Beginning of the End — Alan Redpath

Would you open your Bibles this afternoon at the 6th chapter of Mark's gospel? this familiar parable miracle rather of The feeding of the 5 ,000 the only one the only miracle of our Lord which is recorded in All four gospel.

Let me say that let me make a confession before I begin. This is the first time I have ever spoken at a baccalaureate service. In fact, I wasn't so sure until yesterday what the word meant. But to the help of mr. And mrs. Martin and the Webster dictionary we found out that it means an occasion when a Farewell address is given to a graduating class.

That sort of ring the rung a bell in my heart and reminded me somewhat of our great war leader Winston Churchill Who I think it is in his? Memoirs of Second World War the volume entitled Britain's finest hour Records during the Battle of Britain when we had been pushed out of France and lost all our equipment and had endured months of bombing and the tide however was beginning to turn and Winston Churchill in a remarkable speech Said in the course of it That I cannot promise you that this is the beginning of the end.

But I do promise you it's the end of the beginning and I look upon the baccalaureate service. I hope correctly as the end of the beginning and if we define the world the word end as being a goal or objective I Would regard the graduation service next week as the beginning of the end and Here we are now at the end of the beginning and we are indeed introduced To a passage of scripture here, which is both the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end so here is the introduction to the task in which all of us are engaged the task of world evangelism.

The Disciples Sent Out in Mark 6

If You glance back in this chapter of Mark's gospel To the 17th verse the 7th verse rather of the chapter you would find here is the feeding of the 5 ,000 seen in its setting. He called unto him the 12 and began to send them forth.

First they had been trained to be disciples. They had watched him display his power over disease His power over death and his power over the devil and They had been with him to watch him. Now he sent them out sent them forth two by two.

They were first with him as disciples. They were now to go forth for him as Apostles. Disciples and Apostles in with him for order out with him in obedience. In with him for worship out for him in witness in with him and surrender out for him in service and The Christian life all the way through to the very end is In and out life not an up-and-down life but an in and out life.

And Now They are sent out two by two and given power Over an unseen spirit power over the devil. Just the same power that Jesus had he was going to give to them. They were sent forth two by two. There was to be no isolation no congestion.

I Haven't time to comment on this. I would like to preach a whole sermon on that. Everybody today wants his own independence. Everybody has his own independent work. Like Vance Havner that dear saint from North Carolina once said at Miramarica Kerik In his drawl accent, which I couldn't possibly Rightly imitate.

He said, you know, he said the trouble is When the tide is out. Every little shrimp has its own puddle. That's saying something very profound in a very dramatic way. Everybody demands their own independence.

No says Jesus in effect. You're to go up two by two and To be no congestion two by two today 91 of Christian work is done among 9 of the world's population and having sent them forth. They were to go out with equipment that wasn't to be extravagant but was to be adequate.

I would challenge the reason for the vast sums of money which are spent on the North American continent on building huge wonderful beautiful traditional church buildings at the expense very often of missionary enterprise.

The equipment of the early church was never extravagant. That was to be adequate. He sent them out with a message. They were to travel. But not just to gossip hang around and they were to go with a passion, but not a profession.

They were to preach the word of repentance and verse 13 tells us that they did exactly what they were told to do. Then the theme is taken up at the 30th verse of this chapter on the return for the from their first fear their first term of service without the Lord and They gathered themselves together To him and told him all things.

Both what they had done and what they had taught. To tell Jesus all you've done and all you've taught is not to tell him anything that he doesn't know already but it certainly is to get things on the right perspective and to review every day's ministry with him is likely to be the best means of repeating the mistakes of that day.

And I can imagine him sitting listening patiently to them all perhaps talking at once. Thrilled with their exciting term of service on the mission field thrilled with the blessing that they've seen tripping over each other trying to tell the exciting story.

And Then Jesus said to them come you yourselves apart Into a desert place and rest a while. He said come. That means he was going to go with them. He said you yourselves the path alone privately. Somewhere we where we can be alone into time and not interrupted to rest up the toil and strain and emotion of this missionary tour a while not forever but for a while.

Rest, Burnout, and the Power of God

Now there are times when this is a sacred duty and obligation to all of us in Christian work. And to fail in it is to sin if Jesus needed rest. Everyone who is followers do to neglect the body doesn't promote the health of the soul.

A clock runs down by ticking. Strength is used up by working. The Christian has got no business to overwork. The Lord's work suffers when he does that. It's a wonderful thing to burn out for Jesus. It's better still to last up a train will go on for an awful long time on its own momentum.

When the power is shut off and if they're overworking in Christian life, that's exactly what's happening. The power is gone, but you're keeping on the momentum. But then look what's happened in verse 33.

This time of much-needed rest was suddenly interrupted. The desert place was invaded by a cloud an inconsiderate crowd. Who came to listen to Christ? You notice his reaction. He was moved with compassion.

Now you notice the attitude of the disciples in verse 35 they formed a committee and They passed a resolution. Which they carried unanimously and it was send them away. Quite clearly they knew that they were facing an impossibility.

They simply couldn't meet it themselves. This crowd bewildered them so by unanimous agreement They moved that they be sent away sent away home. But the Lord Jesus proposed an amendment. And he was carried not by a show of hands But by a demonstration of power.

It makes all the difference whether in Every opportunity you see a difficulty and give up or whether in every Difficulty you see an opportunity and press on and these disciples have already achieved quite a degree of success.

But this crowd seemed too much for them. I Somehow feel they've never seen a crowd like Jesus did. He was moved with compassion the medical word that used here which almost means an inward pain as A sore crowd I sheep without a shepherd.

He was moved with compassion. Now these disciples hadn't learned to love. They were related with their success With their experience with the thrill of it. But now they face this multitude and they're overwhelmed.

Meeting the Crowd’s Need Through Compassion

Then Jesus said to them give ye then to eat. Now such a procedure had never occurred to any of them and That only answer was to reckon up what it would take to feed such a crowd and to undertake to go and Buy some food to go to somebody other than Christ and outside themselves.

It was quite beyond them. Now here was brought a face-to-face with something that is tremendously relevant today. How are we To meet the need of the crowd. I heard of a minister in the Church of England in the Midlands of our country Who at midday?

Every day Went down from his parsonage to the bottom of the garden across the railway bridge and stood atop of the bridge and he saw a train coming every day at midday and When it came he threw his hat in the air and shouted hallelujah.

After he'd been doing this about three or four weeks. His parishioners thought he was a little bit off. So they summoned the bishop who came to see this extraordinary exhibition and When the bishop arrived he stood and watched.

Yeah sure enough at 12 o 'clock every day that day. This minister went down the path across the railway bridge Waited for the train and when it came he threw his hat in the air and said hallelujah. So the bishop said to him sir You can't work in this diocese and behave like that.

I can't have a madman here. Why do you do this? Well, my lord. He said it's the only thing that goes through my parish without me having to push it. Huh, how can we match the need of the crowd? The action is push.

Program streamline work. Get something think of a big idea. Get plenty of people with plenty of money to back it and Then put the whole lot together mix it up. Sprinkle it with a little bit of prayer and wait for the explosion.

Push push push. Always doing something. What can we do? How can we meet the reach the crowd? We have no business to expect the crowd ever to come inside our church to listen to what we believe. We've every reason however to expect the crowd to watch how we behave.

And they'll never see how we behave unless we go out and mingle with them. And if you have a belief Which hasn't radically transformed your behavior. It isn't valid in terms of New Testament experience.

Douglas Webster in his book the unchanging mission Has a chapter which he calls the outward thrust. The church he says is Always called to be an out church. The shepherd goes out to find the sheep. The fisherman goes out Into the deep to let down his net.

The farmer goes out to field the field to plant and reap. Paul Rees, Dr. Paul Rees in January issue of World Vision comments on that statement by saying this. Is that the image of today's church that you will find in the minds of most people in North America?

Hardly. We have become an in church. Come in and sit in our pew. Come in and listen to our sermons. Come in and sing in our choir. Come in and sit in our committees. Help us to decide what shade of pink to use in our children's nursery.

While the ghettos smolder with sullenness and The rats have their tenement have their carnival in the tenement and the white Establishment lashes back in the fury of it rationalized racism and The little black children grew up wondering why their jobless father never seemed To do so much as mother does to keep the family from completely going to pieces.

Ours should never be an in church it should always be an out church and That means that everybody who leaves this Institute has to be prepared to get involved with people where they are. Now if you want to do that You have to have a long enough bridge to reach them where they are and You have to have a strong enough bridge to carry the message of full salvation.

Otherwise the whole thing will collapse. Non involvement is never of necessity a sign of sanctity a mark of bravery or a proof of fidelity and Somehow non involvement is an echo of the voice of the priest and the Levite on the road to Jericho.

Who on the arrival home said thank heaven. I didn't get involved and we've got to get involved with people. Right where they are. How are we going to do it? Well some of us might buy some radio time. We might organize a committee.

Some procedure. Jesus says give ye them to eat. This is where his way of reaching a crowd it was his way then it's his way now. But Lord, I haven't got anything. I can't reach the crowd that way and we buy off our responsibility.

Anything else is easier than turning from the crowd and listening to Jesus saying I Want you to come into the realm of miracles? Because my method is always miracle. And I want to show you how to reach the crowd how to move into the area of miracle the area in which the Holy Spirit himself works and So we watch Jesus teaching this red band of disciples a tremendous lesson.

Giving Everything to Jesus

I Don't know how many people were there. This parable is called the feeding of the 5 ,000. Well, there were 5 ,000 men besides with women and children. I would estimate it at 10 ,000 and he sat them down in ranks and proceeded to give them a lesson on his way to reach people and You notice how he began.

He set to work by using what they had. Five loaves and two fish first of all he took them. Now that is of first and supreme importance. He works With what we have but it must be all we have. Have we attempted to evade that basic principle of Christian life and never really given to Jesus all?

Perhaps we've never realized That to reach the crowd for him. We must first of all let him take over all of us. He's absolutely omnipotent. But he only reaches men through men. So does the devil. He only reaches men through men and Jesus only reaches men through men.

I read recently in the magazine Christianity Today. The following statistics. This country of course is very fond of statistics. Some of them I would question as to how they get the information but nevertheless these made me feel very uncomfortable in the average church role in America.

Evangelical church role of the total paper membership. Five percent don't exist. Ten percent can't be found. Twenty five percent never go to church. Fifty percent have no missionary interest. Seventy-five percent never attend the church prayer meeting.

Ninety percent have no family altar no family worship. Ninety-five percent never lead anybody to Christ. Now if those figures are near the truth They trace track right down to the very root the breakdown of our Christian lives.

We are not propagating. God has no grandchildren. He's only got children and every generation is only one generation removed from total elimination. Every generation starts afresh somehow we've got to recover the secret of propagation and God has no hands, but our hands.

He has no feet, but our feet. No heart, but our heart to love with. No mind, but our mind to plan through. No eyes, but our eyes to see through. I'm not suggesting that God has put himself in an embarrassing position.

By loving us so much to die for us and Finding himself without power. To do what he want his love wants to do. He needs nobody. But he uses anybody who's prepared to give him everything. Let me repeat that God needs none of us but he deigns to use any of us who are prepared to meet him on his own terms and Give him all we've got.

He works with what we have. He took the load. He doesn't expect more than that, but he does expect that the mathematics of our spiritual breakdown time and time again are our 99 Christianity and as you leave PBI and as We go on in Christian life and Christian service.

I tell you my dear friends. This is an issue Which Satan never never leaves alone. He'll come back at us. He'll attack us on it. He'll strive to break down our yieldedness. He knows perfectly well how to cut the Holy Spirit out of business to make him non-operative non-effective in the Christian life.

Even years after Christian services are done years may be on the mission team. He can come back at you with an overwhelming counter-attack and put you on the shelf. This is an issue that is not settled once and for all.

Jesus claims all we have and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Ever it's increasing Sovereignty our ever-increasing areas of my life. But the man whom God uses is the man who's given God everything.

Who signed off? Who knows that without dispute without argument without debate? Without any committees in his soul he belongs to Jesus. He's his all together utterly and there's been a moment in his life When he has vacated the throne in his heart.

Which he has occupied ever since he was born. And even his new birth didn't affect it too much. He remained on top and there's come a moment when he stepped off that throne and He's not at the foot of it and he's put Jesus on it on it and he said Lord I'm yours always without dispute he takes and He takes everything.

The Blessing and Breaking of the Christian

Then you notice he blessed them and oh my how he blesses what he takes. He hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Just to think of how much we've missed of the endearment of his power.

Because we've never got into the simple strategic plan of Holy Spirit blessing in our lives. When we give all he comes back with all of himself. When we yield our all he begins to wield in us everything that he is.

He blesses. What he takes. And so often at that very simple basic point of breakdown. We've never proved the sufficiency of the grace of God in every situation. Simply because we've never accepted the government of God in our lives.

I spoke at Kodage and Keswick last year. You know that hundreds of miles north of Toronto and my colleague on the platform was dr. Roland Phillips of Baltimore and I remember him on this occasion telling a story and Saying you know the best car in the world is a Rolls Royce.

Well that may be open to question. But it's certainly the most expensive. Thirty five thousand dollars or so. And he said not so long ago an official of the South African government ordered a magnificent Rolls Royce silver shadow.

And after its arrival in Johannesburg. He had it for some months, and he was so thrilled with this this car with its speed with its acceleration with its silence. With its strange sense of smoothness.

That he went to his agent and said you tell me what exactly is the horsepower of this car? And the agent said sorry, I don't know he said you don't know no is it Rolls Royce. Never tell us. They always refuse to tell.

Well, he said find out. Well, he was a very important government official. So the agent thought he'd better find out. I'll try so he sent a telegram to London. Giving all the details of this magnificent car its acceleration its rate its speed its brake horsepower.

It's true capacity of the cylinder and after a lot more detail He finished the wire and said tell me what exactly is the horsepower of this motor the following day. He received a reply by cable. And it only had one word on it.

Adequate my friend. Do you find Jesus adequate as you go out to face the missionary situation of the world and the crowd I? Tell you you'll crash unless you have an adequate Savior. And he's always adequate in the life of a man who's given him everything he is adequate has replaced my inadequacy in your inadequate and Jesus himself is always sufficient he is guaranteed to be that and therefore you will never be involved in any situation in the Will of God for which Jesus himself is not adequate.

He took and Then he blessed and how he blessed. What he take that will you notice the next word? He broke below and all of what Jesus takes He breaks. Uncrushed grain is never bread. It's got to be crushed fine unbroken men.

Can never be bread in his hand to feed a crowd so this is the thing which he does to his people. Simply because he did it to himself. You remember the last supper he took bread and broke it and Gave to his disciples and said take eat.

This is my body. Which is broken for you as the Living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me shall live by me and So in blessing us he then breaks us. What would you say is the one thing that distinguishes a Christian from anybody else?

Not his zeal. Not his charity. Not even his sincerity or his wisdom. Other people may have all of these things. But there's one thing that marks up the genuine Christian for everybody. It's this a complete absence of self-confidence.

He's come to the end of his rope. He's moved off the level of Trusting himself, and he's exchanged it for a trust a confidence in a mighty God and That God has broken him in order that he might lean entirely upon the Lord.

He's. I believe That God has one purpose for everybody at this meeting today. And I believe that that purpose is to make us Like himself like Jesus. Everything is subsidiary to that and you know how he does it.

Usually he does it by enlargement through pressure. You know what I mean by that. You put three men in a burning fiery furnace that pressure. Most of us would go on to get out quick. But in that furnace they meet one like unto the Son of God.

That's enlargement and my dear friend at this the beginning of the end the beginning of Christ's goal with your life. I Would say to you that you're just passing as I am. I'm only in the kindergarten myself.

I'm learning that God wants me to make me like Jesus, and he has put me through me anything. Allow me to go through any experience no matter how devastating if only it can accomplish that He'll break you that he might make you and an unbroken man.

Can never be a witness to the crowd? Tell me as you leave school. I Think I know enough about College life school life. I wonder how many of you would stand up if I asked you. Do you resent the disciplines of pray to Babel Institute?

Call them square. Don't like all the rules a lot of nonsense you said. It's been hard to live with. Now you just get out you make it. Oh Glad to be free from these annoying restrictions. All these overrule.

You're quite sure your rebellion is not against the rules against the Lord. Quite sure that to me if I may say so I thank God for a An institute it is found these days with standards. That I'm intent, but aren't many.

But I'm glad that PBI is one that doesn't mean I'm a square. Or I'm not with it. But I tell you what it does mean. If you don't learn discipline at school, you will be a missionary casualty in six months.

I was In a situation 15 months ago in the country of Thailand At a missionary conference where a brave little band of missionaries were living in a country which for hundreds of years Had been under the domination of Buddhism.

No country ruled by the devil for centuries is going to give in quickly to the gospel and these folk have been metaphorically speaking banging their heads against a brick wall for 17 years and more and It's been really tough with little little fruit and In that situation.

Oh how easy it is to crack to give in to give up to return home. And I want to say to you publicly today that two of the people there Who were the most loyal devoted Christ-like Man and woman that I had met for a long time.

Both of them were graduates of cradle Babylon suit. And I believe they were standing their ground Against this tremendous pressure of the devil in Thailand because they learned to accept discipline before they started out God had broken them and if there's anybody going out from this school without being really broken the Lord bless you and The Lord break you now.

From every bit of self-confidence in order that he may give you utter Christ-conscious. My Savior is never in the self-improvement business. But he's in the Christ replacement business. And if only I would get out of the way and make room for him He'll come in and plug my life, but I must be a broken man.

That doesn't mean a negative personality. It doesn't mean a crushed personality doesn't mean somebody who's weak and a sissy, but it does mean somebody who's meek. And with all the difference between meekness and weakness.

You try being meek for a week and then you'll find that out. Hmm all the difference in the world. Oh. It isn't being soft. Listen. You are never to be a stumbling block in the way to other people finding Christ you are to be a stepping stone and.

And Stepping stones have to be walked on and we're to be a stepping stone of the bridge that leads to this generation that's tired of traditional Christianity and If you are going to be a stepping stone, you've got to be prepared to be walked on and that's how God will break you.

Probably send you to the mission field and find yourself there with somebody you can't stand the sight of. Somebody who's absolutely opposite in temperament to you. You know, I was once speaking at a Service at one of the training colleges in London and a girl who was graduating.

Gave a testimony. She'd been to college for three years. And for the past two years she'd been she'd had as a roommate somebody who hated the window open. She loved the window open. She couldn't stand stuffiness her roommate couldn't stand fresh air and The two of them between them that builds up such a kind of tension of the whole situation.

That they nearly got out of school altogether and couldn't stand. They wrestled with this privately without telling each other. Then one day one of them had the good sense to go to the principal and weep our hearts out about it.

Fancy that just over a closing window. But then when they took it to the Lord The matter was settled. I think the answer was open the window part-time. The rest of the time it being shut. It just learning to live with somebody you don't like but they have to be broken and That means walking in the lights and living in the light and day by day being honest and open with the woman with one another and above all with the Lord Jesus he takes and He blesses what he takes and then he breaks.

Brokenness, Discipline, and Christlikeness

Oh My as I think of all of you going out. I don't know what that may mean for you. But I just pray That You will come to the place we have no confidence in anyone or anything, but Jesus and you will never glory in the flesh or in yourself, but in the Lord and You'll be broken now enough for Christ to use you man called me in Chicago.

During my pastor at Moody Church. He's the chairman of a church board. Long distance call he said to me. We have a pastoral vacancy in our church. Do you know anybody who might fill it? I Thought for a moment and I gave him the names of one or two men and described their characteristics and their accomplishments a bit.

And he asked me questions about them and I went on the conversation lasted about half an hour. I didn't mind it was his call. At the end of that half hour. I shall never forget. I thought of shiver went right down my spine when he said to me Thanks very much.

Very kind of you to tell me about these men, but I'm afraid none of them are big enough for our pulpit. I hope he didn't think I was rude. But I couldn't resist saying to him sir Are you quite sure? That you don't mean they're not small enough see God reduces a man to a minimum in order that through him he might do the maximum.

That's a divine principle that God never makes any exception to. Some of us God forgive us. Have got too big for him to you too self-important too proud and God has to break us all over again. But next and final word, you know, he took them everything he blessed them all blessed them how tremendously and then he broke them and Then he gave them.

He gave them. He gave them to the disciples to set before them and did it all eat and were filled. Every need was met every appetite was satisfied. And every disciple had a basket over to remind him of that day my friend.

Every taken Christian Must be broken and If he's broken then he's given out of the hand of God To the people and the generation in which he lives. Oh What a wonderful thing to be given from Jesus hand when did this miracle of feeding the 5 ,000 take place.

Was it when Christ had the loaves in his hand To feed them. Oh No. How could those loaves possibly? How could it possibly be that they had been multiplied and he held them in his hand he couldn't do that.

Was it when the disciples held them in their hands all these loaves that had come. No. It was when every disciple broke what he'd got and then gave everything he had to everybody around them and then the miracle happened and God always deals with men and women in exactly the same way.

Unbroken Christians are ungiven Christians. But to be broken by the Lord Jesus really to be in the place of brokenness is to be in the place where God gives you and To attempt to reach the crowd today and to win men for Christ and any other maces is absolutely fatal.

Being Given Into the World

I Are you living in the light of that responsibility and in the power of it are you? Give ye them to eat. None of us can escape that we can't send them away. Listen to those words again. He took them.

He blessed them. He broke them. He gave them. Has he taken you? All of you then surely he's blessing you and In the process of blessing you he's breaking you and he's giving you. He's giving you out of his hand and What a wonderful thing To be given to the crowd out of the hand of Jesus.

The task is absolutely impossible except on the basis of a miracle like this. I Wonder if I when I close my message if I may just bear testimony because this Visit to PBI again has brought back some precious memories to me.

It was about 1957 I think or just before. After I had been about three or four years at pastor at Moody Church in Chicago. And I the honeymoon was over. It hadn't lasted very long actually, but it was over and I was having a pretty tough time with various members of my church board and I remember after one board meeting terrible thing to have to acknowledge before you all I Remember after one board meeting which had been a terrible time nothing and gone, right?

Which of course simply means I hadn't got my own way in anything. I Remember after that board meeting, do you know I got into my car and I drove it non-stop to Milwaukee and back before I dare go home and speak to my wife and Control my emotions and I was a defeated man and I was saying to Lord Lord.

Why did you send me four thousand miles across the ocean to deal with difficult people like this? I want to get on with a job. What can I do I can only resign and I had the letter if not on paper Certainly ready in my mind and it was a hot one.

Believe me. We had about a week later Our made America Keswick Convention and one of our speakers that year was dr. Maxwell. I hadn't met him until then and he was addressing a minister's meeting. There would be about 200 minute ministers there and I was chairman and I introduced dr. Maxwell to speak to these ministers.

He didn't know me. I Didn't know him and he began to speak and the course of his message. He said some of you men get into pastorate and intermissionary work and Then you find yourself facing Tough situations difficult people and You threaten in your own mind to resign by this time.

I was wishing to be out of the chair and in the back row. But I knew that dr. Maxwell Hadn't been speaking to me, but God had got me in a corner and if God was interested in the other 199 it seemed to me that he was supremely concerned at that moment with me and Dr. Maxwell went on to say I Wonder when you will realize that all these situations and difficult people and Things that make you get resentful and things that make you want to resign are The nails that Jesus is using to drive you to the cross and I admit That it was through tears Which he didn't see because he was speaking But I said, thank you Lord.

I never saw it like that. Oh that lesson Had to be learned constantly But it's a tremendous moment when you look up into his dear face and Say to him Oh Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me break me Melt me mold me fill me Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me Will you say that to Jesus right now?

Let us pray.