MARK 8:1-9 – CONSIDER THE MULTITUDE
Our text begins, In those days the multitude being very great…
Your life is filled with a multitude of people.
- There’s your family and friends.
- There are your neighbors.
- There are your fellow workers and school friends.
- There are people you meet socially and in the world of business.
- There are people who wait on you at the gas station and the store.
You know a multitude of people. And just as Jesus considered the multitude, we need to consider the multitude as well.
The multitude you know has many needs. In a sense of the word, they are starving. Just as Jesus said to the disciples, I have compassion on the multitude and want to feed them, he is saying to you and I, “I have compassion on the multitude you know and want to feed them.”
We probably answer the Lord the same way the disciples did, “Lord there are so many. We can’t possibly feed them.”
The disciples did end up feeding the multitude. It was they who brought Jesus the 7 loaves and a few fishes, and it was they who took the food to the people.
For a few moments let’s Consider the Multitude we know.
OUR RESPONSE TO THE MULTITUDE: COMPASION
Mark 8:1-3, Mark 6:34, Matthew 15:30, John 4:35
OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE MULTITUDE – TO REACH OUT
- We are responsible to witness. 1 Peter 3:15, Psalm 107:2
- We are responsible to be sympathetic to others. Romans 12:15
- We are responsible to encourage other Christians. Hebrews 10:24-25
- We are responsible to meet the physical needs of others. James 2:14-17
OUR RESOURCES FOR THE MULTITUDE – Many and Varied
There are at least 7 “loaves” that Jesus will multiply if we bring them to Him:
- Loaf #1 is Our Tongue.
- LOAF #2 IS THE HOLY SPIRIT – Romans 8:9, Acts 1:8 Galatians 5:22-23
- LOAF #3 IS PRAYER – Matthew 7:7-11, 1 John 5:14-15,
- LOAF #4 IS THE WORD OF GOD – 1 Peter 1:23, 1 Timothy 3:16-17, Isaiah 55:10-11
- LOAF # 5 IS SPIRITUAL GIFTS – 2 Timothy 1:16, Romans 12:3-8
- LOAF # 6 IS GOOD WORKS – Matthew 5:16
- LOAF # 7 IS OUR MONEY – Matthew 6:19-21
OUR RELIANCE TO HELP THE MULTITUDES – Bring Our Resources to Jesus and Let Him Bless Them – Mark 8:6-7
OUR RESULTS FOR THE MULTITUDE – Jesus Will Multiply What We Bring to Him for His Use. – Mark 8:8, John 14:12
