in those days the multitude being
very great and having nothing to eat. Verse two, I have compassion
on the multitude because they've now been with me three days and
have nothing to eat. I've entitled this message, Nothing
to Eat. Now Matthew gives us some information
about this multitude that had nothing to eat that Mark doesn't
give us. So if you turn back to Matthew for a moment, Matthew chapter 15, beginning
in verse 30. And great multitudes came unto
him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, and maimed,
and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet. And he healed
them insomuch that the multitude wondered when they saw the dumb
to speak, the maimed to behold, the lame to walk, and the blind
to see and they glorified the God of Israel. Then Jesus called
his disciples and said unto them, I have compassion on this multitude
because they continue with me these three days and they have
nothing to eat. Now the description of this great
multitude that he was feeding? Lame. Lame. Unable to walk. Blind. Unable to see. Unable to see
the scriptures. Unable to see the true character
of God. Unable to see their own sinfulness. Unable to see the gospel. They were blind. And then there
were those who were described as dumb. You can't speak what
you've never heard and what you don't understand. They were unable
to communicate. And they were described as maimed,
mutilated, a missing limb, perhaps a leg, perhaps a hand, perhaps
an arm, something missing. that you don't have that perhaps
aided in you becoming lame, blind, and dumb. And what did the Lord
do? He healed them. It doesn't say He offered healing
to these people. It says He healed them. Now the man we considered last
week who was both deaf and dumb was included in this group, Matthew
speaks of the whole group with these four descriptions. And
he made the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak. I believe, therefore,
have I spoken. The lame walk, they do what they
could not do before. And I'd never really thought
about this thing of being maimed. You think about this. There was
creative power in this, perhaps an arm that was not there is
there now. Something was brought into existence.
Something was made that was not there before, which I have no
doubt speaks of the new heart he gives that enables one to
see and to walk and to speak. Something given to you that was
not there before. The lame walk. They do what they couldn't do.
They believe. They repent. Somebody says, well,
are they given the grace to walk in God's law? Justification is
so real that when you receive the things done in your body,
according to 2 Corinthians 5, 10, you walked in the law of
God. When he did, you did. The lame
walk, the blind see. They see the beauty of the Lord
Jesus Christ. They see the completeness of
His salvation. The dumb speak. David said, I
believe, therefore have I spoken. And the maimed, they were made
whole. They were given something that
they did not have before. And they were made whole. You know, I love that Scripture
in John chapter 9 where the Lord says, for judgment have I come
into this world that they which see not might see. Now if you're somebody who can't
find one reason in yourself as to why God would look in favor
upon you, you know what? He saved you. That's the person
He came to save. And that they would see might
be made blind. Somebody says, well, I can see
why God would save me. I fill in the blank. You're blinded,
judicially blinded. And back to our text in Mark
chapter 8, verse 1, in those days, the multitude
being very great, with all of these four afflictions, maybe
other kinds of afflictions, but four are mentioned, that came
to the Lord, the multitude being very great and having nothing
to eat. Jesus called his disciples unto
him and saith unto them, I have compassion. You know, this is
the only time we ever read where he said, I have compassion. The writers of the gospel says
he was moved by compassion, but this is the one time where he
says, I have compassion. Oh, the compassion of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And he was compassionate because
they had nothing to eat. I have compassion on the multitudes
because they've now been with me three days and have nothing
to eat. Now, he is moved with compassion,
he says so himself, by someone who has nothing to eat. Nothing to keep themselves alive,
nothing to bring to the table. They have absolutely nothing
to eat poor in spirit, poor and needy, that is what moves him
to compassion. You remember the leper. He was
full of leprosy. Lord, if you will, you can make
me clean. And Jesus moved with compassion,
said, I will be thou clean. What moves his compassion is
need. Now, if two men come to you,
ask for a $10 bill for a meal, begging as it were. And one of
them had an expensive suit and $1,000 in his wallet, and the
other had shabby clothes and not a penny to his name. Which one would you give to?
Well, you know who you'd give to. The Lord is that way infinitely
more. He's moved by lack and inability
and need. Now, if you want to move him
to compassion, don't come with something. Come without anything. He was moved by the fact that
they had nothing to eat. Which church did Christ say,
I'll spew you out of my mouth? The church that was rich and
increased with goods and had need of nothing. It's a blessed thing to have
nothing. Now what does it mean to have
nothing? If you have nothing, that means you don't have anything
that you can bring to God that he could be pleased with or accept.
Not one thing. I don't care what it is. You
know that in and of yourself, whatever you bring, is nothing
but sin and God can't accept it. And that is the person who
truly looks to Christ as all because he doesn't have anything
else. He looks to Christ as all. Now let's go on reading verse
3. If I send them away fasting to
their own house, they will faint by the way for divers of them
came from far. Now listen to this question,
verse four. What does this sound like? And
his disciples, now let me remind you first that in chapter six,
they experienced the feeding of the 5,000. They saw the Lord
create food that was not there before, put it in their basket.
They saw this food multiply while they were passing it out to 5,000
men, not including women and children, perhaps between 15
and 20,000 people. They saw this miracle, they experienced
it shortly before this. Now look at this question. And
his disciples answered him. From whence can a man satisfy
these men with bread here in the wilderness? You know what
that sounds like? Death. Spiritual death. Someone who
has no faith. Someone who didn't even experience
what they experienced shortly before in the feeding of 5,000.
From whence? Have they forgotten? From whence
can a man satisfy these here in this wilderness, this desert
place, with bread? That sounds like an unbeliever
speaking, doesn't it? But there were believers. Where is this, given account
of this? Well, every believer has two
separate natures. One that believes and cannot
not believe. Try to not believe. You can't
do it, can you? And one that never believes. That's why the man cried out,
I believe, help thou mine unbelief. This is a believer speaking,
but he sounds just like an unbeliever. Do you ever sound just like an
unbeliever? I dare say you know you do. But hence the reason
Paul said, oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from
the body of what? This death. And that sounds like
death. That's exactly what it sounds
like. From whence can a man satisfy? I like that word. From whence
can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? Well, no mere man can. You know
that as well as I do. But the God-man can, and the
God-man does. The bread of life can give a
man complete satisfaction in the wilderness. of this world. Do I know anything about satisfaction? Are you satisfied? Now, in terms of myself, no. Not in any way, to any degree,
on any level am I satisfied with myself. And I shouldn't David
said in Psalm 1715, I'll be satisfied when I awake in thy likeness. And not before then. I'm not
satisfied with myself. But I am satisfied. I find infinite satisfaction
in having nothing and him being my all in salvation. I am satisfied. I'm not looking for anything
else. I don't want anything else. Now turn with me for a moment
to Romans chapter eight. Let me show you what I'm satisfied
with and I know I'm speaking as a spokesman for every believer
when I say this. Romans eight, verse 31. What shall we then say to these
things? And you know he's talking about
beginning in verse 28, we know that all things work together
for good. To them that love God, to them who are called according
to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. Whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. Now, what should we say then
to these things? If God before us, and I'm talking
about the omnipotent God, I'm talking about the sovereign God,
I'm talking about the all-wise, all-powerful, immutable God of
the Bible, the just God, the gracious God. If God be for us,
who can be against us? There's nothing to fear. Look
what verse 32 says. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all,
All he was delivered up for. How shall he not? What could possibly prevent him
from freely giving us all things? Now, there's nothing that can
prevent God from freely giving me all things because he's already
given his son. I find complete satisfaction in that. Verse 33, who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? What can you bring
against me? What charge can you make against
me? What accusation can you make against me? Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifieth. There's nothing that could be
laid to my charge. God has justified me. That means I have no sin.
That means I have no guilt. That means I've kept God's law
perfectly. No one can condemn me at all.
Look in verse 34. Who is he that condemneth? Here's
the only answer that's needed. It's Christ that died. It's Christ that died. Yea, rather, that is risen again. God accepted what he did. who
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us, who shall separate us from the love of Christ. Now,
do you find satisfaction in that? I do. I'm not looking for anything
else. Am I satisfied with myself? No,
no. But am I satisfied with the gospel?
Absolutely and amen. This is the bread that came down
from heaven. Now back to our text in Mark
chapter 8. Verse 4, from whence can a man
satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? And he
asked them, how many loaves have you? And they said, Seven. Now, seven is the number of perfection
and completion. The Lord used this number for
a reason. This is the number of perfection and completion. You see, we have a perfect, complete
gospel. That's why Paul said in Romans
1, 16, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Not only am
I not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, I'm proud of the gospel
of Christ. It's a gospel worthy of the Son
of God. It's a gospel worthy of God. It's a gospel that gives Him
all the glory. It's a gospel that honors every
attribute of God. Now, if you hear a message that
is inconsistent with any of the attributes of God, it's a false
message. It's not true. It's not real.
But the gospel honors every attribute of God and glorifies every attribute
of God. We're proud of this gospel, aren't
we? I'm not proud of myself. I'm not proud of anything about
me. Oh, I'm proud of the gospel. It's a gospel worthy of the glory
of God, it's the way that God has made a way to be just and
to justify the ungodly. And I'm more, oh, listen, that's
not just some kind of cliche phrase that we use, that's the
very heart and soul of the gospel, how God can be just and yet justify
the ungodly. Seven loaves, the number of perfection
and completion. Now, I'm satisfied with that.
I'm not looking for anything else. I am satisfied. This is the fourth beatitude,
actually. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness, they shall be filled, satisfied. And this is the satisfaction
of the gospel. Seven loaves, verse six. And he commanded the people to
sit down on the ground. Now, I love the way the Lord
operates. He doesn't ask them to sit down.
He commands them to. He doesn't offer them, if you
will sit down, then I will do this. He commands them to sit
down. Now, that's the preaching of
the gospel. And it's always down. It's always down. You know, I
had somebody write me in the last two or three months that
was objecting to particular redemption. And they were saying, God sets
food on the table for everybody. It's out there for anybody who
wants it, but it's up to you to take it. You know, I have
to say to that, baloney. Baloney. There's just no truth
in that. It's ridiculous. God doesn't offer anything. He says, sit down. the command
of irresistible and invincible grace. And you know what everybody
does that he gives that commandment to? They sit down. They sit down. They want to eat the bread of
his providing. This is really what is called
repentance. They sit down. They have a change
of mind about God. which leads to a change of mind
about themselves, and they sat down. He commanded them to sit
down. And then it says in verse six,
he took the seven loaves and gave thanks. You know, there's
something so powerful and majestic about the Lord Jesus Christ giving
thanks to his Father. Should we thank the Lord for
our food? He did. He thanked him for everything. I love that passage of scripture.
I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them to babes, even so, father, for so it seemed good in thy
sight." You know, I'm so satisfied with
that. If it's good in God's sight, it's good in my sight, too. I'm
satisfied. I'm not looking for anything
else. He took the seven loaves, and he gave thanks, and he break. Remember when he took the bread
and said, this is my body broken for you. This is the gospel of
Jesus Christ and him crucified. Now his breaking refers to his
death on Calvary's tree. I heard a man Very recently,
speaking of the death of Christ, and he was so accurate in giving
the descriptions of what Christ physically suffered. And what
Christ physically suffered is, it's a horrible thing. I mean,
it's bad, but to merely speak of the physical sufferings of
Christ and even give them in their gory details that make
people hurt to think that he hurt that much, that's not preaching
the cross. The preaching of the cross is
why he died. Why did he die? Because God purposed
for it to take place. It's the reason the universe
was created, the death of Christ on Calvary's tree. Why did he
die? Out of love for his father, in
obedience to him. Why did he die? Out of love to
his people. You know, it's gonna be my joy
through the ages to sing of his love for me. Why did he die? Because he's guilty. That's how
truly my sin became his sin. He literally became guilty of
the commission of those sins. The reason he didn't say anything
and kept his mouth closed? I know this. If I'm accused of
something and I didn't do it, I'm going to defend myself. Maybe
you shouldn't do that. Well, maybe I shouldn't, but
I know the way I am. And if you make an accusation against me
and I didn't do it, I'm going to defend myself. Why didn't
he defend himself? Guilty as charged. That's why he died. The wages
of sin is death. He had died to put away sin. Now once in the end of the world
hath he appeared to put away sin. I hope I can get hold of
this, but that sin that troubles me, it's already been put away.
It's gone. It is no more. He put it away. When he said, it is finished,
it was gone. It's no more. He died to glorify
his father and how completely he glorified his father. All
that bread was broken, wasn't it? And he gave it to his disciples
to set before them, and they did set them before the people. Isn't that the preaching of the
gospel? The feeding of the sheep, setting it before the people? Now look in verse seven. And they had a few small fishes. Like in the feeding of the 5,000,
they had five loaves and two small fishes, but here it says
they had a few small fishes. And he blessed and commanded
to set them also before them. Now why this add-on? Why this addition? You've got
the bread, but you also have the few small fishes. Now, if
you can't agree with me here, I think you'll agree with what
I'm saying, even though you don't experience this. Right now, at
any rate, right now, good fish is my favorite food. Now, you
might say it's not my favorite food. Well, OK, but it is mine.
As long as it's not overcooked. If it's overcooked, it's no good.
But as long as it's cooked right, a good piece of fish, tastes
so good. Bread tastes good, too, but fish
tastes even better. Here's the point. The gospel
tastes good. Now, fish might not be your favorite
food, but if you're a believer, you agree with me in principle.
The gospel tastes good. Come taste and see that the Lord
is gracious. and they had a few small fishes
and he blessed and commanded to set them also before them,
verse eight, so they did eat and were filled. And that's the same word in verse
four that's translated satisfied, satisfied. Now, one thing that
I have heard numerous times over the years in somebody's response
to the gospel is they say, there's got to be something more. There's got to be something more.
They found no satisfaction in the message. Well, I'm sorry
if you don't. I am. I'm sorry if you don't,
but I do. And so does every other believer.
We are satisfied. Colossians chapter 2 verses 9
and 10 says, in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily, and you are complete. You are filled to the full. You are satisfied in him. That's where the satisfaction
is, in Him. So they did eat, verse 8, and
were filled. From whence can a man satisfy these men with
bread here in the wilderness? Well, the God-man can. The God-man
does. So they did eat, and were filled,
And they took up of the broken meat that was left, seven baskets. There was more to eat at the
end than there was at the beginning. Seven full baskets. There was not only not a diminishing
of the food, after the feeding was over, there was more left
than when they started. You see, His mercy, His grace,
His favor is never exhausted. It's never extinguished. It's
never diminished. As James said in James chapter
4 verse 6, more grace. There is always more. If He gave you grace at all,
He'll continue to give you grace and it's not going to diminish
His store. It's not going to diminish Him
in any way. He giveth more grace. And they that had eaten were
about 4,000, and Matthew tells us that's not counting women
and children. So it was 10, 15,000 people. But here's what they all had
in common. Nothing to eat. That was the common denominator. And everyone that has nothing. He feels. Let's pray. Lord, in the name of Thy Son,
we ask that You take this message and cause it to benefit us and
cause us to feed on the Lord Jesus Christ and cause us to
be completely satisfied with Him. Lord, we know You're completely
satisfied with Him. And Lord, by Your grace, we are
completely satisfied with Him. In His blessed name we pray.
Amen.