In Today’s Lockdown/Self-Quarantine, Inward Focus and Self-Pity Arise; But It Is Win-Win when, Like Jesus, You Focus on the Needs of Others

DEVOTIONAL VIDEO

MESSAGE SUMMARY:

Feeding of the 5000 (St. Andrews Episcopal Church; Ft, Worth, TX)

In the miraculous “Feeding of the 5,000”, Jesus, again, provided a lesson to us of focusing on the needs of others over our perceived personal needs. After John the Baptizer had been beheaded by King Herod, the Apostles that told Jesus of this news and suggested that they get away from the crowds of people into a desolate area in which they could rest and pray. Jesus and the Apostles went by boat. However, a large crowd of people followed Jesus and His Apostles onshore so that when Jesus arrived at the area in which they wished to rest. Jesus had compassion on the people that had followed Him. Therefore, He began teaching, in Mark 6:34, to a very large group: “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.”. When Jesus’ teachings carried on late into the evening, His Apostles suggested that Jesus send the crowd away into the villages to buy food. Rather, Jesus asked His Apostles to determine how much food was on hand in the crowd; and they determined that they had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus blessed this food and, in Mark 6: 42-44, all the crowd ate from this food: “And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.".

In Mark’s teaching regarding the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, we see that Jesus’ compassion for the people over road His personal need to grieve for the death of John the Baptizer and to rest when Jesus began to, immediately, minister to the people. Like Jesus and in order to receive what God knows that we require, we need to move our focus away from our personal desires and perceived needs onto the real needs of others. When we move our focus away from ourselves and to a “outward focus”, we become free to hear and to receive from God. As in Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000, God desires that we look to Him; to take what He has given us; and to give to those in need. No matter where we are or in what context of life’s involvement, we find ourselves, we need to be willing to be broken vessels for use by God for His purposes.

 

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Loneliness. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Presence. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Mark 6:31; Mark 6:34; Mark 6:41; Mark 6:43; Psalms 46:1-11.

THIS SUNDAY’S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Title: “Palm Sunday and Holy Week Lead Us Toward Jesus’ Death On the Cross for Our Sins and His Resurrection; Therefore, We Are Forgiven!", at our Website: https://awtlser.podbean.com/

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S SERMON VIDEO (“Jesus said to Thomas: “Palm Sunday and Holy Week Lead Us Toward Jesus’ Death On the Cross for Our Sins and His Resurrection; Therefore, We Are Forgiven!“): www.AWFTL.org/watch,

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB