Gtcotr/ss101418
In
the wake of Hurricane Michael which devastated much of the panhandle of Florida
on Wednesday of this past week, our Church is responding once again to meet the
needs of those who have lost so much. We have a mandate from our Lord Jesus
Christ to help those in need.
The
entire gulf coast of Texas was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey just over a year
ago and we have not fully recovered yet. However, today we are in much better
shape than we would have been had so many individuals, organizations and
Churches not reached out to us with resources that made the difference. From
prayer to provisions, water to generators, food to financial assistance, people
from all over America and around the world sent help.
One
group of people who worked hard to collect and transport much needed supplies
to help southeast Texas communities through our Church was Lighthouse Church in
Panama City, Florida, led by Pastor Cole. Although I’ve never met him
personally I can testify to his character and concern because of the way he
responded to our critical need.
When
it became evident that Panama City was in the path of the historic category 4
strength hurricane, Hurricane Michael, this past week, I called Pastor Cole to
see how he, his congregation and community was fairing. Later that day he sent
me a text with pictures of the Church building where he pastors. He said, “The
roof just blew off!”. Later he shared that their second campus looked like a
“lumberyard”.
I
notified several pastors from around the nation to begin praying for their
recovery. Later I met with our Church staff and made several other contacts and
decided to push hard to respond with tangible assistance by way of purchasing
and transporting some much needed supplies to assist Pastor Cole in helping his
congregation and community to dig out and begin with some measure of recovery
and rebuilding.
We
know what it is like to be in a disaster area with no way to get the things you
need to begin the healing process. We know what items will be in abundance and
which ones will be so useful and yet in great demand. We understand people want
to help but often don’t know what is really needed. We have spent hours
unloading trucks hoping to find the tools and supplies we knew we could
immediately use.
With
these things in mind our staff put together a “Together We Can” campaign and
shopped and struggled over just how much and what types of critical tools and
supplies we felt were best and could be purchased and packaged for transport
and distribution for only $100 per container. The results are represented by
what you see in our foyer and on the overhead.
It
is my hope that our Church congregation would show our appreciation to the
congregation of Lighthouse Church in Panama City for the seeds of compassion
they sowed in our lives and communities by raising $5000 this morning above our
regular weekly giving to be used to fund 50 of these containers filled with
tools. I believe we have enough clout and credibility to raise another $5000
from other pastors, churches and friends to make a total of 100 containers of
supplies to help with critical needs immediately.
This
Wednesday evening I would like to invite you to participate in packing and
stacking the containers we have ready to be transported to Panama City. We will
have everything in place by that time. If you want to help with some of the
shopping and purchasing and getting ready for our Wednesday night work or if
you are willing to be a part of our transport crew, sign up at the information
desk and someone will contact you.
Now,
let’s get to the message for today entitled, Together We Can!
Matthew 14:19 Then He
commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves
and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the
loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.
Point 1: This
is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels.
Point 2:
Jesus did not feed the 5000.
·
Rather:
o He Took the fish and loaves
o He Blessed them by giving thanks to God for the
provision
o Broke them by His own hand as an offering to God
§ Every offering and
each sacrifice must be broken, burned, bruised or dead to be accepted by God.
§ From bulls to the
fruit of the vine …
§ From the Brazen
Altar to Gethsemane …
§ From broken bread to
poured out wine …
§ A broken and a
contrite spirit the Lord will not despise.
§ This is the divine
miracle of multiplication.
§ Jesus was
multiplying the resources … He started the miracle He hoped the disciples and
others would continue.
§ God breaks
hearts, not hopes, not homes and not heads.
o And He Gave
the broken pieces to His disciples and His disciples used them to feed the
multitude.
§ Just like Jesus,
the bread could not be fully given until it was first truly broken.
§ And neither can we …
·
In
each account, Matthew 9; Mark 8; Luke 9; and John 6, Jesus first put the
responsibility to feed the multitudes on the shoulders of His disciples … then
He gave them the means to do it … and then the disciples fed them.
·
God
still sees the hungry multitudes and is asking us what we will do to feed them.
·
God
will still make a way for us to do it.
All God needs are some blessed people who are willing to be broken.
·
People
like Isaac; Joseph; Ruth; David; Jeremiah; Daniel; Mary; Martha; Zacchaeus; Paul;
Martin Luther; Billy Graham; and you …
1. He will accept you
2. He will bless you
3. He will clean up your life
4. He will make you a blessing to others
God
breaks hearts, not hopes, not homes and not heads.
·
God
won’t give you cancer – He will give you the answer.
·
God
won’t make you sick – He will heal you.
·
God
won’t make you poor – He will provide for you.
·
But
God will lay the burden of the lost, hurting and hungry on your heart in hopes
that it will break … then He will multiply your resources and use your broken
heart to feed the world.
Point 3: Together
we can!
·
Together we can reach our families.
·
Together we can reach our communities.
·
Together we can reach our nation.
·
Together we can reach the world with the
Gospel of Christ.
