One of the most familiar stories from the life of Jesus. One of 2 miracles recorded in all four Gospels - the feeding of the 5000-the resurrection is the other miracle recorded in all four-.----The thousands come to Jesus, He doesn-t scold them or send them away. Literally, v34, His heart went out to them - He was moved in His inner being. As Isaiah wrote in chapter 53, verse 4 - Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.----Jesus teaches them. Then He feeds them. He is the Good Shepherd.

There would come a day when Jesus would not physically be with His disciples. They needed to be ready. Jesus was building His church. These ordinary men would be the means by which He did so. Much about these young men was immature and imperfect. They were untried men with a limited grasp of who Christ was. They had a poor understanding of themselves. They-d never preached a sermon.----Praise God, the spread of the gospel doesn-t depend on our perfection or our merit but on the call of Christ, and obedience to that call and the equipping of Christ. If God can use a reluctant disobedient man like Jonah, He can surely use me. ----These disciples still had much to learn, but they already had much to give.

Our Savior encounters two significant events in this passage. One event is chronic. It has been going on 12 years. How easy would it have been to lose hope- This woman had no contact with other people. She could not go to the synagogue. We was unclean. But, she comes to Jesus and He -not His clothes- makes her clean.----The other event - the illness and death of Jairus's daughter is quite acute. How easy would it have been to get overwhelmed in the thrashing and panic of that moment- Can you imagine the despair of Jairus when he heard that his little girl was dead-----But, in both cases, Christ is sovereign. He does not grow weary in doing good and He is not overcome when the storms of life rage-

The undeniable Christ-focus of this sermon. It is all about Jesus. Our words, our life, our messages, our lessons, - Without Christ, we have nothing to offer. Without Christ, we are pitiful. Without Christ, we are wasting our time. -This Jesus-- This, specific Jesus. Not the politically correct, redefined, neutralized Jesus which is culturally palatable. The Jesus of God-s Word. Jesus, as He is, not as we might like to imagine.----We are told about Christ-s posture, that in fact he is sitting at the right hand of God, in other words, he has completed the work of atonement. In both the earthly tabernacle and earthly temple there was not a single chair. There were lamps and tables and altars and curtains, but no chairs because when priests were on duty they had no time to sit down. There were always more sinners coming with their animals to be sacrificed and with the confessions of their sins, seeking advice for their pardon. The priests had no time to stand and stare let alone sit down. But now God says to his Son, -You have finished the work of redemption. Sit at my right hand side-- Have we all come to appreciate this, that the saving suffering work of Christ is all over- That God has accepted all that his Son has done, and so now he exalts him.----The message of God is not to be received with complacency, with non-chalance. We are not to receive it, even, with intellectual amusement. It calls for response. Honest response is to love it or hate it. I would that you were either hot or cold - be done with the lukewarm nonsense.

Jesus loves and He is Able. He heals the broken and miserable man - bound and bloody - the man crying out in abandon and wrath. This poor soul was bound in the place of the dead. How does Jesus heal this man- How does Jesus heal us- By becoming this man. By being broken. By being abandoned. He became bound and bloody and was left in the place of the dead. He breaks the power of sin, of death, of misery, of the devil - for us.----And, to us He says - v19 - -Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.-

Imagine the scene that day. The teaming masses of men and women crowding Jesus. They have heard about His teaching. The stories of His healing are all anyone is talking about these days. Hundreds, probably thousands, have come to see Jesus. It wasn-t in a concert hall, a sanctuary, or an auditorium. This assembly was out the open. The crowds are closing in around Jesus. So, He steps onto a boat and has it pushed a bit away from the shore. This builds some buffer. It also provided a bit of amplification. If you have ever been on a body of water, you know that voices carry. So, on the smelly stage of a working fisherman-s boat, Jesus teaches. And, here He tells a story - we call it a parable.----Again, the word -parable- itself means to cast alongside. A parable is a story used to teach. It is cast alongside the plain instruction. It is a powerful way of teaching. -Let me tell you a story- are six words that open wide doors for preachers and speakers. When teaching, I find that pens are set down, eyes come up, and students listen when the lecture moves from a point by point lesson to a story. Stories come in under the radar. Our defenses are down. We listen and the picture is painted with characters, places, and actions. ----A parable is -an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.-----Jesus, on the boat with waves gently lapping against the shore, tells us a story.----The parable does not call us to look into the heart of another and discern the soil before casting the seed. Jesus says, -A sower went out to and as he sowed-- The seed is plentiful. Cast it.----But, we must do a soil analysis in our own heart.

Imagine the scene that day. The teaming masses of men and women crowding Jesus. They have heard about His teaching. The stories of His healing are all anyone is talking about these days. Hundreds, probably thousands, have come to see Jesus. It wasn-t in a concert hall, a sanctuary, or an auditorium. This assembly was out the open. The crowds are closing in around Jesus. So, He steps onto a boat and has it pushed a bit away from the shore. This builds some buffer. It also provided a bit of amplification. If you have ever been on a body of water, you know that voices carry. So, on the smelly stage of a working fisherman-s boat, Jesus teaches. And, here He tells a story - we call it a parable.----A parable is -an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.-----There are three types of soil -picture of the human heart- in which the seed -the Word of God- does not grow. When the seed falls upon hardened hearts -the pathway in the parable-, it lies dormant on the surface. Roots don-t sink in. It leaves no mark at all. Sometimes the seed finds rocky, shallow soil. It is met with temporary enthusiasm but this quickly fades. Sometimes thorns -worldly concerns and cares- choke out the work of the seed. But, by God-s grace, many times the Word finds fertile, rich hearts and take deep root. Praise God- It is then that the harvest is great-----The perfect example of the sower is Jesus. But, we are called to sow the seed of the Word liberally. The seed is powerful. We are going to meet with many -failures.- But, we are called to faithfulness in casting the seed. We look to the Lord and give Him the glory for the harvest -I Corinthians 3-7-.

Jesus says here - my family - my true and eternal family will bear the family resemblance - they will look like their heavenly Father and their brother, Jesus. It-s not a nose, or body shape, or hair color - Verse 35 - -Whoever does God-s will is my brother and sister and mother.- Obedience in repentance. Obedient in faith. Coming to the Father through the Son and Him alone. We prayed it earlier - -Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.- Thy will be done in my life-----Do you know that you are part of the family of God today- Have you repented of your sins and placed your hope fully in Jesus- If not, let today be the day of adoption - the day in which Jesus looks about the room and points to you and says - you are my brother, my sister, my family. If you have, I pray God will increase your assurance - that you would know the joy family - eternal in Christ Jesus.

A text Martyn Lloyd Jones calls the most fearful text in all of the Bible. A pastoral warning to all who sit week in and week out in church - who have tasted of heavenly things- and then walk away to chase the desires of this world and then grievously resist and deny the Holy Spirit. A warning to all who would hear today. Daily, draw close to God through Christ. Do not seek how far you can roam. Do not seek how wide you can stray and then still return.

Discipleship works most essentially through instruction and imitation. Discipleship works best through love. As we lovingly instruct younger believers in the way of godliness and live commendable lives, they grow in Christlikeness by imitating our life and doctrine. The Bible teaches us that discipleship is to be our pattern - -Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ- -1 Cor. 11-1-- -Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith- -Heb. 13-7-- -What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me-practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you- -Phil. 4-9-- ---You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings- -2 Tim. 3-10-- -Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good- -3 John 11-.----Discipleship is one of the things a church MUST do. We must accurately and practically teach the Word of God to the people of God. Our end in this ministry is that the Church family would develop and grow in a comprehensive Christian outlook on life. Through the lens of the Word, we must equip our families for service, worship, evangelism, and all types of ministry. In accordance with Deuteronomy 6, we are to teach in a variety of ways. Sunday school, small groups, home studies, sermons, and group studies are all opportunities to teach God-s people. Further, all ministry events ought to be imbued with instruction. This is true discipleship. As the disciples learned while they walked with Jesus, so ought our brothers and sisters learn as we walk together.