You can watch the announcement of this offering from Sunday, November 4th or read the content of that announcement below.
Jesus had been teaching all day and 5000 men along with women and children were hungry. They had no amenities, no provisions, and were in a desolate place with little resources (see Luke 9:10–17 and corresponding sermon “5000 Reasons to Depend on Jesus”).
Jesus told (and tested) his disciples, “You give them something to eat.” In response, they had three solutions:
Solution 1: Can’t do it. This was not really a solution, but their first reaction to the need abandon the mission. “Master, you must send them away. We can’t feed them.” Jesus didn’t accept this solution.
Solution 2: Bring what we have. Their second plan was also not really a plan (at least not in their mind). They told Jesus that they have no more than five loaves and two fish. They believed this to be a huge shortfall and simply impossible to meet the need at hand.
Solution 3: Seek help elsewhere. Their third solution was to head into town for help. They suggested going to buy food for all the people. But who would pay for that? Again, they thought this was unrealistic but it was their best and final option.
This event, like the rest of Luke 9, has a clear lesson: Disciples depend on Jesus!
When Jesus sent out his disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God he sent them with no provision (Luke 9:3). He was teaching them a lesson on dependence. (He would provide through the hospitality of his people.)
When the disciples returned (Luke 9:10), they did not graduate from dependence to independence. In fact, as disciples we grow to be more dependent upon the Lord rather than less.
When I preached though this text I said, “When we consider the task before us, as households, as a church, we are all too aware of our lack. We lack money. We lack supplies. We lack intelligence. We are too few in number and the people around us are too many. The needs are overwhelming. The enemy is working. We are hundreds of people in the midst of more than a million. In every earthly metric, we lose. According to every earthly metric, we can’t. The task Jesus calls us to is beyond our ability….”
“But this Christ! This one who fed the 5000. This one who died and rose from the dead. This one who cares for his own and has compassion on the multitudes. This one who is the shepherd of the sheep, leading and feeding. This one who is King of kings and Lord of lords. This one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This one whose kingdom will spread from shore to shore and to the ends of the earth. This one is with us. This one is for us. This one will provide. This one will care for his own…. This is the Christ we serve! Jesus will take your little loaves, your little fish, your ‘no more than’ and accomplish great things.”
Today we have a need before us. After hundreds of hours of searching, putting in offers on three different facilities, fasting each week, and praying constantly, we believe the Lord has answered by providing a church building at 3311 Centre St. N. It is not perfect, but it is good. It is not the ministry, but it will support the ministry. It is not the kingdom, but it will serve as an outpost for the kingdom of God. It will facilitate the multiplication of ministry, fellowship, education, cultural engagement and evangelism for years and decades to come.
At this point, we lack more than one million dollars. This is beyond our means. We have a similar dilemma as the twelve disciples with 5000 men along with women and children to feed. That was beyond their means.
We can go with Solution 1: Can’t do it. We can say, “The Lord has brought too many. We cannot accommodate everyone. We must abandon the mission.”
Or we can opt for Solution 3: Seek help elsewhere. We can go straight to the bank so that we can borrow to buy. Whether buying food for all those people or buying the building to support these people, the bank or some lender would help. It’s certainly a more practical way, a common way, an earthly way. This debt could be paid back over the next 10 years.
Or, we can go with Solution 2: Bring what we have. In this case, we would seek the Lord in prayer, depend on him, and bring to him our “loaves and fish.” Our “no more than,” our finances that we have, and see what he will do with it.
As elders, we’re not ruling out other solutions fearing that we might presume upon the Lord and constrain how he will answer prayer, but we believe it best to bring our loaves and fish in dependence upon him rather than aborting the mission or seeking help elsewhere. The need is great, we lack what is necessary, so we will bring him what we have and see what he will do with it.
On December 25th, Christmas Day, we are going to designate the offering as a loaves and fish offering. From children to seniors, from singles to families, we want everyone to bring t heir “loaves and fish” as an offering to the Lord. We will all bring our “no more than” and see what the Lord will do.
Please pray daily, pray privately and pray with your family. When God answers these prayers, great will be our rejoicing. It will be a milestone in our children’s lives, a box of bricks marking God’s faithfulness to his people.
The Lord of the harvest has multiplied his church, so let us depend upon the Lord trusting that he will also multiply our meager gifts for his glory.
For the latest building update, click here.