The body moves. FAITH GROWS!

Today we continue through Luke. The Apostles return home and now we are seeing the fruits of their labor. We examine the change in our hearts when we start to apply the teachings of Christ in our day-to-day lives and what can happen when faith grows in doing.

Herod Is Perplexed by Jesus
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him. 

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
10 On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. 12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. 


The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 9:7–17.

Transcript

Project 37

Summary

 - Jesus sends the apostles out into the field, and they heal people and cast out demons - Herod hears about this and is confused - Jesus talks about the kingdom of God and heals more people - The apostles realize that there is a logistical issue with feeding all of these people, but Jesus tells them to do it - The apostles are unsure about how they will do this, but Jesus tells them the plan - The apostles obediently follow his instructions and

Transcription

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 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Welcome back to the Iron Saints podcast with your host, Dan Willis. 2s Welcome back Saints. It's a new day new podcast. We are almost through the week this week. I hope everything's going well for you guys today. We're going to continue the walk through Luke. If you guys have missed it, you know you're just coming across the podcast. You've just tripped across it and you want to start at the beginning and no problems whatsoever. It is a daily devotional. So you could start back in episode one. And that's the start of Luke and walk with us all the way back to where we are now. Or if you just want to keep going where we are, that's good too. But, uh, typically we build on the past couple of episodes, so maybe even going back the past couple episodes will help you out. Huge shout out to all of you guys that are leaving reviews. Uh, we did have another major milestone yesterday where we were the among the top ten, uh, Christian podcasts on Spotify. So again, what a huge blessing. Uh, not something I was expecting to happen this quickly, uh, if at all. So really, really excited guys. Thank you so much for that. Um, but today we are going to get down to Luke nine. Uh, and yesterday we started into Luke nine. He sent his apostles out into the field, as it were. He had demonstrated in the end of Luke eight his power and authority, how it is used, how to properly use it. And then nine he sends out the boys, and off they go the apostles casting out demons, healing the sick. Um, so today we're going to visit our friend Herod, and we're going to take a look at, uh, Jesus going a step further, um, and demonstrating exactly the difference between, uh, us here and, uh, the man of God 2s are the son of Man. Here we go. 3s As always, guys, I encourage you to grab your Bibles and read along. I think it's an important part of the process for you to have a Bible in hand. I understand though, if you're driving and listen to a podcast or at the gym and running on a treadmill, it can prove a little difficult to have a Bible in your hands. So I have no worries. I am going to always be reading the scripture I read personally from the ESV. Feel free to read along in whatever translation you prefer. But without further ado, here we go. Luke nine, verse seven. Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen, and said, John, I beheaded. But who is this about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him. 1s On the return the apostles told him all that they had done, and he took he took them with him, drew a part to a town called Bethsaida. When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing. Now the day began to wear away, and the 12 came and said to him, send of healing. Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place. But he said to them, you give them something to eat. They said, we have no more than five loaves and two fishes, unless we are to go and buy food for all these people. For there were about 5000 men. And he said to his disciples, have them sit down in groups of about 50 each. And they did so, and had them all sit down, and taking the five loaves and two fishes, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was picked up 12 baskets of broken pieces. 2s Okay. So let's start with Herod. This is the Gospels. This is Luke telling us, okay. Herod's aware. Herod's aware of some topic. So the moves that Jesus is making, uh, are coming to his ears, and people are starting to get a little, uh, a little flustered, a little excited about what's going on now. Herod thought he had nipped this in the bud. He wouldn't have to deal with something like this again once he, you know, flopped the head off. Uh, John. But it doesn't seem like that's the case. So now we know that Herod is on the lookout. He's going to be a part of this process moving forward. Um, Jesus probably was aware of this as well. Um, but on the return of the apostles, they came back and the first thing they did was spew on him. And it's like. It's like when you send your kids off to school for the first day, right? They come home and they're, we did this, and we've got this teacher and there's all these kids, and we I jumped on this and I did this, and I had, you know, hand paints and look at my work. And it's like, okay, great. First day of school got you excited. Very cool. And, uh, but he took them because he needed some time together with. So he took them and drew apart or to a remote area. He always loves to do this. I don't need to be in Jerusalem. I'll be where I am. People will come. I'll walk around and I'll serve whoever's there. Right. But the crowd's learned and sure enough, they followed. Okay. Jesus! Over there. Great. Everybody pack up. We're going for a road trip. We're gonna follow him. Okay, so they follow him. And sure enough, he does what he's been doing with the apostles had been doing. They cure the the sick. They cure those who need healing. Um, but there's so many were following that it took the day. So you've got 13, you've got 12 apostles and Jesus healing light. And it took the whole day. And the apostles start to become aware. Oh, man, we've got like a logistical issue. Jesus, I know you've got bread of which we do not know, but at the same time these people got to eat. Um, and Jesus response is, well, um, I have equipped you guys, the apostles, to do the thing that needs to be done. So you feed them and they literally, like, jaw dropped to the ground are, uh, like, we've got, we've got what do you got? Like a loaf you gotta love. Okay. We don't even have a loaf each. Jesus. And we got a couple of fish here. Like we've got enough for us. We've got enough for 12. But, uh, there's like 5000 people. Well, more than 5000 says 5000 men. So 5000 men plus accoutrements, plus their wives and and servants and children and whatever else. Right. Um, so, like, a little bit dumbfounded by this, um, and Jesus again has now he's not going to argue with them. He's already given the instruction and he goes on to say, okay, well, this is how you're going to do it. Do it this way. And they did. There was no questions. There was no arguments. As as ludicrous as this may have sounded to anybody else, these apostles had just seen Jesus calm the storms, raise the dead, healed the sick, cast out thousands of demons. They're brought in. They went out into the field. They tried it out. It worked. They're bought in. They believe. They believe. The faith is starting to come. And this one little sentence often gets skipped in this, in this miracle they performed. But I think it's probably the most important verse of the last 15. And they did so and had them all sit down. Now, I know it doesn't sound like your typical exciting verse, right? But this is a testimony to them having faith. Their faith is building. Their faith is growing because they didn't question Christ. Okay, Jesus says, have him sit down in groups of about 50 each. That's what we're going to do. Bam! Done. And away they go. And they started serving. And not only were they able to do the impossible seemingly impossible task of feeding this mob, um, they were also able to feed them until they were satisfied. Which means, you know, it wasn't like everybody got a little peck, and they'll have to wait until they get home to have a full meal. They were satisfied they had a full meal's worth of food, and conveniently, there was enough left over for there to be 12 baskets of broken pieces. Guess who that's for? Um, so really, really cool stuff here. Um, you know, so I think the takeaway for today on this one, guys, is the more that we're in the word and I, I there's some men that have been following along episode by episode by episode by episode. So you've been on this journey same as the apostles. We've been breaking this down. We've been walking alongside. And I really hope that you are feeling the same way that faith is starting to grow. Um, even if you've been a Christian for a long time, you read the Bible for. I hope you feel like your faith is starting to grow. I know I can attest to it. Um, my wife and my kids definitely are recognizing a change of holy moly, something is going on. Um, but this, this concept of and they did so is pretty remarkable. It's pretty remarkable. So I would challenge you with that today, man. Um, whatever is resonating from the scriptures as you're reading them, if this is all you do during the day. 2s Is for your devotions is listening to this episode? No problem. That's not an issue. But make sure that and they did. So becomes your model. And this is this is to tie into what we saw yesterday when he sent them out. Right. Jesus. His teachings are not just academia. It's not. They're just for knowledge sake. Is there for knowledge sake to come to a better understanding of the Lord and your relationship with Christ? Yes, absolutely. It's there for that. But is that it? Is that the entirety of what's expected? No. He wants you to take what you have learned and to use it. It's not enough. It's not a YouTube video where you pop up in your watching YouTube video and you'll learn how something's done. You're like, oh, that's cool. And then you go back off and do whatever you want. It's it's meant as instructional lessons. So today this one's talking about taking a look at the situation around you, recognizing a problem and trusting that the Lord will provide. I don't know what that looks like in your own lives. I hope when I say that it brings something to mind, but that you are capable. You have that power. You have that authority. You have the ability and maybe not to feed 5000 people. I'm not saying put yourself into a situation that requires a miracle, but take a look around you day to day. Every man out there is going to face a problem. Today. We're going to face a trial. We're going to face something that somebody else feels overwhelmed by. Face it with confidence. Pray beforehand. Face it with confidence. Ask the Lord in prayer. How am I supposed to deal with this? Go to the word if you're not sure how. But the and they did so has to be a part of your day. If we're not being active doers of the word, we're missing the majority of the point. It's not that we have to do these things for salvation's purpose, but in doing these things and trusting the Lord and trusting his teachings and trusting his words, we are growing closer and closer and closer in our relationship with Christ, and that can be such a powerful thing. So your motto today is and they did so, so fine. Find something in your walk. Find a problem in your life. Find a problem in somebody who in your life with somebody who's close to you. Find somebody who's close to you, who has a problem in their life and get on it. Help with conviction. With authority. 1s All right, guys, I like to finish every episode with praying for you men. If you guys have prayer requests, the website is active. You can go there. There's a section for you to drop your community prayers in there now as well. Any of the social media networks, you can reach out to me on those and give me your prayer requests. I would be happy to pray for you, either anonymously or a first name only if you would prefer some level of anonymity. If you're okay with me using your name, just let me know. Um, today we are going to give special focus to one of us in our community. He has a whole bunch of problems he is suffering. He did say it was okay to be praying for him in this time, so I do want to lift him up to you guys. I do want to, uh, encourage you to not just be prayed for today, but also to take the time to keep this man on your heart and pray for his family throughout the day. Um, let's do this. Lord, thank you so much for the men that come here daily and listen to your word. The community is building and growing, Lord. And it's, uh, no doing them myself or even these men. It's you. Lord, you have a passion for your your sons to have a fire for you to grow in relationship with you, to want to come closer and to draw nearer. Lord, I lift up William and his family to you, especially his wife and his daughter, Viviana. Um. 2s His daughter required open heart surgery. Again, this is multiple times, Lord, and this poor little one is a trooper. She's got a big old smile and a lot of joy in her heart. She knows you, Lord, but she is going through a heck of a time with her physical, physical health. And like we've been reading, you are the great healer. You are the Great Physician. You have the ability to do what the doctors cannot. I pray that you are there with this little girl, that you would continue to have your hand on her, that you would bless her. I pray for Mom and Dad that you would be able to comfort them in this time. They have struggles both with their daughter's health. But also I lift up William. He tried to stay closer to home, be closer to his daughter during these hard times. And it didn't. It backfired. Lord. And you have your means. You have your purposes. I don't know what's happening there, Lord, but I pray that you would help this man work. He has a desire to work. He has a desire to provide for his family. And I pray that you would be able to find him employment that he would be able to provide as he wants, to protect, as he wants to preside, as he wants to do over his family. Lord, um, I lift up his wife to you. Lord, it's it's hard. It it's hard to, uh, have an expectation for provider. And due to life, he's not able to do it. Um, it's it's tough to trust and respect a man like that. And that can really weigh on a marriage. So I want to lift him up to you, Lord. I want to lift her up to you. That marriage is so special and so important. What? You've joined together. Let no man separate, um, that the world would try to leave this man unemployed with nothing. Um, you can provide so flow to hammer for this man. Lord, I lift him up to you. I pray that, uh, the community would keep him on their hearts today, uh, that we could help this brother find gainful employment, that his daughter could see healing Lord and his marriage could draw closer together. 2s Your name we pray. Amen. Have an amazing day out there today guys, and I will catch you tomorrow with another episode. Take it easy. Thank you for listening to the Iron Saints podcast. If you are looking to share your prayer requests, check the description for social media or email to contact the show. Blessings on you all. Until next time.