Sermon prepared by the Holy Spirit and pastor Andrew T. Okai

9^th Sunday after Pentecost

August 6, 2017

Sermon text: Matthew 14

Sermon theme: Only Jesus Can Satisfy You

I’ve come with a challenge this morning, and the challenge to you is, only Jesus can satisfy you… 

The culture in which we live has demanded a rational explanation for everything—which has left many faithless today.

If science can explain the rational process of evaporation, why should I believe that it is God who provides the rain?

But here in our gospel lesson we find a story in which our Lord feeds 5,000+ people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish…

Today I want us to look into this story and see how only Jesus can satisfy…

Backdrop of the story: Jesus had just gotten the news of his cousin’s death. Jesus withdrew to a solitary place.

Coming to the crux of our message for today:

Evening approached; his disciples came to him and said, This is a remote place, and its already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.  (This is exactly what we do when the situation seems too big for us to handle—we find a way to dismiss it, blaming others, finding excuses, hiding/running away...)

Jesus said, There is no need to dismiss this problem—you give them something to eat.

Their response: We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish... In other words, its not enough to satisfy everyone...

Jesus said, Bring them here to me. (This is the act of submitting and surrendering our inadequacies to God) 

He said, Bring them to me: failures, low self-esteem, pain and heartache, hurts from the past, sicknesses and diseases...

As we come, the Lord wants to do three things:

1. He wants to bless us 
2. He wants to break us 
3. He wants to broaden us  

Lesson: One boy’s lunch became more than enough to feed more than 5,000 people to full satisfaction...