Main Idea: The resources we put in Jesus’ hands will accomplish what we never dreamed was possible.

Today we begin a two-part series of messages to help us focus on our "Building Tomorrow…Today!" special stewardship emphasis. We are going to talk today about how we need to see what Jesus sees in order to achieve the vision before us. Next week we’ll talk about our need to do what Jesus says so that we can accomplish the challenges of the goals we want to reach.

Our text for today is a story that is very familiar to all of us. It is the story of Jesus feeding more than four thousand people with only seven loaves of bread and a few fish. This story is one of two miraculous feedings that Matthew records. The first was the feeding of more than five thousand people with five loaves and two fish found in Matthew 14. What I want us to see today is that the resources we put in Jesus’ hands will accomplish what we never dreamed was possible. Yet the key is that we will not put our resources into his hands until we see what Jesus sees! I believe in our text today there are some things that Jesus saw in the lives of the people who needed him and in the lives of the disciples who followed him that will help us see and understand the vision for the future of First Baptist Church.

Just so that all of us know what we are talking about, let me remind you of some basic information about "Building Tomorrow…Today!"

• ‘Building Tomorrow…Today!" is the name given to our plan to raise over six years almost $6.7 million dollars to implement the Master Site Plan that was proposed to our church by our Building Committee in the fall of 2004. This plan is in two phases. The first phase is estimated to cost $5 million and our goal is to raise $4 million in commitments toward that cost. The next phase will then follow in three years.
• The first phase is construction of a new four-story education building as well as remodeling of our current education facility and organ repair. The people who will be served by this new facility are our preschool, children and youth with an unfinished third floor for adult Sunday School space. The next phase is renovation of other ministry areas on Union.
• The question that most of us ask is, "Why are we doing this?" In 1998 our church made a decision to stay in the downtown area of our city. That decision directs us to keep our facilities current and adequate for our present church family as well as those we are called to reach in our city. Our youth ministry has grown to the point where they were forced to meet in two different buildings to study the Bible. Our children are meeting in space that was adequate 21 years ago but is inadequate today because of the increased traffic on Union and the aging of a facility. Our preschoolers are in space that has been remodeled multiple times but still is less than sufficient for the needs of growing families. We have over 400 youth and children who are part of our First Baptist Family. We are doing this for the future of the youth, children and families already here but we are doing it for those we have yet to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some will say, "Why do we need to spend this money on ourselves when there are so many without Christ in our world?" My answer is we have been and are a leader when it comes to mission giving! We currently lead our association in giving to the Cooperative Program of the SBC. We are one of the top ten churches in the state of Arkansas in Cooperative Program giving and lead our state in CBF giving. In the last five years our giving to missions has increased by 45%!

Not only have we given more resources to missions, we have planted two new independent, viable Baptist churches in the last twelve years. We have an ongoing vital ministry in one of the greatest need areas of our city on Huntington, where two weeks ago over 70 children and adults met for Bible study and worship. We have a growing Hispanic ministry and our Care Center serves over 55,000 people a year. The growth in our Celebrate Recovery ministry and First Hope counseling ministry has been phenomenal! So we are taking care of others’ needs with priority and sacrifice! But if we don’t plan and prepare for tomorrow then sooner or later the resources of today will be exhausted!

It was exhausted people and exhausted resources that Jesus saw that compelled him to do one of his greatest miracles. It will be when we see what Jesus saw that we will see him do the same in our lives and in our church!

What did Jesus see? One thing Jesus saw was people with problems they couldn’t solve. (Matt. 15:29-31) Matthew tells us that Jesus and his disciples are in the country in a region somewhere along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Obviously, there were crowds of people following him so in order to serve them, he goes up on a hillside and sits down. When he does, huge numbers of people come to him and start putting people at his feet with needs and problems they couldn’t solve – people who couldn’t walk, see or speak as well as other physical problems. Matthew records that Jesus heals them all unconditionally! He didn’t ask if they were Jew or Gentile. He didn’t tell them to believe or do anything, he just healed them! The people’s response was one of overwhelming joy when they saw all that Jesus did!

Jesus saw people with needs that were impossible for them to meet and problems greater than they could solve. The question is: Are we willing to see people the way Jesus saw them? We have said this over and over to you but the best survey data we have tells us that there are 27,000 people within ten minutes of our church that have either no relationship to Christ or no relationship to church. There are 17,000 youth and children in the two primary zip codes of our city. There are nearly 10,000 students on ASU’s campus. We had over 1000 people in our church Easter Sunday. Where did the 27,000 go? We had 350 youth and children Sunday. Where did the 16650 go? We had 80 university students Wednesday night. Where did the over 9900 go? Those are people with problems they can’t solve that only Jesus can meet. The truth is people want to come where they know that Jesus will meet them. Yet if we don’t plan to reach them, how will they know where to go?

Jesus told a story about a shepherd and his sheep that shows us what God feels about those needing to be reached, " If a shepherd has one hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one? And if he finds it, he will surely rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish. (Matt. 18:12-14) God cares about those who are not there so much that he will spare nothing to get you and me to see what he sees and feel what he feels! When you are convinced that the only hope people have for the problems they can’t solve is Jesus—then you are seeing what Jesus sees!

What else did Jesus see? He saw disciples with resources he could use (Matt. 15:32-34). Jesus and the disciples were victims of their own success. The people chose to stay rather than leave. They stayed one, two, three days listening to Jesus teach and sharing in the joys of his miracles. What happened was that the food they brought with them had run out and because they were in a very desolate area where was no way for them to go and buy food.

Jesus sees this and calls his disciples to himself to see what he saw. What drove Jesus to want to do something was his compassion! He wants them to see what he sees and feel what he feels so he points out his concern, "I’m not sending them away hungry!" So the disciples do basically a value assessment and tell him that there was no way they could get the resources to meet the needs of so many people. It was for them an impossibility! So he asks them a question, "How much bread do you have?" What’s amazing about this was not that Jesus didn’t know what they had; he wanted them to know what they had. Their response was, "Seven loaves of bread and a few fish." He asked this question to get them to identify their limits and to prepare them for his ability!

When you and I look at our goals for our "Building Tomorrow…Today!" campaign, I’m sure we feel like the disciples. A goal of $4 million dollars is overwhelming to think about. Our church is not a church that has a few people who give the majority of the financial resources. In fact our church is unique in that we have more people who give regularly to the budget than the average church. What that means is that the responsibility of raising $4 million dollars is based on our response to the question, "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus sees you and me with resources that he can use. Individually you may say, "All I have are seven slices of bread and two pieces of bologna." Yet Jesus sees it as resources that have the potential to meet the greatest need our church has faced. That’s why our theme for "Building Tomorrow…Today!" is "Not equal gifts but equal sacrifice." Do you see your resources as something that Jesus can use?

Over Spring Break one group of our university students went to Boston to work with a North American Mission Board project on the campus of Boston University. The new church has only a few members. When you compare those few with the size of Boston University, which has over 35,000 students, the challenge is enormous. Molly Palmer was on that trip and she had this insight: "While we were prayer walking on Boston University's campus, Stephanie Sulton and I realized that based on the number of people who go to BU and those who go to ASU, and the 7 that were at their church service Sunday night, it would be like only she and I were attending church here. The really crazy thing about it is that BU is not nearly the only college campus in Boston -- there's also Boston College, Harvard, MIT, Emerson, Berkley, Northeastern, and Bunker Hill Community College." Molly was confronted with the struggle or tension of seeing God’s passion to reach people and her assessment of the resources that were available. That’ where we are! Jesus confronts us with the needs of 27,000 and $4 million dollars and it seems like we have nothing to offer! Yet he would not ask about our resources if he didn’t plan on doing something unbelievable!

Jesus saw people with problems they couldn’t solve and disciples with resources he could use but he also saw the potential of resources given to him. (Matt. 15:34-36) When Jesus knows the resources that are available to him he takes command of the situation and tells the people to sit down. Then he took the seven loaves and few small fish and thanked God for them. It was at this point that the miraculous occurred. He broke the bread and passed out the fish and kept on passing the bread and fish out to the disciples. Can you imagine the scene of these disciples returning time after time with an empty basket and there would still be more bread and fish to be shared! Over and over again they gave and Jesus just kept the supply coming! Jesus saw the potential of what was placed in his hands and touched the lives of thousands!

A. W. Tozer said, "Anything God has ever done, he can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, he can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, he can do for you." Does God still see the potential of my resources? Yes! The only thing is they have to be placed in His hands. Can God still multiply my resources to serve his purposes? Yes, but they have to be placed in His hands. Is God still able to take our loaves and fish and make $4 million? Absolutely, as long as we put our resources in His hands. Your personal assessment of the value of your gift is not the issue. The issue is who has your gift—you or Jesus? As long as your gift stays in your hands it will never have the multiplying potential that it could if it is placed in His hands. It would be fine if there was one person in our congregation that had the capacity to give $4 million dollars. Yet we don’t need one person to give $4 million dollars. We need hundreds of people putting their gift in his hands for its potential to multiply!

Why would you not want to be part of seeing Jesus multiply your gift? Can you imagine the joy that will be ours on May 1 when we announce that we have not only met but also exceeded our $4 million goal? Can you feel the excitement and satisfaction of knowing that you were part of seeing God do what seemed impossible? You won’t know that pleasure as long as your resources are in your hands! What is in your hands? What can it do if it is placed in his? The answer is, "Anything He wants to do!" "Anything God has ever done, he can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, he can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, he can do for you." He can and He will if we will put it in His hands!

What did Jesus see? He saw people with problems they couldn’t solve, disciples with resources he could use, the potential of resources when they are given to Him but the last thing I believe Jesus saw as a miracle that would challenge faith. (Matt. 15:37-39) Matthew records the end of the miracle with such excitement, " They all ate until they were full, and when the scraps were picked up, there were seven large baskets of food left over! (Matt. 15:37) Then he adds a number count: " There were four thousand men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children." That "in addition" probably meant around 6,000 more people. The scope of the miracle is astounding! 10,000 people fed from seven loaves of bread and a few small fish! Yet also the satisfaction of people was also part of the miracle: they were all full and had seven large baskets of leftovers! When Jesus multiplies our resources he does it in a way that challenges what we think is possible!

Are you ready to be part of a miracle that will challenge our faith? In 2001 our church needed to do some very important remodeling of our current adult education space, music area and preschool areas. We were still paying off the debt of our sanctuary renovation in 1999 and didn’t want to go any further in debt. Through our Stewardship Committee we sensed God leading us to ask our church to give a one-time offering on one day to meet the need. The cost for the improvements was expected to be $140,000. So we promoted and prayed for "OFFER Day" and on May 6, 2001 we brought our offerings.

I’ll never forget that day! We passed the plates and our counters counted and Ross came in with the number: $175,000! Later that would grow to over $184,000. In one day we gave in cash enough to do what needed to be done and more! Yet also on that day we gave $9000 more than we needed for our budget offering and received $23,000 toward debt retirement! If God can do that in one day, just think what he can do through us over the next three years! Remember that wasn’t just a few people giving the majority of the money. No, it was a large number of people giving sacrificially! The excitement that will be ours May 1 is a day I can’t wait to experience! If you want to be part of that excitement, then it begins with seeing by faith the miracle he has waiting to give!

Many of you knew George and Martha Morgan but most of you did not. George died just recently at the age of 79 and Martha died two years previously. I found out that George and Martha met here at First Baptist when he was stationed here during WWII. In fact it was in this sanctuary that George saw Martha for the first time. He said the way the light shone on her hair she looked like an angel. Martha was ill for a long time and George was deeply devoted to her care. Since Martha’s death George was very involved in the Men’s Fellowship Class.

While I was reading George’s obituary in the newspaper the morning before his service I was surprised to see that memorials were to be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund. To be honest, my eyes filled with tears because I was unaware of his interest in the "Building Tomorrow…Today!" campaign. I asked his children about this and they told me, "Oh Daddy was so excited about the new building! He sent us by email the plans from the website. If Daddy had lived he would have been there everyday just watching it happen. He loved to see things grow! "

Here was a man who by his life was demonstrating faith! I told his family that what moved me was that he was interested in a building that would not serve him but serve the future of First Baptist Church! That spirit is one that has seen what Jesus sees and is willing to put in his hands their resources for him to use. Do you see what Jesus sees? He sees people with problems they can’t solve. He sees disciples like you and me with resources he can use. He sees the powerful potential of resources when they are given to him and he sees a miracle that will challenge and excite our faith! Seven loaves of bread and a few fish aren’t much when we hold them but they do the impossible when they are placed in his!

"Anything God has ever done he can do now. Anything God has ever done anywhere, he can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, he can do for you." Let’s watch him "Build Tomorrow…Today!"

Sunday, April 3, 2005

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org