Change The World With Dinner
From the message “Change The World With Dinner” by Philip McCallum (Lead Pastor) on January 21st, 2024.
It’s easy to see the troubles in our world. Just turn on the news, scroll on social media, or listen to any political candidate, and you’ll come face to face with our difficulties as a society.
All of this information can lead to greater compassion, but it can also lead to total paralysis. After all, what am I supposed to do about problems so large when I feel so small? It’s completely overwhelming.
No one’s made a greater impact on humanity than Jesus did. How did He do it? He obviously did a lot, but there’s only 1 miracle (aside from His resurrection) that is recorded in all 4 gospels: the feeding of the 5,000.
What if He knew a secret? What if, like Him, we could change the world with dinner?
The Dinner That Changed Everything
Immediately before this vital moment, Jesus experienced a profound loss: His cousin, John the Baptist, had just been executed. He was processing this grief and if there was ever a time He wanted to be alone, it was then. Instead, thousands of people found Him. Here’s how Matthew described it:
13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
When Jesus landed and saw them, He had compassion and met their needs. The disciples, however, had a very different feeling and instead urged Jesus to send them away.
So often, we have the urge to do the same thing and “send the crowds away” by putting outreach last. Maybe, like the disciples, we feel overwhelmed and unequipped by the magnitude of the task. Maybe, we feel like we’re not healthy enough to help others. Maybe we just don’t want to because it’s uncomfortable
Jesus shows us a different way. He shows us that there is a love that takes us beyond ourselves. He could have sent the crowds away and dealt with His own loss, but instead, He embraced them, met their needs, and led others to do the same.
If you’ll let Him, He can do that same work in you.
A Culture That Can Change The World
The feeding of the 5,000 teaches us so much about Jesus’ heart for people. It also teaches us the kind of culture that can change the world. That culture is encapsulated by these four essential elements:
1 - HOSPITALITY to connect them to Jesus
Isn’t it interesting that a meal is the one miracle repeated in all 4 gospels? It wasn’t restoring sight to the blind, casting out demons, or even raising someone from the dead. It was giving food to strangers.
“They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
Sharing a meal is the most effective way to reach people for eternity. We’ve seen this throughout church history. The first Christians shared their faith over a meal, which we still do today.
Whether it be in a home, a church, a coffee shop, or the breakroom at work - meals are a powerful space to change lives that you can use to welcome people.
2 - LISTENING to draw them to Jesus
When you share a meal with someone, it provides for a very basic need. It also gives you the space to share stories, learn about one another, and build relationships. This is what Jesus did:
“Bring them here to me,” he said.
Things have to be brought close to Jesus to be changed.
Here’s an easy way to do that with people Don’t tell people what you believe, ask people what they believe. If you resist the temptation to correct them and instead focus on understanding them, something will change. It will open them up to you in a new way so that when they finally ask you what you believe, they’re willing to hear it.
It’s been said that listening to someone feels so much like loving them that the average person can’t tell the difference. Don’t focus on being heard; focus on hearing them.
3 - INCLUDING to belong and then believe
Most people need to feel that they belong before they can believe. Unfortunately, in most churches you must believe first and then you’re allowed to belong.
Think about how the disciples included a little boy in this miracle:
“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.”
It seems simple, but it reveals something profound about how Jesus works. He allows us to participate and bring whatever we have to him so that He can bless it beyond our own capacity. He includes us so we can include others.
We’ve seen people come, participate, and even help out before crossing the threshold of faith. Through that inclusion, they finally put their faith in Jesus and were baptized. Imagine if we had held them back because they didn’t believe.
This requires a shift from an "Us and Them" mindset. Instead, we see everyone as equals with some kind of relationship or awareness of God. That can allow you to relax and be normal when you have conversations with non-believers.
4 - DEPENDENCE on the Holy Spirit
Jesus Himself depended on the Holy Spirit. He demonstrated this in the way that He multiplied the loaves and fishes:
“Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.”
So often, Jesus does what He does as an example to us. This case is no different. He’s showing us what is possible when we depend on the Holy Spirit in our own lives.
This can totally transform the way you approach evangelism. Rather than being uptight, memorizing formulas, or holding a sign on the road you can relax and ask the Holy Spirit to help prepare the people you’re going to speak with. When you become the Holy Spirit’s partner, it takes a lot of pressure off of you and is far more fruitful because you start speaking to people that He is already drawing.
All of this requires a deeper dependence on the Holy Spirit in your everyday life. This can only be fostered through your own private prayer and devotional life. This private devotion is the source of public power.
It’s Your Turn to Change The World
Jesus changed the world with a meal. His disciples and followers since then have too. Now, it’s your turn.
Not all of us can get on a plane to fly across the world and solve the problems we see on the news. However, each of us can change our own sphere of influence by applying the culture of hospitality, listening, including, and dependence.
If every one of us does this, it will bring meaningful and dramatic change to our world - one person at a time.
