Moved to Equip — Stewart Ruch

I have a lot of favorite family books stuff that we've read together as a family. So when I preface something by saying one of my favorite family books, I mean it this this has gone through rigorous Testing but one of my favorite family books is a book by an American author named Ralph Moody.

He wrote several but his first one was called father and I were ranchers and Ralph Moody tells the story of when he was eight years old his family. He had about four siblings at that point moved from the East Coast where his father had developed an illness working in the mills there and they moved to Colorado where they were hoping the Changing climate would improve the father's health.

They actually bought a small ranch and the father had his eight-year-old oldest son. Really as his only working companion they began together to carve out a life on this, Colorado ranch. It's a beautiful book.

I highly recommend it and it's a very touching scene. I read it several years ago to my kids and I still remember this scene. Where the father is with Ralph and they're outside together and he puts his hand on Ralph's shoulder and he says Ralph.

We're partners and he means it. He's needed Ralph to do this work. When he does that he sparks Ralph's imagination. He brings Ralph into an understanding of his capacity as a boy. That was beyond what Ralph ever thought he could do.

And only does his father spark Ralph's imagination as he sort of cast a vision for him of partnership on the ranch. He then meets that Sparking he meets that challenge that he puts in front of Ralph with an invitation.

Jesus Invites His Followers Into Kingdom Work

He teaches him and invites him in to the work of ranching. He he teaches him how to set out barbed wire. He teaches him how to ride a horse how to tame a wild horse. He teaches them how to milk a cow.

He teaches them one thing afternoon as he brings him in to this work. That's the family work and I thought of that story as I read this story of Jesus in Matthew chapter 14. Now what we have in Matthew chapter 14 is in many ways to Jesus's first Training session with his followers.

We looked last week five chapters prior to this Matthew chapter 9. Where Jesus is saying to his followers? I am going to raise up workers for a harvest of men and women children and youth. I'm going to raise up workers among those who follow me to love to serve to reach the Multitudes the crowds with my love with my sacrifice.

With what I've come to do on earth and now in this moment in Matthew chapter 14, we see how Jesus will do it. We see how he will raise up People around him to go about this amazing work. This is a critical moment.

It's a critical moment understanding how the Jesus movement will be catalyzed. It actually the critical one understanding Jesus and last we talked about being moved by Jesus that when we see who Jesus is in Matthew chapter 9 when we see his heart of stirring his heart of love for people all people were moved by him.

But the question then is raised. How do we get from being moved by Jesus in his life his work his death on the cross his resurrection? To being sent out here to being men and women children youth that are sent out to do the work of the kingdom.

How do you get from here to here? And the way Jesus starts as he starts with igniting the imagination. He speaks to the imagination of his followers and to he then invites them. He creates this sweet this is full of mercy.

It's a very poignant moment that we look at together where he did invites them into his work not at all unlike that story. Where Ralph's called partner and invited into the work of ranching by his dad?

Turn with me in your Bibles or your bulletins to Matthew Chapter 14. I want you to notice a few things as we look at this passage if you weren't here last week I taught on Matthew chapter 9 moved by Jesus and I would encourage you if you're at res.

You're a regular attender getting to know us a member to listen to last week's sermon because these are building on each other. They stand independently. But they are successive and we saw last week is Jesus has a couple of key sort of experiences.

One is he's in front of a crowd to when he sees the crowd and we really sees the crowd in Matthew 9. He has a response of compassion. We defined that word biblically as meaning stirred in your gut. That's literally the meaning of the biblical word.

You're stirred in your gut. You're having an emotional spiritual reaction to these crowds who are harassed and helpless. Matthew is drawing a very clear parallel in The literature that he's writing in this gospel here in Matthew chapter 14.

Look at it. He's just withdrawn to a desolate place verse 13. The crowds have followed him on foot. He went ashore. He saw a great crowd. We talked last week that when Jesus sees a crowd He doesn't see a crowd like we see a crowd.

He sees individuals and their souls. He sees and then is heartbroken. By the need of every human soul. He has compassion on them. Precisely what we're told in Matthew chapter 9. This is meant to be a kind of parallel chapter.

This is meant to be a parallel moment where we see Jesus inaugurating the movement of the gospel in chapter 9 and now we see him beginning to train into to begin to Explain what it will look like and how they will do this work.

Jesus Expands the Imagination of His Disciples

First of all, what Jesus does is he expands the imaginations of his followers? Verses 15 and 16 at the desolate place the day is now over the disciples say to him Send the crowds away to go into the villages and feed Themselves.

Okay, what are the disciples doing? Very good leadership work. They're supporting the key leader. They're looking at what's going on. They know he's got a lot on his mind. So they're out there helping him understand.

Here's what's happening. Here's here's sort of the pulse of what's going on Jesus because you always seem so concerned about the kingdom of God. Just to remind you they're really hungry and there's tens of thousands of them likely 5 ,000 men.

Another 5 ,000 women or more plus children. You could have 20 ,000 people gathered. It's a desolate area which means that there aren't villages around whereby they might be able to go to Centers where there could be meal or or or food made of some kind.

They're concerned that actually crowds have been loving what Jesus is doing are gonna start being hungry. And they're asking to possibly turn a potential riot a kind of social catastrophe could be right here on the horizon.

They're doing the work for Jesus. Here's what's happening. Jesus implied. You need to do something. You're the reason they all came here. Healing them is great. But what's really important is feeding them and we can't feed them.

It's impossible for us to feed them. So get them out of here so they can go and feed themselves. Help them take care of themselves and this is where Jesus utters six words. That utterly change the trajectory of a Jesus movement that tell us exactly how he's going to bow gonna go about Instilling and releasing the work of the kingdom of God.

They are Shocking words perhaps for some of you. You've never read this before. You're not familiar with the section of the Bible. And perhaps you're able to actually enter into this in a way that those of us who might have read it before Can't enter into it.

But at this point, this is what Jesus says to them you Give them something to eat. You give them something to eat. You face the potential catastrophe. Don't send them away to take care of themselves. That is not the work of the gospel.

That is not what I've come to do. It's a great human beings who are more autonomous more driven to take care of their own needs. More quick to run to the closest village possible and get in the front of the line to get whatever Meal they can for their families and to feed them.

That is not what I'm about. I'm not about greater and greater individualization. I'm actually about you. Feeding them you can feed them and in that moment. It says Jesus is grabbing hold of their imagination.

He said you have a latent capacity because I'm bringing you into the kingdom of God. I am giving you my presence. I am giving you myself. You will have everything you need. You have a capacity for kingdom work.

Can you imagine that this is where we get stopped? This is where we get passive. This is where we get frustrated. This is where we can get passive aggressive. So whatever the work of the kingdom is where we can feel like we're marginalized.

We've not been called in. There's others who have the gifting others who have the specialty others who are impressive. If we haven't heard Jesus say through the Word of God apply to our lives. You give them something to eat that needs to create a stomach flip at some point that needs to create a.

Do you have an imagination? For how Jesus is asking you to give somebody something to eat. Do you have an imagination for your capacity in the kingdom of God? Are you able to overcome? Understandable and very human barriers of thinking for example.

It's up to someone else like the disciples did to take care of all the problems in this world. Or God's just gonna sort it all out. Well, God will ultimately sort it all out. But the very point is God wants to sort it all out through his son Jesus Christ who wants to sort it all out through us.

You give them something to eat and Throughout the centuries of the church. Regardless of the tradition our particular tradition as Anglicans has its barriers. But every traditions had its barriers because we're all Human and we're all sinful and we all in some ways are passive and we're like someone else to get it all figured out and Jesus Is speaking right into that he's speaking right into our lives.

He's thinking right into your life and saying do you have the imagination for the capacity? God has given you to give others something to eat. Do you have the freedom the freedom to imagine how God could use you in stunning ways.

To give others something to eat. You have to unlock and think if someone else is gonna do it. You have to unlock from thinking. It's not the right time. It's not the right place. I'm too young. I'm too old you have to unlock from all of that.

I'm in the wrong line of business. I'm too busy. You have to unlock from that those are lies. Those are foundational lies. And they are part of a strategy of the enemy of our souls in Jesus. Who wants you to believe that somebody else is supposed to give somebody else something to eat.

It's a personal calling on your life it takes an imagination an Understanding and openness to the capacity you really have children. To learn from children about imagination is one of the most beautiful things among many things.

They can teach us as Christians. So Jesus taught that children's our children are first in the kingdom of God and that they're often our teachers. We should take that seriously. That's not it's not a cute statement on Jesus's part.

He means that they lead in the kingdom of God. He put his hands on them infants and said to such of these belongs the kingdom of God. So I understand how to work in the kingdom of God helps understand children and childlike imagination children carry with them if they're given the freedom to have this and not all children get this as they're raised because there's so many challenges the children are raised in.

And oppression the children are raised in which way has the heart for children here at resurrection. But child is raised up in a healthy environment will have a profound imagination for who they can be and what they can be that's why they will play and Act out different scenarios and imaginations and arrangements.

Yes pirates. Yes. Pioneers like that, but if you give children scope for their imagination their latent capacity to imagine themselves of things is pretty amazing. I happen to pull my kids one time and they're playing some game.

They're very into it. They're out in the yard, and I realized that they actually discovered themselves to be Irish potato farmers amidst the Irish famine. And this was this was a big deal. You know, so there are they're digging for potatoes and they've got different groups looking for potatoes.

They're trying to figure what we're gonna do and do we have to get to England and what I mean? It's all into this on the boat and the channel and all the nine yards. I mean they're working out like that.

They're Irish potato farmers and they're into it their imagination was tapped and they're living in it. Another time their cousins came over because they've all been raised in the church. They wanted to kind of play church.

So they got all of our tea cozies. That's what you put on a teapot to keep it warm. It looks like a bishops miter. And so four of them were bishops. They were busy each other from different countries.

They were having a bishops council. It was amazing because they had the capacity That they could imagine themselves there. It's childlike. We need a freeing child likeness. To hear you to say to us. This is where it starts you guys.

Yes, eventually training and skills. Yes. Yes. Yes. But it starts with imagination you give them something to eat and that can look as different as. Every single person and child and youth in this church.

Examples of Imagination Put to Kingdom Use

It's hard for me to give you example. Could I give you one example? I'm afraid gonna lock you in too much. I Wrestled with this. I've got several examples, but I'm afraid that you're gonna hear one ago.

Oh, that doesn't pertain to me. Okay, so don't do that. All right. Yeah, we have an agreement. All right. So one person I'm thankful for I did a lot of camp with college students for years a place called Cedar campus in Upper Peninsula of Michigan and there's this little tiny plaque up there.

It says we give thanks for this camp due to Herbert J Taylor. I'm like who is Herbert J. Taylor what I find out as he was a marketplace leader. But an incredible passion to see college students equipped.

Trained skilled as a writer of Hebrews just said in the Bible lesson that we read skilled in the Word of God. So he through his leadership gifting and his ability to make money. That was one of his gifts was he could make money.

We said he bought this land and then with his leadership gifts established this camp for the training up of college students. I participated in that where I saw numerous life change one after another he had an imagination.

He had a capacity to imagine that his marketplace gifts. And his leadership gifts could be used in exponential ways in a training of thousands upon thousands of college students. That's just one tiny example or take Susie my friend in Cambodia who was in Singapore.

She led Singaporean Airlines Hospitality section one of the most renowned transportation groups in the world known for their hospitality. She became a Christian in her late 40s and actually became a Christian.

She got involved with a school not in Singapore where she was from first world city. Very developed in Cambodia, which now she takes the poorest of the poor in the world on United Nations scales and Teaches them hospitality industry abilities so they can get out of their villages earn for their families get an education.

She had an imagination. For how God could take her particular calling and gifts. In one case the marketplace leader who stayed in the marketplace another case a marketplace gifted person who left the marketplace either way.

It was the imagination that was ignited. You may need a healing. You may need to laying on of hands in prayer. You may need just more regular Bible reflection understanding for your imagination to be ignited.

But it's here in the scriptures the book of Acts had with the acts of the early church the actions of the early church and what you see if you need. An imagination ignition is to read the book of Acts in the beginning to the end.

We'll see it spreading out to some people. But it spreads out to more people and in churches are being planted by all kinds of different people. It just spreads and multiplies. It's an imagination ignition the book of Acts.

So where are you on this? As we discuss equipping everyone for transformation do you have an imagination. Are you hearing Jesus say to you? You Hear your name. You Stewart. You give them something to eat.

If you're not hearing that then you might need prayer. My name will Bible reflection and maybe there's a passivity that's keeping you from that. Okay, the next moment is A here's why I love Jesus so much moment.

Jesus Meets His Disciples Where They Are

It's it's a moved by Jesus moment, and I love this the section. He cast this vision you give them something to eat. He sparks their imagination and. So then they try. I just love this. Okay, they're like, okay.

All right, you give them something to eat. So they take him, you know, they're like their imaginations sparked. It's not a flame yet. It's just sparked. So they're like, well, okay. We've got five loaves and two fish.

You can just even go. Okay, Judas. Judas count stuff Judas. You're good at counting. What do we got? He goes back there, you know, we got five loaves and two fish. That's what we got. Okay, let's go to Jesus Jesus.

We're the committee on the number of fish and loaves that are reporting out to you and here's our report. We got five loaves and two fish. In other words, we kind of did our part. But again, it's kind of like do something now.

All right, we're trying to give them something to eat. We can't you can we don't know just do something. But they're trying. And here's what Jesus does and it's really tender and it's really touching.

He says bring them here to me. He invites them. He doesn't discipline them. He doesn't say ah, you don't understand what I'm saying. I'm talking about taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. He starts right where they are.

Bring them bring them here to me. Give me what you've got. I don't know if you've ever been a situation or relationship. I have been in a few cases where actually somebody did challenge me. They actually ignited my imagination.

They called me into something. But then they left me there. I Didn't know what to do. In other words, I felt called into an opportunity. I felt called into a situation. I felt called into growth and challenge.

Oh, yeah, they left me there. I didn't know how to get to where I was supposed to go. I I didn't know how to get to from from kind of the call to actually going in and doing. I didn't know how to Do it and it created a lot of anxiety in me and shame and oh, man, I I can't rise to it.

It's my fault and Jesus speaks right into the hat. Jesus is not that kind of leader. Jesus is not that kind of coach. Jesus is not that kind of parent. Jesus is not that kind of board. Jesus is not that kind of supervisor.

That's not what Jesus is like. It's that he says give me what you have whatever you got just just come here he brings them close. And he invites them in. I'm gonna make you workers is basically what he's saying.

The Coach Who Cast a Vision and Equipped a Runner

I had a coach like this who did this for me. He cast a vision for me. I was a runner. I was running cross-country very competitively in high school and he came to me about halfway through the season.

He said we can get your time two minutes faster. Which for in cross-country for a runner to shave two minutes off your best time put you in a whole nother league of running a whole nother category of where I would place.

That's yeah, I'm interested. He said well, let me show you how to do it and he created a workout schedule for me. He worked on my running mechanics. He spoke into my heart ignited my imagination and then he invited me into a process and I did shave more than two minutes Off and it was an extraordinary one of most satisfying experiences of my life.

Because I was experiencing equipping I was experiencing Apprenticing. I was experiencing both the imagination being sparked from my capacity and then the invitation to help me accomplish that. That's exactly what Jesus does.

Jesus Invites His People Into the Supernatural

His invitation is twofold. First of all, it's supernatural. He invites them into the supernatural and to be somebody who's living in the kingdom. You have to be ready and willing and humble enough to be invited into the supernatural.

Where you won't always have full control. The Holy Spirit has full control. You won't always know exactly where what you're doing in the moment as you're serving somebody or loving them or ministering them or talking to them.

You won't always know where it's going because the Holy Spirit has a place. He wants to take it. They're actually coming a profound place of humility and submission by living into the supernatural. Jesus invites them into the supernatural.

What happens bring them here to me? He orders the crowd to sit down the grass takes the five loaves to fish looks up to heaven says a blessing breaks the loaves given the disciples that was given to the crowds and 12 baskets full of broken pieces were left over.

That's just supernatural. There's no way to describe it. There's a miracle that happens. The miracle is very very specifically five loaves and two fish are multiplied into the place where they now feed tens of thousands of people.

It's a miracle and that's just part of what it means to enter into the life of Jesus is we expect and anticipate and indeed desperately need Miracles. Oh God have mercy on our low expectations for the miracles of Jesus.

And what it means to step into the miracle work of Jesus to participate and to be a part of that. He invites us into that supernatural reality. And something else happening here is maybe even more amazing than all the multiplication of the fish and loaves.

Jesus Creates a New People Through the Sacred Meal

Something else is going on here. It's even greater miracle. What Jesus does he's actually is beginning to enact a very specific Jewish ritual. I remember what would happen when you would have a special dinner or a special feast in a place.

So for example, he says to them look with me in your text. He orders the crowds to sit down. Verse 19. Okay, when he does that he's actually not just saying make yourself comfortable. He's saying we're now entering into a sacred meal.

It's a little bit like. It's like a family moment like in the States when we say let's just eat on the kitchen table. Come on, let's eat on the kitchen table. It always shocks other cultures when we do that, by the way.

Go sit down. But then he doesn't stop there. He does what a Jewish dad does when it's a special special feast. He looks up to heaven and he says a blessing. Okay. Now those who knew the Jewish background new Jewish history and new Jewish ritual wait a second.

He's he's making us a family. He's changed like a family. There's a miracle happening here. But what Jesus is doing is he is enacting and saying I am making you a new people. I am making you a new people.

You're not just Hebrews or you're not just from this part of Israel or that part of Israel that part of Gentile Decapolis or whatever it is. You're not just your race. You're not just your background.

You're not just your mother and your father's background. I am making you a new people. I'm making you a family. I'm enacting something so radical and so new that it's utterly supernatural. I am making a people who were once no people.

That's what Jesus is doing. He's missing you're gonna have my name. I'm the father of this family. I'm enacting this. This would take on even greater meaning as disciples will look back at it later. Because they would be together what was called the Last Supper when Jesus inaugurated what we as Christians call Holy Communion the beauty of the altar.

And the Holy Communion the same four things happen on that night when he gives us Holy Communion to happen there. He has people sit down. He takes the bread. He gives thanks. He breaks it. It's exactly the same in first Corinthians chapter 11 that describes Holy Communion.

What is Jesus saying? He's saying I am bringing you into the people of God where my presence Supernaturally will always feed you you're thinking scarcity. You're thinking I don't have enough to Fulfill this imagination you're giving me and I'm telling you I will always have utter abundance.

There you can never run out of my presence. That's why there's 12 baskets. There's just so much you'll never run out of my presence. There'll always be enough. It's supernatural and Then in that supernatural moment, we'll get the second side of the invitation, which is very service-oriented.

He gives the disciples and disciples hand it out. Let that be what it is. They're handing out a bunch of bread and fish. There's this glorious miraculous moment. They're blown away. I get sent under like we got to figure this out.

I mean, how are we gonna feed 20 ,000 people and there's 12 of us? And so the administrators get Administrating and the inspirers get inspiring and and the leaders start leading and the servants starts there.

They're all good working together and they're figuring this out. And can you imagine they're serving now? It's a major job. They can you imagine the joy of that service? I mean you're handing out bread and fish, but you're just coming Amazing.

I mean I'm serving this is a lot of work, but you know, oh My word, I've never served like this before. That's what Peter said. I'm not fishing any longer. This is way more fun. This is just way more fun.

It's service. It's hard work. But it's supernatural. It's Jesus. Oh Jesus he did what no one else could have done. Make a people of no people make a family where there's no family and yet It's us. You Give them something to eat the second invitation Jesus makes not only you give them something to eat.

Let me expand your imagination. Now he says to them bring me what you have. I'm inviting you. Just bring me what you have. Have you heard that invitation? Has that been made clear to you? Bring me what you have.

Are you humble enough? To bring him what you have. Are you humble enough to say this is actually really what I have with all my anxiety and all my crazy thinking and the lust that grabs hold of my heart and People that I'm really really angry with.

This is what I have. It's humbling to have you to say to us you give them something to eat. Perhaps even more humbling to hear his invitation. Just give me what you have but that's how we move being moved by Jesus into a movement of Jesus a movement of men and women children and youth.

Who are creatively? Miraculously and Thousands of acts of service. Giving those who are harassed and helpless something to eat in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.