You Give Them Something...

Hello, dear Beloved…
 
Most people I know underestimate themselves, and in so doing, often underestimate God. Let’s talk about it in Deeper Thoughts below… plus, I’ll share an important personal note about the Eads family and its potential impact to our teaching this Sunday.
 
But first… a TON of important dates to put on your calendar:
 
·      NEXT Saturday, February 22, “Parents Night Out / Kids Night In” (Pre-K through 6th grade) from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. Snacks, crafts, games, movies, and baking goodies for the next morning’s summer camp Bake Sale! Click here to RSVP with Chris Bowen!
 
·      Yummy Bake Sale NEXT Sunday morning, February 23, to support our kid’s summer camp!
 
·      Facility expansion “3-D renderings reveal,” Sunday, March 2 during service.
 
·      NEWCOMERS Lunch, Sunday, March 2, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Get to know Mt. Hope as we get to know you!
 
·      Covenant Partners orientation class and luncheon, Sunday, March 9, 11:45 – 1:00 p.m. Learn about how to become an official member of our church partnership team!
 
·      Final business meeting and open discussion regarding facility expansion, Sunday, March 23, 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. All are invited to discuss the details of what’s next!
 
·      Teens: Youth Group THIS Sunday, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m: lunch, games, and a testimony. Contact Jess if you need a ride home!
 
·      Don’t forget our “Daily Six” video series, six-minutes every weekday to read along with me as we study through the Gospel of Mark. Click here to jump in! And if you’d like to receive daily email reminders, click here for a link to The Daily Six each morning!
 
OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who never underestimate the Lord. BUT…
 
 
Some Deeper Thoughts…
 
First, on a personal note, an important update on our family: Many of you have been praying for my mother, Mary Ellen, who has battled late-stage Alzheimer’s disease for many months. Mom passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus early this afternoon after a week-long vigil, surrounded by her family, as her perishable body failed. We were praying and reading scripture over her as we saw her breathe her last. Mom had confessed her faith in Jesus; we were asking Him to return for her quickly. As she entered eternity, My sister Beth, Sherri, and I all acknowledged we perceived the precise moment her spirit departed and was committed into the hands of the Lord. We are so very grateful for your many prayers and words of encouragement throughout this week. Plans for a memorial service at Mt. Hope, to which you will all be invited, are forthcoming.
 
Our Deeper Thoughts below were pre-written some time ago. While we may yet make some adjustments to our plans for Sunday based on where our emotions are this weekend, you’ll see these thoughts are actually quite relevant to our present situation. I believe it is valuable to share with you this evening what the Lord put on my heart well in advance of this week. Here goes:
 
 
On the one hand, underestimating oneself can be a sure path to spiritual health: “Do not think more of yourself more highly than you ought…” (Romans 12:3).


But on the other hand, it can also underestimate God and stop Him dead in His tracks: “My power is made perfect in weakness…” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
 
When we think too highly of ourselves, we put chains on God. He is limited by us. We think we can manage whatever challenges we face. And so... we do. We grab the reins, take control of our circumstances, and work in our own strength for the best outcome we can achieve. We’ve just boxed God out. He can do little with our circumstances because we told Him to butt out.
 
But the other hand can even be worse. When we underestimate both ourselves and God, that’s a toxic mix that will stop both of us in our tracks. This poisonous idea suggests that not only are we weak, but so is God. We see our own weaknesses and inabilities with crystal clarity. And then we assume God can’t do anything with them. When we think like this, we are blind to the scriptural revelation that our weaknesses are the specific condition in which God’s supernatural power is most poised to do something huge.
 
When we think too highly of ourselves, we box God out by doing it all ourselves.
 
When we think too lowly of ourselves, we box God out by withholding ourselves from His power.
 
Jesus put his disciples to the test on this. They didn’t know it was an exam.
 
Here’s the setting: They were all tired. Even Jesus. It had been a grueling season of fast-paced, high-intensity ministry. Healings, teachings, conflicts, demonic deliverances—all wildly challenging encounters that would drain the energy out of the most vigorous among us, to include the divine Son of God.
 
When they tried to take a couple of days off to get some rest, a flash mob found where they were hiding and pounced. They needed more attention. More help. More healings. More ministry. It just wouldn’t stop.
 
When I am that drained and the phone rings one more time, my reaction is to get angry. Jesus’ reaction was compassion.
 
He sat them down and began to minister yet again… for the entire day.
 
Night was coming quickly. Peter pulled up alongside Jesus and whispered in his ear: “No one has eaten anything all day. Maybe we should wrap this up and send folks home?”
 
Did I mention the disciples were wiped out before this day had even started? Add to it zero food. Low blood sugar. And Jesus just won’t quit. (“Hangry” is the word that comes to my mind.)
 
Jesus quickly dashed the disciples’ hope for an early dismissal.
 
“You give them something to eat,” he quipped. He returned his attention to the crowd.
 
I spent nearly a decade of my career leading a fantastic team that produced large-scale public events in the aviation sector—airshows, fly-ins, and the like. We would gather 3, 4, or 5,000 aviators on airport tarmacs, even in a few cases more than 10,000 attendees, baking them all day long in the hot sun. How to feed everyone was always one of our most challenging--and expensive—logistical operations. We spent months organizing the food service plan and securing the right catering. A quick, over-the-shoulder instruction to “get these folks something to eat” is not how it works for a crowd this size. At all.
 
The disciples were stunned. “Um… boss… there’s no Costco around. There are no restaurants in the neighborhood. Not to mention the size of this crowd. Do you know how much this would cost?” In today’s Ashburn dollars, they estimated it would take $46,210 to feed everybody. It’s all right there in Mark 6:37. Check it out.
 
“How much food do you have?” Jesus asked.
 
“Um…,” they replied awkwardly, “not much. Five loaves of bread and two stinky fish that John caught last night.”
 
“That’ll do,” Jesus said. “Get everyone organized. We’ll serve them in groups.”
 
I remember those meetings with our aviation event planning team. Hours of discussion of how many catering lines, the server counts, time per consumer through the lines, quantities per plate. It’s quite the operation to figure out. It’s even worse when the food supply will run out right around the 12th customer with still another 5,000 people in line.
 
Friends, put yourself right there in that moment with the disciples. Don’t you feel paralyzed? There is no way the feeble resources they possessed could come anywhere close to solving the problem. Their supply was not even in the same universe as the need. But Jesus demanded they take action.
 
That moment of paralysis is exactly where God needs us. If we will not underestimate Him.
 
You’ll have to read Mark 6:30-44 to see how it all turned out.
 
This Sunday let’s explore together this very key discipleship point. We cannot grow to where Jesus wants us until we recognize two things: 1) The absolute power of God to leverage our weakest parts and our most under-resourced realities for the specific outcome He desires; 2) Our responsibility to step up, regardless of our frailties, to serve and give as if God had already provided a supernatural solution.
 
Prepare to be empowered. God has a plan for you that is supernaturally strong. Don’t underestimate Him.
 
 
Perhaps you can see the relevance to what the Eads are working through today. Let’s meet on Sunday… 10:00 a.m.
 
Seeing you all will do our hearts good…
 
Chris Eads
Mt. Hope Pastor
Friend