Luke 9:10-17
More than Enough
Let me give a short review of the chronology of this chapter.
\\#Luke 9:1-6\\ Jesus sent His disciples out.
\\#Luke 9:7-9\\ Herod was stirred concerning Jesus.
1. It is interesting that Matt 14 and Mark 6 also record Herod’s
desire at the time Jesus sent His disciples out alone.
2. That indicates that Herod or Jesus might have done something
at that time which prompted that association.
\\#Luke 9:10\\ The disciples returned describing their exploits.
\\#Luke 9:10\\ Jesus removed the disciples for a rest.
\\#Luke 9:11\\ The people heard of it and followed.
\\#Luke 9:11\\ Jesus ended up teaching and healing all day.
\\#Luke 9:12\\ At even, the disciples wanted to send the people
away but Jesus wanted to feed them. (There were 5,000 men not
counting any women and children that may have been there.)
If there is a chapter in this book that I believe is a Discipleship
Chapter, it is chapter 9. Notice that at the beginning of this
chapter, Jesus turned His ministry sharply toward discipleship. That
is, instead of just teaching His disciples about the ministry, Jesus
began involving His disciples in the ministry. Notice that in this
miracle:
1. \\#13\\ He told them to feed the multitude.
2. \\#14-15\\ They organized the crowd.
3. \\#16\\ They handled the baskets.
4. \\#17\\ They each saw that their own basket was full after
the miracle.
The last goal the Christian life is not salvation. It is
discipleship, serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
The title of the message is a description. It is not the description
of the baskets once the leftover food was gathered. It is the
description of what Jesus was teaching the disciples about Him.
Jesus is "More than Enough."
Let’s consider what Jesus is More than Enough to do.
I. Jesus is more than enough to provide our needs.
A. \\#Luke 9:3\\ They had learned this lesson in part when they
went out to serve.
1. Christ had made it a point to send His disciples out with
nothing but God’s promise, faith in those promises, and
power.
2. Why? In part to teach (force) the disciples to trust God
that God would provide.
3. But they were being taught that lesson again. Why?
B. Because every Christian must chose life of faith to have it.
1. Faith is not something you catch by being exposed to it.
2. Faith is a choice you make every day in every situation.
C. The faith life is not such a bad life.
1. The faith life offers many rewards.
a. There is the reward of having the Holy Spirit reveal
His promises and challenge you to believe them.
b. There is the reward of faith He gives so that you will
believe them.
c. There is the thrill of the fight to live by faith.
d. There are the victories, both in this world and the
world to come.
Mt 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or
mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my
name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and
shall inherit everlasting life.
2. The faith life is simpler.
a. I guess one of the reasons why more do not serve God
is they think it will cost them too much, that their
standard of life will be diminished.
b. That is not always the case. God has promised to
provide our needs.
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus.
Proverbs 3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance,
and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and
thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
c. We need to remember that everything comes from the
hand of God.
(1) If God is supplying your need while you work a
secular job, why would you think He won’t supply
your need when you follow Him in discipleship!
(2) The only thing a true disciple gives up is a
trembling human hand for a faithful-divine Hand.
d. But the faith life will probably be simpler.
(1) Less worldly possession, entertainments,
temptations, and PROBLEMS.
(2) Perhaps God’s people need to be less
concerned with our standard of living and more
concerned with our quality of life (joy, peace,
power, purpose).
3. The faith life is the obedient life.
a. While God does not force us to do things, He certainly
does command us to do somethings.
b. Humans can rebel all they want but they will never
find what they are looking for.
c. The obedient life is always the life of happiness.
II. Jesus is more than enough to provide grace.
A. At this point, doing the work of God was new to the
disciples.
1. They had seen it. They had been around it.
2. Now they were doing it.
3. It was time for them to learn about the FLOW of God’s
grace.
B. What is grace?
1. The shortest definition is God’s power but it is more
than that.
2. Grace is God working in and through your life to
accomplish His will.
a. Grace starts with God. It is His power.
b. Grace (God’s power) must first do a work on us.
2Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all
grace abound toward you; that ye, always having
all sufficiency in all things, may abound to
every good work:
11 Being enriched in every thing to all
bountifulness, which causeth through us
thanksgiving to God.
(1) It must reveal and teach us.
(2) It must convict us.
(3) It must save us.
(4) It must change us.
(5) It must equip us.
c. In all of these cases, God’s grace (power) pretty
much stops with us.
d. But there is another level of God’s grace.
3. God’s grace can flow through us to touch others.
a. God desires us to become His conduit and let the same
grace that is helping us, help those around us.
b. Even then some of the power will rub off on us but
the majority of it should flow through us to
accomplish God’s will around us.
4. Many (most) Christians stop the flow of grace before it
starts flowing through them.
a. But once you let it flow through you, others will be
able to see God working.
Acts 11:23 Who, when he (Barnabas) came (to
Antioch), and had seen the grace of God, was
glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose
of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
b. If you had known what to look for, you could have seen
grace bring you to Christ. Maybe now you can see it
if you look backward.
c. You should be able to see it changing you even today.
d. When you become a disciple, trust God, and start
living the faith life, you will see grace changing
the people around you.
e. There is no greater thrill.
f. God is able to make a believer out of a doubter,
a speaker out of a mumbler,
a finisher out of a quitter,
a fighter out of a coward,
a forgiver out of a grudge-bearer,
a giver out of a Scrooge,
and a disciple out of us.
g. On this day, Jesus was making fishers of fish into
fishers of men!
C. Lesson - Grace is never to be horded. It’s like manna. God
only gives you what you need today. Take the extra and give
it to someone else.
It is interesting that 5,000 men—not counting women and children—
left that day with full bellies, but most of them probably did not
understand the real lesson.
5,000 as for the Twelve.
1. They may not have known how little they started with,
2. How far it stretched,
3. Or how much was left when the baskets returned.
But the disciples knew. And more than knowing they had more than
enough bread to feed the multitudes, I believe they learned their
God was more than enough for whatever He wanted them to accomplish.
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