 12 Jesus and when the seven among 4,000 how many baskets full of fragments they took up restating the answer to them and they said seven and he said unto them how is it still that ye do not understand I want to speak to you for a few moments this morning and kind of flip that around though about what our aspiration is and the title is I will remember I will remember could we pray across this house this morning Heavenly Father we thank you we thank you for for the opportunity that you have given us to assemble here together to lift up your name to sing song of praises to to worship together to give together to pray together Lord as your word Goes Forth this morning I ask you to overlook the inadequacies of the speaker and Lord let your word be revealed into our hearts Lord as we Aspire today to remember what you have done in our lives to remember the provision to remember how you have showed up time and time again that we might find ourself in uncertain situations and obstacles in life that we not become doubtful and that we not become weary but remember what you've done knowing that you are fully capable of doing it again Lord that's our prayer and that's our hope this morning in jesus' name we pray amen I will remember forgetting something is absolutely normal and just part of human behavior and all of the husbands to their wives said amen yeah whether it's your glasses your car keys the names of your colleagues something trivial we all tend to forget something sometimes and we can get a bit distracted however we can all recall situations in our life where forgetting something is far from ideal and far from practical in a given situation after all you have an average of 70 thoughts going through your mind every single day some of you are thinking of somebody right now like I don't think they have 70,000 things coming through their mind that's a different sermon most adults have the attention span of 20 minutes I better hurry visual memory of eyewitnesses is notoriously inaccurate of 235 wrongful convictions in the United States 75% were a result of unreliable Witnesses we even we just forget even what we've seen recently AR con a consultant on effective ways to train employees he asks and researches the question how much do people forget research that within research shows that within one hour and he's talking about training employees for a specific job or uh training employees for a Corp corporation uh talk and all of the um rules and and training and protocols that go into it he says research shows that within one hour people will have forgotten an average of 50% of the information you presented within 24 hours he says they have forgotten an average of 70% of new information and within a week forgetting claims an average of 90% of it some people will remember more or less but in general the situation is appalling and must be remembered in corporate Gatherings no matter how much you invest into training and development near nearly everything you teach your employees he says will be forgotten although corporations spend $60 billion do a year on training this investment he says could be like pumping gas into a car that has a hole in the tank all of your hard work simply drains away man maybe I could preach a sermon from a year or two ago next time I preach no I'm just kidding but we are humans and we forget see the nudging of the spouse out there as we approach Christmas and I know some of you are already decorating we will no met be out with the continuous rerun and the memes and maybe the family sitdown holiday tradition to the Christmas Classic Home Alone where Peter and Kate mallister in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season leave to go on vacation and they leave their young son Kevin mallister at home where this Sparks a crazy chain of events and we now have have this cultural idiom from the picture of his mother all of the sudden when she's on the in the airport and they're getting on the airplane or she might even be already on the plane again I can't remember it just suddenly hits her out of nowhere and she screams out Kevin and we know when we see this now it's it's funny and it's hilarious but we all have those Kevin moments in our life all those uh that brings about a great deal of anxiety and brings about a a a great Adrenaline Rush where it seems that everything's going good and oh my life is so together and then all of the sudden it hits me that I forgot something maybe it was a homework assignment or maybe you were going uh on vacation and you needed a passport and there it sits still on the coffee table maybe you forgot an appointment or you forgot to fill up with fuel or you forgot a phone charger on a long trip or you forgot to pay a bill or maybe you left your seven-year-old child at Burlington Coat Factory some things you won't forget on our way to National youth convention two years ago Callaway was around 5 months old and he was just such a pleasurable child and uh we were on our way we have to leave on Sunday it doesn't actually start till Wednesday but we have all these meetings that are going on beforehand getting in all preparation uh for it and uh it's only a three-hour trip but a three-hour trip with a 2 and a2y old and a five-month-old even though you gained an hour you lost some some other things um and we will just say that was probably not the most pleasurable 3our uh drive but you know we got through it he's five-month-old a two-year-old these are you know these are the things you're mentally strong headstrong good good parents you know and about 10 minutes out and where we have National youth convention it's it's called Uh uh Gaylord Opry land and if you've ever seen it it's just humongous inside it's like a whole other world inside there's five different wings and I mean you're you're walking like 15,000 steps a day just it's you know how it is you stay lost the whole time ton of walking a lot of hills and it's it's just a a big place uh a great place to have a a 2-year-old and a 5-month-old let me tell you but about 10 minutes out out almost there had everything else packed for the week and all of the the the meetings planned out and all of your all of your your clothes packed all the all the things you you need and we we we had ordered groceries ahead of time so we could just pick them up and take them in there you know we just had it had it all planned out and about 10 minutes out something hit me something my wife had no less told me I guess 10 to 15 times in the one to two weeks prior we had just purchased this stroller and it was a like a double decker stroller if you will like a tour bus like it's got one car seat on the top one car seat on the bottom and most of the time when we had been using it we would just used the the bottom seat but now Callaway had come along and we'd ordered this brand new attachment for the top and Kell's like make sure that you get all the pieces for it before we we go because I mean we're if we've ever needed it before you're you're going to need it this week I I've got that I'm the epitome I pride myself on being organized I've got it all laid out I got the top of the stroller and I got the bottom of the stroller she said make sure you get all the pieces but about 10 minutes out it hit me that there was was a little bag that I had neglected to get that sat on the top of this shelf in our garage and it was worse than I guess maybe leaving your child at home because we had the the two babies and I knew Kelly was going to be oh so pleased with me once we got there but I'm just praying that maybe you could get by cuz I hadn't yet assembled it without having to use this so maybe there's still a chance so I'm in the car 10 minutes out like God of Abraham God of Isaac you built a no you you helped Noah build an ark you you you you saved the three Hebrew children from a fiery furnace if you did that for them I know that you can do something now in my situation and in this circumstance to maybe spare my life one more day so we arrive we start getting everything out and obviously I didn't disclose the details of my negligence just quiet yet I wanted to kind of let things come at me and just pray that something was going to come together metaphorically and literally but as we started to get all of that luggage out for a week and uh all y'all know when you've got a a six-month-old and a two-year-old uh you know that first you've got the tent for him and you've got the stroller this bouncy thing I mean just all of this stuff once you have another kid you realize that you don't even need all that stuff but when you're young parent you just bring all that with you so we get all that out and we I mean there there's probably three or four bailen at this time with their carts all the way figured out and we start to get that stroller out and I expertly just kind of you know how you once you get that stroller you can I just snapped it out real quick on that bottom one and put the bottom seat in I'm like all right Eleanor get it in everything is going good and I grabbed that top seat and there were these extensions that go on it and that top seat for Callaway just I mean you it just would not go in that latch and I was missing just these two just extender brackets that I would have absolutely given anything for Kelly there's something wrong with this no there's nothing wrong with yeah this there must be some kind of manufacturer defect you know they've they've left out something you know this couldn't be our fault all the time knowing in the back of my mind and of course she starts looking at YouTube videos and all of the parts uh pieces that are supposed to she goes where are these at and I'm just like um she goes I know where they are they're on top of that shelf where where are they and she starts looking through the uh vehicle and I had to break the news luckily she's just the most forgiving lovely beautiful lady I'm glad she's still in here and hasn't recanted those memories back but that was a a recent forgetful moment in my life where I do not want to relive again I had to call my dad he had to break in my house to I'm like if you have to bust down the door call the fire department whatever you do just get those parts here tomorrow I survived that night I carried Callaway everywhere but but we made it but we all have those stories in our life for something hits us or we just forget in Mark 8 we see another crowd in another setting gathered around Jesus this was not just a long day but it was three long days and any food supplies they may have brought were long gone and they were famine and as Jesus continued teaching no one wanted to leave and just like the miracle in Mark 6 Jesus was concerned about the well-being of the people who had gathered so he turned and he spoke to his disciples and Jesus knew if he sent the crowd away now some would faint from Hunger on their way home Jesus said I have compassion on the multitude because they have now been with me for this long and the disciples answered him as Jesus be to talk about wanting to feed these people they said from whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness these disciples who were already eyewitness to so many different Miracles and who were already an eyewitness to a recent miracle that took place much and like this one here they are two chapters later saying Jesus how are you going to feed these people out in this Barren deip place and regrettably the disciples responded in their Humanity much of the way they had earlier in a striking similar situation they looked at the size of the crowd they looked at the task at hand and they concluded with their me meager supplies that they had on hand that it wouldn't be enough to feed the crowd Jesus asked the disciples how many loaves have you and they had they said seven unfazed Jesus commanded the people to sit as he prepared to feed the crowd and in identical fashion to the previous miracle of feeding the multitude the disciples brought the bread to Jesus and he gave thanks and he began to distribute throughout the congregation and the outcome was identical and he used the disciples as a vehicle to continue to distribute to this 4,000 until they were satisfied and again the disciple IPL Les gathered the fragments re remaining and they filled seven baskets with leftovers they had once again leftovers in these two very similar occasions Jesus had compassion on the crowds and he miraculously provided food for them with leftovers to spare and Not only was he concerned about their spiritual needs notice but also the importance of teaching to transform their lives and he was also touched by their physical hunger and moved to satisfy their need for food he wanted to touch them spiritually but also had compassion for them physically how quickly we can forget the Miracles of God and the incredible stories of his work when faced with another daunting situation and before we judge Jud others for their forgetfulness and before we judge others for their perceived lack of faith and before we look out into society and call this Society of faithless generation maybe just maybe and I preach to myself first before it goes out to anyone else maybe I should examine myself and see what my response is when met with a daunting situ situation because oh so often we can forget what God has done time and time again we can worship with songs that go forth so mightily and talk about how he's the God who showed up in the Midnight Hour and he's The God Who God made way and we'll praise and worship and then we'll walk right out of here into a life of stress and into a life of turmoil and into a life of weariness where it affects all of capacities of our life forgetting that the same God who delivered you time and time again is going to do it once more God knows our forgetful frame this is why he cautioned Israel to remember their Covenant with him following The Exodus God gave Moses guidance for their lives and the promise of blessings as they continue to live in right relationship with him it was vital that they share their testimony their story of Oppression in Egypt but more importantly to celebrate their great Deliverance of bond from bondage and the Miracles of Salvation and provision in the wilderness this is why it's so important to us when we have anniversary Services every year and you hear Bishop talk about some of the Miracles that got us to where we're at or we hear some of the testimonies of our seniors Saints some who thank God are still here with us and we hear their testimonies about how they made it and how they gathered in the face of a great deal of adversity and it it it allows us to to to remember what God did and where he got us to today and that's why we gather and have corporate Gatherings on Sundays and on midweek yes to give God praise yes not to forsake the assembling of oursel together to give God work worship and praise but it's a it's a time of remembrance as well when we come together because we're here for one another and each and every one of us at different times will have lower points in our life but when we come together and pray together and worship together I I I can think of stories of maybe something similar that someone else went through and when I see their Victory it gives me faith in the current to know that I can make it as well in Deuteronomy he tells them take heed to thyself and keep thy Soul diligently lest thou forget the things keep keep your heart sensitive uh come together to worship to gather together to sing songs of praise to talk in fellowship with one another because you you need each other and you you keep each other reminded of what he's done other otherwise these things can depart from you and you can uh forget the stories and you can forget the Miracles and you can forget the deliverance and he goes on to say teach them to thy sons and to thy Sons Sons pass down these stories of transformation in your life pass down these testimonies of how God brought you out share what God has done for you leaving the crowds wellfed Jesus and the disciples boarded a boat and made their way across to the lake of dalmanutha one translation notes this place as Aramaic word as the land of Oppression and upon his arrival Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees who pressed him for a visible and miraculous sign from Heaven to prove his ministry to them and it says he sigh deeply in his spirit and saith why does this generation speak after a sign they were wanting him to perform some kind of smoke and mirrors trick in their face or some commentaries even say they wanted him to display God's power like he did uh to Moses and how or Elisha in the face of the Bell worshippers and send fire down from heaven and a loud booming voice and the Earth began to shake they said Jesus we need a sign from you to prove your ministry to us and Jesus said why you're just seeking a sign what good is that going to do to anyone the miracles of Jesus were not a public spectacle but rather it was God extending Mercy to his people and after some time Jesus gathered the disciples and they sailed back across the lake a stark contrast between these two events one group of people who were hungry and in need uh received Earthly provision from Jesus with some left over while on the other side of the lake these religious Elite and these also so smart individuals received nothing only aspiring for some kind of uh Fire coming down from heaven to somehow prove a sign to them as though they needed something proved now the disciples verse 14 had forgotten to take bread we call oursel Apostolic right like the apostles to be like the disciples followers of Jesus so you have these two groups of people on each side of the lake one group hungry in need and God provided then on the other group you have the faithless generation seeking after assigned in the land of Oppression and he leaves them there as they are because their lack of Faith but then you have Jesus and his followers and these followers of Jesus had this intimate relationship with him they had seen what he had done they had heard oh so close his teaching verse 14 says now the disciples had forgotten to take bread neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf so keep in mind they were already at the second addition if you will of the multitudes being fed with plenty left over even though they they didn't approach that that place like Oh my Jesus is going to provide for all you people just get ready for what he's going to do that that wasn't their attitude it was Jesus how how are you going to be able to feed all these people in this Barren place and there was some left over that they could have gathered with them and taken with them but now they had no more than a loaf and he charged them Jesus charged them saying take heed Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod talking about their self-righteousness and they reasoned among themselves saying Jesus is getting on to us because we have no bread and when Jesus knew he saith unto them why why why reason ye are key text because ye have no bread you're missing the point perceive ye not neither understand have your heart not Harden why why do you not understand what I'm trying to speak to you you have eyes but you can't see you have ears but you can't hear and he says when when I break the loaves among 5,000 how many baskets were fool and they said unto him 12 and then again with 4,000 how much was left over and they they said seven said how do you still not understand yes I'm going to meet your physical need but I'm also talking about your spiritual need and disciples you've been with me so close and your lack of bringing the sustenance with you and your forgetfulness is proof that you're taking what I am telling you for granted we meet the disciples in chapter 8 of The Gospel where in the preceding passages Jesus had already healed a man with an unclean Spirit he had already healed Simon's mother-in-law of fever and also others who were sick with various diseases on a particular day he had cleansed a leper he had healed a lame man he had healed a man with a withered hand he calmed a storm he healed a man overtaken by a demon he healed a woman with an issue of blood and it was done so by her just touching the hymn of His Garment he healed her instantaneously he raised Jar's daughter from the dead saying under the body Tuma rais he walked on the water he fed 5,000 he fed 4,000 they were right there with him they had God manifest in flesh right in front of them the creator of the world right in front of them but yet but yet where's the bread where's the where where's what I did it's proof because what you said earlier disciples when we walked up on a situation you just asked me again how am I going to provide how am I going to deliver have I not done it over and over and over and over and over again yet you still don't understand and your lack of faith might be the determination on the place on the other side of the lake maybe if you would have got off the boat singing praises and talking about how powerful my Lord and Savior is if you would have brought some more bread maybe they would have got some Deliverance too cuz my God we can talk about a faithless generation outside in society and how bad the world is getting oh but when I'm faced with a trouble somebody that's supposed to be following Christ oh so close somebody who describes thems as being Apostolic I can talk a big game but suddenly when turmoil comes to my life oh I don't think I can go to church anymore I think God's left me in this season oh I man things just aren't what they used to be oh I don't think we're ever going to get back to where we were I I don't think it's going to work out for me right now absolutely not he's provided for you over and over and over and over and if God's people can't get excited and worship and praise right in the shadow of a giant who else is going to if God's people can't meet a situation where a miracle needs to take place and say yes my God can do it yes my God can heal yes my God can provide yes my God Can Make A Way when there is no way who else is going to do it but I believe I'm in a house this morning who says I remember what he's done I remember how he brought me out I remember how he showed up in the Midnight Hour I remember how he healed my body I remember oh if you would you recall just a time that God's done something for you in your life in this moment just let it come to your memory just for a moment Lord I Thank you for what you did I thank you for meeting me where I was at Lord I I know in my Humanity I can be forgetful but right now in this moment I remember how you showed up musicians and singers come ahead perhaps one of them nudge the other one we've all been in those situations before we were receiving a Stern rebuke I thought you were going to get the bread I thought you were going to get it and Jesus is like it's not about the bread in the flesh I am am the bread of life I'm right here with you don't doubt don't be weary I'm going to meet your spiritual and also my miraculous is not for just some public display to prove myself in a in a smok and mirrors type way to a a society who's who's trying to play gotcha and or or or trying to fine Loop that's that's not that's not what my Miracles are for my Miracles are to show my Mercy to my people who believe on me who come for one day and end up staying for three days even though they don't have the things of this world they know that I'm going to provide for them how do you not understand he he said how many left over not Jesus says not only do you remember how I fed the 5,000 he he doesn't say do you remember when I fed 5,000 he doesn't even ask them he said H how many baskets of leftovers were there uh that first time how many baskets of leftovers were there the second time we see this time and time again because the disciples and we're like the disciples because we can forget he says have I not been so long time with you yet you ask me to show you the father uh and this is a different circumstance but in this circumstance we see this kind of questioning rebuke it's like have I not done all of these things right in your presence yet you still ask me how I'm going to provide and I wonder if somebody here this morning you might be going through a dark season in your life you might be met with a circumstance where the only way things are going to get better or going to improve is only if God provides cuz you've expended all your resources and you've come to a certain point I want you to know this morning that even though in our Humanity me being first can't forget that God is more than capable and exceedingly abundant and able to meet your needs In This Moment he's wanting you to know this morning that if you'll be reminded on some things that he's already done for you if you'll use that as the framework for your understanding and your faith right now that he's ready to show up like he did the time before like he did by time before that like he did for your neighbor like he did for your parents like he did for your your grandparents and he's saying this morning don't forget remember because I'm the same yesterday today and forever and I'm ready to do it again give the Lord a hand clap of [Applause] Praise I need to allow the Miracles Jesus has worked to frame my faith for future Miracles why be concerned about bread and fish when the one who spoke the words of creation stood with them in the flesh it was not really about the number of Miracles or the number of uh baskets from The Leftovers the Lord Of Glory was there and the Lord Of Glory is in this house he said he would come to us Emmanuel God With Us and he was continually revealing himself to the disciples with each story with each uh conversation all of the dialogue just unlocking and giving us to this day as well as the disciples a little more insight into the Kingdom of Heaven that God's miracles yes it's super supernal and miraculous but they're not for some kind of horse and pony show they're not for some kind of hey let's get the camera right here and show what God so we can get some clicks and LS no therefore God's mercy to be extended to somebody in need to somebody that's hungry to somebody that needs healing to somebody that's desperate stand with me sometimes when we think of the disciples we can think of them as this some kind of Otherworldly followers and individuals and likewise they indeed they had amazing attributes and characteristics and were Fearless in the face of persecution but they're not superch Christians they were humans like you and I and if they the disciples could have been had eyewitness account to all of these Miracles leading up and a miracle done in almost the same fashion as this one yet as they approached that they had doubt weariness stress uncertainty if they experienced that I bet I'm going to as well I bet you're going to as well but God's word speak speak to us this morning do you remember do you remember what I've done and he said I'm going to do it again I'm going to do it again the promised one who has come of the Seed of Abraham the son of David The Great I Am is with [Music] you as I close this morning we make reference to it often in our sermons and annually and sometimes more as a general body we will take communion and this is just a special time and the Bible says as of as you do and this is a special time of Believers coming together and it's a being unified by the body of Christ but as I studied this Mark chap chapter 8 and kind of focused on this word remembrance I I do feel in prayer that God just led me to that time of communion and as I begin to read the passage of what if how we do it it states for I have received of the Lord that which also was delivered unto you that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he break it and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you and he said this doe in remembrance remembrance of me and I had jotted down some notes from our communion service about Jesus taking the bread on the same night that he was betray we see this and Faith still in the presence of this conflict and five of the things that we talk about during communion as we remember the body of Christ are it's a time of commemoration which we assemble together to acknowledge the broken body of Christ in the crucifixion and then him being raised from the dead indeed it's also a time of contemplation where I begin to evaluate everything in my life everything that got me to where I'm at because I truly believe this morning if you will use the Miracles of what God has already done to be the foundation in the framework for how you perceive God to move in the current situation you face I believe that your faith is going to be exceedingly high and I also believe oh this is divine re revelatory right now those seeking a sign I believe you look to your right look to your left and look at your family that's gathered around you and say look what the Lord has done look what God has provided me with it gave me a family it gave me a a great church family it gave me a house of worship oh it might be a a a job I believe when I start extending gratitude and contemplating the things that God has provided me with oh man you talk about faith building you talk about empowerment and then I began to identify of going down in the name of the one who died for my sins number four it's examination God if there's any doubt if there's any sin if there's any weariness in my life Lord I ask you to take that away and let me be powered by your name and lastly there's expectation that the same God who created this world the same power that was alive and the existence of in the beginning God is the same God and the same power that was alive when Christ was raised from the dead and that same power is Promised from on high and it's alive in each one of you so as you pray this prayer as you go through all of these things of uh of gratefulness and identification and gratitude it's going to build your faith toward expectation to know that the same God Who provided Mana in the wilderness the same God who performed for the multitudes and had baskets left over is the same God who's ready to meet you right where you're at today he's the god of yesterday today and tomorrow so as I open up this Altar for you I would hope that you would come boldly by faith with expectation saying God I know what you've already done for me and by me thinking of that and that being the framework for my faith I know that you're going to move again I was in the but I never went you were always on time Jesus when I went through the fire you were right there beside me you were I remember on you are always on time remember you [Music] are always on time you are I believe you can do it again I believe you can do it again you always there never been a day never been a minute it's never been a moment that you in it there never been a time that you didn't see me through God I worship you there never been a day it's never been a minute it's never been a moment you there's never been a time you didn't see me through God I worship you we're going to have a baptism shortly but I wonder if as a prayer point you could put your arm on your neighbor next to you and say I brought some bread this morning I brought a testimony this morning and I don't necessarily know the things that you're experiencing I don't know everything that you're going through but I do know what God has done for me and I believe that if he did it for me then he could do it for you could you pray that prayer for just a moment mighty God we thank you today Lord this church body yes in our Humanity we experience the emotions of doubts and weariness because sometimes we fail and sometimes we forget but Lord we acknowledge this morning that we're going to remember your sacrifice we're going to remember what you've already done and we're going to bring bread we're going to bring bread to our families we're going to bring bread to our communities we believe that you can transform we believe that you can feed the hungry we believe that you can meet the spiritual and the physical needs we believe that you have that much power we're not going to speak words of doubt and words of fear but we're speaking Faith we're speaking expectation because God we know that we serve the King of Kings and the Lord of lords you're Emmanuel God With Us and you gave us your power would you turn that prayer into a mighty hand clap of praise and say thank you [Music] Jesus