* If you’re faithful in the little, you’ll be faithful in the lots!

* The speck of sand in your shoe…..

* The Feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels, so we get four different angles.

* Story - there was a problem (the people were hungry), Jesus wanted to go the second mile, the disciples had no food, but they found a boy who did!

* Vs 8-9 - this boy’s mom was faithful in the little - she packed a lunch that Jesus unpacked for a great miracle.

* This boy was faithful in the little - he was willing to give it up.

* Vs 10 - “Have everyone sit down!”

* WAIT! This would be like a hostess seating people when the restaurant ran out of food.

* Jesus never explained WHAT He was gonna do or HOW He was gonna do it.

* The disciples obeyed because they focused on WHO He was.

* The boy’s mom was faithful because she focused on her son.

* Being faithful in the little is all about focusing on WHO you’re doing it for.

* Vs 11 *** The RESULT of faithfulness - everyone was fed.

* Obedience comes before understanding.

* The disciples had no clue they were setting the stage for a great miracle - they only understood that AFTER they obeyed.

* When we ask WHY, HOW, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE God always responds with WHO.

* Vs 12-13 *** The REWARD for faithfulness - they picked up twelve baskets full.

* They were faithful in little, now they can be faithful with lots.

* They walked out of there each with an entire basket of food (for their families maybe).

* Your eternal reward is not determined by the work you do, but by your motive for doing it.

* Jesus had just fed the 5,000 and the people wanted Him to become king in Jerusalem.

* They went looking for him.

* He changed their focus from physical bread to spiritual bread - He is the “bread of life.”

* Vs 25-27 - Jesus isn’t saying we shouldn’t work for food (2 Thessalonians 3:10 solves that).

* He’s talking about our motive for work.

* We aren’t to work solely for the things of the world - money, food, stuff, position, etc.

* He wants you to stay away from:

* Finances without Fulfillment

* Net-Worth without Self-Worth

* Revenue without Relationship

* Money without Meaning

* Profit without Peace

* Success without Significance

* Income without Impact

* Work without Wealth (true wealth)

* Making a Living but not a Life

* So how do we work for things that endure for eternal life?

* *** It all starts with our MOTIVE.

* Here are five steps to change your motive in work, to assure you’re not going to make it on that list above:

* Vs 28-29 - FOUNDATION - believe in Jesus. To believe is to commit.

* 1) Accept your assignment as if God Himself gave you the job - “whatever your hand finds to do...” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

* 2) Don’t compare your assignment to others.

* 3) Work in such a way to make God smile.

* 4) Let gratitude fuel your effort.

* 5) Leave the reward to Him - you may get paid highly or you may not, that’s up to Him.

* *** When you work like this, any job becomes sacred. There’s no job too small.

* EX: My buddy Alfredo who runs a sandwich shop in Torrington, CT.

* He doesn’t make much income, but he’s made an impact.

* 20 years later I’m still talking about him.

* How to thrive in the midst of a business deal gone wrong without killing someone or jumping off a bridge.

* This Psalm shows us how to respond when a business deal or partnership goes south.

* Vs 21 - David got stabbed in the back.

* Ruck story.

* Vs 22 - Cast your care on the Lord! Give Him your problem! (Like casting the net for fish - throw it out of your boat!)

* *** Notice David didn’t say “I forgive this man for what he’s done.”

* You can’t forgive someone who hasn’t asked for forgiveness.

* But you can’t walk around with unforgiveness in your heart.

* So what do you do?

* You do what Jesus did on the cross - you cast your care to God!

* You give Him the situation and ask Him to handle it, to bring the person to repentance just as He did with you.

* To this day we cast the care of what happened to us on God.

* Proverbs 20:22 - “Do not repay evil for evil. Wait for the Lord and He will deliver you.“

* Apply this to your business deal or partnership gone south!

* If you meet the need you’re paid for it may open a door for you to meet the need you’re not paid for, but the one you were made for!

* At the beginning of Christ’s ministry He announced who He was to a woman at a well.

* ** story **

* She came there with a physical need.

* She was unconscious of her spiritual need.

* Vs 28 - “she LEFT THE JAR.”

* Her physical need was no longer as important to her as her spiritual need.

* At work, people come to us with their physical needs - that’s what business is all about.

* The better we help them meet their conscious needs the better opportunity we’ll have to meet their unconscious needs.

* HOW do we do this?

* Vs 29-34 - You have to see your work as HIS work.

* When you see it this way it changes everything.

* Plumbing those toilets, closing those deals, teaching that class, wiping those rear-ends as a stay-at-home-mom, starting that business - that’s all HIS work.

* When you know your job isn’t just in the physical but the spiritual, you will be so much better at your job.

* WHY? Because you know your ability to touch a person spiritually is on the line.

* *** NOTE - Jesus at 29 years old.

* Jesus had the same assignment, but a different venue.

* Imagine the number of customers who never forgot what it was like to hire a carpenter like Jesus.

* If you meet the need you’re paid for it may open a door for you to meet the need you’re not paid for, but the one you were made for!

* When you don’t know exactly what to do, think back to the last clear thing God told you to do.

* These women moved toward the tomb, not toward Galilee.

* Vs 6-7 - “Have you forgotten what He said…”

* These ladies had the right hearts but needed a change in direction.

* Vs 8 - “Ah, we remember now!”

* So what has God spoken clearly to you?

* Hold onto it and don’t forget it!

* It’s wisdom to get good counsel, but don’t forget what God told you!

* ** HOW do you know when God has spoken something to you?

* One of the ways is through your ENERGY level.

* When God speaks to me I have energy that lasts - it won’t fade.

* If I do something and feel drained in every way, I’m walking the wrong direction.

* I know God has called me to empower entrepreneurs in their ministerial calling to bring God’s kingdom through business.

* I feel energized helping people do that.

* The more I do it the more energy I get.

* PROBLEM - you start to listen to other peoples’ voices rather than God’s.

* The best part of being successful in business is the increased ability to do great works of compassion.

* EX: Good Samaritan - he had the $$ to bless the man.

* ** True compassion doesn’t count the cost **

* It doesn’t calculate and weigh all the options.

* It simply sees a need and meets a need, whatever the cost.

* There’s a reward for this type of compassion.

* Vs 1-3 - none of these ladies stopped to ask “who’s gonna roll the stone back” until they already activated their plan (Mark 16:3).

* If they would’ve counted the cost, they wouldn’t have started moving in the direction God wanted them to move.

* Vs 4 - The beauty of compassion like this is that God always shows up to put the pieces together that you didn’t properly think through.

* Because they moved toward compassion, they were the first to see the empty tomb.

* And we’re still talking about them today!

* If you feel pricked in your heart to do something, start moving!

* EX: Missioneering - God brought us Flatworld.

* Your MOTIVE for doing business says more about you than the MONEY you make in business.

* Jesus gives us a glimpse of this when He calls out the religious leaders of His day.

* Vs 45-47 - Look at the things they excelled at:

* 1) Branding - “...they walk around in flowing robes...”

* Branding is all about ATTRACTION.

* 2) Marketing - “...love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces...”

* Marketing is all about ATTENTION.

* 3) Sales - “They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lofty prayers...”

* Sales is all about ACTION.

* They marketed to the most vulnerable.

* ** NOTE - Jesus never judged these widows for giving their money.

* ** Luke 21:1-4 is the story of the widow’s mite, and it followed this discourse about the religious leaders.

* PROBLEM - the motive behind “doing church” was to build themselves up rather than build others up.

* Two applications:

* In the non-profit space - there are churches who are great at branding, marketing, and sales, but they aren’t raising up disciples - they are creating customers.

* In the for-profit space - we need to make sure that we are more concerned about bringing value to people rather than getting in their pocket.

* Disappointment is the gap between expectation and reality.

* The secret to contentment is managing your expectations.

* Vs 1-6 - 30 pieces of silver wasn’t a ton of money at this time.

* Something else had to animate Judas.

* ** I believe it was that Judas was disappointed in Jesus.

* He expected Him to be a physical king and they all would sit on physical thrones.

* In Luke 21 Jesus had just told them that the temple would be destroyed, Jerusalem surrounded, and people would die - all in this generation.

* Jesus gave them warnings, but did not give them the full explanation. Why?

* Because when explanations are absent, your expectations reveal the condition of your heart.

* EX: a husband who comes home really late without calling and the wife automatically thinks he’s cheating on her.

* What does that say? Two things (one or both could be true):

* She has a trust issue (maybe from the past) that’ now an insecurity.

* He’s not trustworthy.

* So what should happen when expectations aren’t met?

* You PIVOT!

* Eleven of Christ’s disciples did, and they became heroes of our faith.

* Judas couldn’t - he dug in his heals, sat in disappointment, and burned with anger until he committed suicide.

* Two applications:

* 1) Your relationship with God - What do you expect from God? A great life surrounded by ossum things?

* If this is you then you are on the Judas path, because Christ says you need to carry your cross.

* If you love God for what He gives you then you’ll hate Him for what He takes from you.

* 2) Your relationship with your spouse - Expect great things, but pivot when it doesn’t pan out like you thought.

* Don’t dig in your heels - relationships stop when you do that.

* You’re only as powerful as your time alone with God.

* Vs 39 - “As was His custom…”

* Jesus crafted a habit to spend time alone with God.

* Conviction - Commitment - Community - Courage.

* Commitments transform your habits.

* Vs 40 - “Pray for help….” Why?

* Because asking God puts you in the proper posture.

* You recognize you need something from Him - you can’t do it on your own.

* It’s a constant reminder that you need His strength!

* Vs 41-42 - Christ’s 3-step prayer:

* 1) Recognize - “Everything is possible for You…”

* 2) Request - “Take this cup from Me…”

* 3) Release - “Not My will, but Your will be done.”