Don’t Forget to Remember – Robert Madu – Transformation Church

Robert Madu’s Introduction

• It’s important to not forget the things God wants us to remember
• Sometimes we remember the things we should forget, and forget the things we should remember

Message Title: Don’t Forget to Remember

Mark 8:14-21 New International Version (NIV)

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

16 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

• The year 2020 still isn’t over; it feels like it’s been half a century
• Not every year has such a sudden paradigm shift that leaves more questions than answers
• The irony that the number 2020 is associated with vision, but we’re seeing something we never saw coming
• God told Robert, “don’t forget to remember that you prayed for this year”. – Robert asked for change, to go deeper with God, and to want more of Him this year – “whatever it takes to get more of You”
• We want to be stronger, but don’t want suffering; we want to go deeper, but not mess up our schedules; we want change, but don’t want to be disrupted. Our God will disrupt us. He will mess up our schedule
• Jesus comforted the disturbed and disturbed the comfortable
• He always made sure ratchet people knew that they weren’t beyond God’s grace, and that the religious people needed Him
• In Mark 8, they had the audacity to tell Jesus to give them a sign despite all of the signs and wonders he was doing
• We need to note that we don’t need the endorsement of others to do what God has called us to do
• The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
• Jesus was fully God and fully man; God manifested in the flesh
• The conversations with humanity and deity combined can lead to confusion
• The disciples had break in the boat, but also Jesus, the bread of life
• Yeast is a fungi, that can mess up the whole loaf of bread. Metaphor for pride, sin, and unbelief
• He says to be careful of mixing pride, sin, and unbelief that can come politically and religiously
• The bread Jesus is, is enough – but the disciples were still confused
• Jesus broke down how many times he multiplied the bread so that they could understand that as long as they had Jesus, they had everything they needed
• The miracle of breaking bread occurred twice – he fed the 5,000 and a few months later He did the miracle again and fed 4,000
• Thank God for the feeding of the 4,000 – it shows that if He ever came through before, He can do it again!
• Don’t let the difficulty of this season make you doubt the faithfulness of our God
• If he brought you through it before, or opened up the door for you before, He will do it again!
• Remind yourself of God’s faithfulness in your life
• Feeding of the multitude was mentioned in all four gospels – Jesus did not want us to forget this miracle
• Jesus is also concerned about our circumstances; he doesn’t just care about our souls. He cares about our physical needs and what keeps us up at night
• This miracle reveals God’s goodness, not just His greatness. If it matters to you, it matters more to God
• He cares about your needs
• When He preached, people forgot to eat for days
• Even in the middle of his preaching, and captivating thousands, He looked at them and recognized they were hungry – He cares about our physical needs
• This is a mandate to the church as well – we must meet people’s needs, not just the transformation of soul
• Preach the gospel around the world and meet your needs in actuality
• God wants us to participate in the miraculous and to meet needs
• Don’t just pray, but get up and do something about it
• “The power of prayer is directly connected to your willingness to be a part of God’s answer” – Howard Thurman
• Let’s look at these two miracles…

1. You’re Called to Problems Because You’re Called to People 

You cannot separate people from problems.

Even when you’re isolated, you still have to be with yourself.

People and problems cannot be separated.

The disciples had to put 20,000 people in groups of 50 and 100 – this setup likely took really long.

Let’s have grace for people in this season, especially difficult people.

2. Compassion Activates the Miraculous

He verbally say, “I have compassion”. Start getting compassionate and you’ll start seeing the miraculous.

In both miracles, Jesus had compassion.

Compassion is when care and action collide.

Be a church of people who care and take action.

Jesus recognized that some people would faint on their way back home due to long journeys. He knew with specificity where they came from.

You can’t have compassion unless you care enough to know where I’ve come from and what I’ve been through.    

You can’t have compassion unless you care about people’s story and where they came from.

In both miracles, they asked the wrong question. They were thinking about how much money it cost to feed that much people. The next time, they thought about where to find the bread.

3. Always Ask the Right Question

Are you worried because you’re asking the wrong question?

You might be looking at the magnitude of the problem and asking the wrong question.  

Matthew 6:31-33 New International Version (NIV)

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Worry is connected to asking the wrong questions.

Ask the right question: “how many loaves do you have?” – this was the right question that Jesus asked.

How Many Loaves Do You Have?

This doesn’t lead to worry. This shifts your focus from what you lost to what you still have.

That question allows you to be thankful for what God has given you.

What do you have?

It’s easier to complain about what you don’t have. It’s easier to look at what other people have instead of taking inventory on what God has given you.

You may have lost your job but still have your mind.

Jesus never even asked about the fish.

It was in the process of looking for the loaves that they realized that they had some fish too.

Have you found some things you didn’t know you had? Didn’t know you could pray or worship like you do right now.

If you look for the loaves, you’ll find the fish.

Even after they found them, they realized it wasn’t enough.

Have you ever looked at the demand on your life, and looked in your hands, and realized it still wasn’t enough? It will never be enough. If it’s in your hands, it will never be enough.

Your life is not enough if it’s in your hands.

You cannot control some things. The only thing to do is get it out of your hands and put it in the hands of God.

Take this marriage, takes these kids, take our finances…

When He took it, He blessed it, broke it, and gave it right back to them to feed the multitude.

The bread didn’t multiply in Jesus’ hands. He was just blessing the little bit, what wasn’t enough, and gave it right back to them blessed, to pass out.

They had to take their time.

4. Multiplication Happens Through Interaction

As they interacted and the bread was coming down to nothing, they had to see God provide when there was next to nothing.

Multiplication happens through interaction, not isolation.

Don’t let the enemy divide your marriage or break up your relationship.

The enemy wants us divided because a house divided cannot stand.

When they passed out the food and interacted, they had leftovers.

It made sense for them to be nervous and stressed the first time – but why were they stressing the second time? The second time they saw the crowd, they should’ve known Jesus could do it again.

The first time, the issue was the price (feeding of the 5k). The second time, the issue was the people and the place (feeding of the 4k).

The second feeding was in Gentile territory with people they didn’t want to deal with. It was a place they didn’t want to go, with people they thought they were better than. Jesus showed them that the bread of life was for the entire world, you don’t get to pick who you pass it out too. It was to show not just provision, but that everybody needs the bread of life.

He took them there to break their ideology and that they couldn’t pick who they would give it to. He took the disciples, blessed them, and broke them, to use them to spread the gospel around the world.

He’s about to use you like He’s never used you before. That’s why you can’t quit or kill yourself. He’s breaking you to multiply you and use you more.

This year has been a breaking season for Robert. He found himself in a dark place, unable to travel, and there was tension and racial injustice, and he just wanted to quit. On father’s day, he went to Pittsburgh, TX. His mom had told him about a church his grandfather built there. It was a season of depression and anxiety, and he reminded himself of how he was told that he would preach the gospel over the world. They laid hands on him in that church. It was their faithfulness. What God did then, he is doing for Robert now. The breaking isn’t to destroy you, it’s to multiply so that you can tell somebody else how to get up. So you can tell people how to raise their kids in the midst of what they’re dealing with.

Don’t forget to remember His faithfulness. Your history with God can make you stand today.

Thank you Lord for allowing the breaking to multiply.

Altar Call: If what used to work isn’t working anymore in this season, know that there is a savior, his name is Jesus. He is the bread of life. If you’ve never surrendered, tell God you’re coming home.

Let’s Pray Together: Thank you Jesus for loving me enough to pay the price for my sin. I believe that you lived for me and you died for me. You paid for my sin. Today, I surrender my life to you. Amen.

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SUMMARY NOTES

1. You’re Called to Problems Because You’re Called to People
2. Compassion Activates the Miraculous
3. Always Ask the Right Question (How Many Loaves Do You Have?)
4. Multiplication Happens Through Interaction

Link to full Video: TBD

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The D.I.G. stands for Deeper In God and it is a conversation where we dive deeper in God. Join us this Wednesday at 7pm (cst)! — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYv-siSKd3Gn9IsliO95gIw