Charlie Hughes - Take Him At His Work

Can you make some noise for Jesus? (audience cheering) Keep your hands going for the worship team. How great was that? Now a little bit more for yourselves because you made the Saturday night service your service. We thank you so much for that. It helps us out and you're brilliant because it's crazy here at Church by the Glades on a Sunday morning in the parking lot. It is a cheat code, it is a hashtag life hack. When you make the Saturday night service your service for yourself or us, thank you. Put your hands together for yourselves once more. We appreciate you so much. For those of me not know who I am, my name is Pastor Charlie Hughes. I have the honor of leading the young adult movement of this church called Rally for people between the ages of 18 and 30. And last Friday night we celebrated seven years of Rally, people, praise God. He's brought us this far and he's done so much in the last seven years by belief that the best days for Rally are still ahead. And thank you so much for investing in a ministry that many of you don't even get to go to. It's just for the young adults but you guys make a way for a party that you've never even been to, that you're not even invited to because

of it the next generation is encountering Jesus because of your sacrifice. So thank you so much for that and please keep doing what you're doing. You guys are the greatest. And I'm excited for what God wants to do this week and I believe that God has put a word on my heart for you. I believe that God wants to speak to you, that God wants to get all up in your stuff. And so I'm looking for the people at church by the glaze this weekend who came ready for a word from the Lord. Is there anybody that came looking to meet with Jesus? Like you're not here to go through the motions, you're here because you're expecting the King of King, the Lord, the Lord to do something for you. If that's you, put your hands together. I'm just curious, I wanna, okay, cool. I'll see you right there. I wanna start like this. Most of you probably know if you've been coming here for quite some time now that I have a younger brother named Zane. Zane is here today. Zane is 17 years old. Zane is a phenomenal young man. He's a great young preacher, but I have to be very careful to call Zane my younger brother and not my little brother because to call Zane my little brother would be a lie because my younger brother Zane is bigger than me.

Zane is like six foot two, he's six foot three. He literally looks down at me, which by the way is a very humbling thing for your little brother to be bigger than you. He is my little big brother, you can say. And not only that, but Zane is a very good basketball player before he really got into preaching. He was a real Hooper and he played for the City League. He played for Rec. He played for AAU. He played for his school. Like Zane is a real baller. And I never did any of that. But because Zane is my little big brother, my younger brother, my brain will not entertain the possibility that Zane could be better than me in any sport of any kind whatsoever. And that goes for the sport of basketball also. And so whenever Zane and I lace them up and decide to play a game of pick up basketball, I go into each and every single game, not only believing that I will beat him, but I go into every single game believing that I will absolutely destroy him. Which normally results in me being the one who gets absolutely destroyed and embarrassed and humiliated and words entering into my mind that do not need to come out of my mouth, be praying for your pastor. It is a cruel, ambitious, and annoying cycle.

I would probably do well and for sure lose less games of basketball to my little big brother Zane. If I would just take to heart the words of the great Maya Angelou who wrote, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them." Zane has shown me time and time again that he is a better basketball player than I. I ought to just believe him and stop playing him. But the question I want to ask you this weekend is when God shows you who he is, do you believe him? Because I believe I've come with an on-time word for you today because I don't know if you know this, but as of today, we are only 90 days away from 2027. 275 days of 2026 have died. 26 have gone by. But I believe that your God can make more happen in the 90 days left than you could ever make happen in 270 days and your own power and your own strength. And I believe that God wants to. It may seem like it's finished, but I don't think that God is finished just yet. And I think if you, in the remaining time that we have left in 2027, still want to see this year be everything that you came into this year thinking that it would be, then as you leave this place this weekend, not only must you be someone who takes God at his word, like not only must you be someone who uses this word as a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your pen. as a double-edged sword that is able to pierce through soul

and marrow and joy and spirit and able to judge the thoughts and infections of a heart because it is that and you should treat it this way, but not only should you be someone who takes God at his word, but I think you must leave this place today as someone who also takes God at his work. That's the title of my sermon today. The title of this sermon is Take Him At His Work. Somebody say Take Him At His Work. You gotta take Him at His work. I want you to understand that whenever God performs a miracle, whether it be in the Bible or in our own lives, that every miracle has meaning. Like miracles are not simply God's version of a magic trick that he chooses to perform, to entertain himself or impress others, no. God is much deeper than that. And so then miracles must also be much deeper than that, but rather whenever God puts his power on display in miraculous fashion, it's because he wants you and I to walk away with a greater understanding of who he is and what it is that he is able to do. I can say it like this, whenever God performs a miracle, whether it's in our own lives or in the Bible, he's not just trying to transform something, he's also trying to teach us something. And so then whenever we see God do something amazing, like I said, whether it be in our own lives or in the Holy Scriptures, we ought to ask some follow-up questions such as what was God's purpose

for performing this? Like why to God was it worth Him going out of His way to do this? In other words, what is God trying to teach me about Him through this? And we definitely ought to ask these questions whenever we come across a miracle as significant as the one we're going to study tonight, which I might mention is the only miracle apart from the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ that is mentioned in all four gospels which should tell us that it's pretty important. Open up your Bible some Mark chapter six, Mark chapter six. Because in Mark chapter six, we find Jesus being reunited with His disciples after they spent a period of time away from Him performing miracles with power that Jesus had given them. That's a very important detail. They were doing miraculous things like freeing people from sickness and impure spirits with power that Jesus had given them to do so. But now they're back with Jesus and they're reporting to Jesus about all the miraculous things they did with the power that Jesus had given them. When we're told, we read in Mark chapter six, that a crowd of thousands finds them and wants Jesus to begin teaching them. And so Jesus does and He spends hours all day long teaching this crowd of thousands of people, no doubt saying some of the most mind-blowing

and amazing things because after all it was Jesus preaching. He's the greatest preacher ever. When we're told that Jesus' disciples after this long day of teaching come up to Jesus and say, "Yo, Jesus, you gotta send these people away so they can get themselves something to eat." And in verse 37, Jesus' response is disciples. In Mark chapter six by saying this, "You give them something to eat." Then they said to Him, "But Jesus, that would take more than half a year's wages. Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" Then Jesus asked, "How many loaves do you have go and see?" When they found out, they said, "Okay, Jesus, we have five loaves, somebody say five loaves, and two fish." Somebody say two fish. Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties and taken the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were completely satisfied. And the disciples picked up 12 basketballs of broken pieces of bread and fish.

The number of men who had eaten was 5,000. Now let's not overcomplicate this. The most obvious purpose of this miracle was of course to feed 5,000 hungry people. But track with me, if Jesus can use five loaves and two fish to feed 5,000 people, then I think Jesus can also use one miracle to serve multiple purposes. And I think Jesus also wanted this miracle to serve the purpose of educating His disciples. Because notice, it was not a representative from the thousands of hungry people, but Jesus owned disciples who came to Jesus and said, yo, J, you gotta send these people away so they can get themselves something to eat. And what did Jesus say? overwhelming thing to unexpectedly be told to do. To serve 5,000 hungry people dinner without knowing that you're going to have to do so beforehand. You can tell how stressed out Jesus' disciples are in the scene based on how they act. They do quick math. They're like 5,000 divided by carry the Jesus. That would take more than half a year's wages. And so Jesus says back to them, fine. It's not like I've been teaching all day or anything. But I'll feed them. Go search among the crowd, scrape together some food, and tell me what I have to work with. And after searching among the crowd, all Jesus' disciples,

managed to scrape together, was five measly loaves and two pathetic fish. And another gospel gives the detail that they got these five loaves and two fish from a little boy. So essentially, they handed Jesus a first century lunchable to work with, a holy happy meal, if you will. And from this, somehow, someway Jesus managed to feed 5,000 people. Because little is much when God is in it. And I think Jesus was trying to educate his disciples and teach his disciples the lesson that he was a God, is a God, who can do anything, anything, anything, anything. And this was a lesson that Jesus' disciples needed to learn. Because they would not have been panicking when they heard that 5,000 people needed feeding, if they actually really, truly believed that Jesus could do anything. Because hear me, nothing is worth your panic when you really believe that Jesus has all power. Up to this point, Jesus' disciples knew that he at least had some power. Because remember, Jesus had recently given them some power to do miraculous things, like free people of sickness and free people of impure spirits. But although they knew that Jesus had the power to free, based on how they act in this scene with all these hungry people, I don't think they also knew that Jesus had the power to feed. And so Jesus took five loaves and two fish and made it into enough food to feed 5,000 people. I believe to also show His disciples, not only can I free,

but I can feed and I can do every little thing in between. I am a God who can do anything. And this is the same truth that I want to get in your heart this weekend. Because we should not confine Jesus' miracle-working ability to a certain miracle-working category if we really believe that He is a God who can do anything. We ought not think about God's power, like how we think of other sources of power. All gas does not work for all cars, but our God works for all circumstances. All chargers don't work for all phones, but our God make no mistake, He works for all problems. Gas has its limits, chargers have their limits, solar has its limits, electricity has its limits, but our God has no limits. Our God has a one-size-fits-all kind of power, because His power works for all different kinds of situations, circumstances, headaches, heartbreaks, struggles, struggles, fears, frustrations. Because our God can do anything. Do you know what your God can do? Your God, He can heal sickness, but also He can fill stomachs. Your God can do anything. Your God, He can calm raising storms, but also He can calm raising mines. Your God can do anything. Your God, He can break addictions, but also He can cast out demons. Your God, He can do anything.

Your God, He can do the obviously supernatural, but He also can just help you with the parts of life that are ordinary, but difficult. Your God, He can do anything. And this message of your God being able to do anything to you likely won't mean anything if you're not going through anything. But if I have some people, a church by the Glades, who have some problems that find faith in the fact that your God has all power, put your hands together for your God right about now. Your God can do somebody say with me anything. And because Jesus has power, period, full stop, you and I need to have faith, period, full stop. Because Jesus can do anything, you and I need to have faith for everything, everything, everything, everything. Because whenever Jesus does something new in your life, whenever Jesus gives you a new breakthrough, He's trying to also give you a new baseline for you to build your faith Your God wants to take you from glory to glory, to strength to strength. He wants you to always be growing in your understanding and revelation of who he is and what it is that he's able to do and I'll prove it to you. Because how many basketballs of leftovers did it read that the disciples had after Jesus performed this miracle? Twelve, thank you. And how many disciples did Jesus have? Twelve, which means every single one of Jesus' disciples who did not know how they were gonna feed these thousands

of people to begin with would have left with their own personal basket full of more than enough that came from the not enough they gave Jesus to begin with that way they would have with them evidence proof leftovers of the fact that Jesus can't do anything next time they would need him to do anything for him once again and actually they would have these left overswith them the next time they would need a miracle. The story continues in the very next verse verse 45 with this it reads this that immediately then after he fed all these people Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him the best seeder while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them he went up on a mountain side to pray. Later that night the boat was in the middle of the lake that the disciples were in and Jesus was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them walking on the lake. I'm sorry I don't know about you but I've never seen anyone before casually just walk on a lake. Jesus is walking on water right now. He's walking on the lake and casually he was about to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the lake because these disciples too had never seen someone before walk on a lake they thought that Jesus was a ghost and they cried out because they all saw him and were terrified immediately he spoke to them and said

take courage, it is I. It's me, it's Jesus. Don't be afraid. Then he climbed into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely amazed and verse 52 was weird because it says, for they had not understood about the loaves. What, I'm sorry for they've not understand about them. What does bread have to do with Jesus walking on water? Everything because Jesus walking on water is just a different display of the same power that made the bread they had in the boat with them. And if they really would have learned from Jesus feeding the 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish that Jesus could do anything then they would not have been surprised in the boat when they saw Jesus walking on the lake doing anything once again. But because of the storm going on all around them they forgot about the bread they had in the boat with them. But before we judge them, let's be honest with ourselves because how often do we find ourselves living in the leftovers of yesterday's miracle yet still lacking faith for today? How often do we find ourselves living in the overflow of God's last display of power yet still feeling overwhelmed by life's precious? This is why whenever you find yourself in your own metaphorical proverbial storm in this life, feeling scared and sick, whatever you do, don't forget the bread.

Somebody look at somebody else that you came here with and tell them, don't forget the bread. Don't forget the bread. Don't forget the bread. Hasn't your mama ever told you before? You gotta eat bread when you feel sick because bread unlike any other food really has this uncanny ability to soak up whatever in your stomach that is irritating it's. I want you to believe me. It will be the bread in your life. The memories and mementos you have from miracles that God's performed in your life in the past things that God has done for you before as you choose to feed on it by calling it to mind and consciously telling yourself to remember it that will cause your belief to soak up your unbelief, that will cause your belief to soak up your panic, that will cause your faith to soak up your fear and will even cause problems that shouldn't mean your death to be soaked up, swallowed up as the Bible would say in victory. was Wonder Bread. Because it was supposed to be the bread that would keep them from wondering in fear, how are we gonna get out of this? And keep them wondering in faith, how is Jesus going to get us out of this this time? It was supposed to be the bread that would keep them living with faith. But can we really say that Jesus can do anything

if he can't do anything at any time? This is why I think Jesus shows in the middle of the night, in the thick of the dark with a storm raging and wind blowing and thunder roaring and waves crashing to walk out on the lake to his disciples. Because if Jesus has the power to do anything, then this goes for even in the storms of life too. This means even when things seem dark too. This goes for when you can't tell your way up from your way down to because listen to me, Jesus perfect power does not need perfect conditions. The storm that you fear you will drown in. Jesus, he walks through. The waves that make you panic, they are the pavement under his feet. Jesus does not have to wait for storms to stop in order for him to start. I'm trying to tell someone at church by the glaze tonight, not only can your God do anything, but your God can do anything and at any time too. Even when the doctor says it's too late, your God can still heal. Even when the marriage seems over, your God can still restore. Even when the dream seems dead, your God can still resurrect. I'm trying to tell somebody tonight, it's not over until Jesus says that it's over. Somebody give God some praise in this place tonight.

Wake up church by the glaze. But if you forget the bread, what God has done for you in the past, that he wanted to encourage your faith. If you don't remember it and feed on it and call to mind what God has done for you before, then not only will you lack the faith you need for the next thing and the new thing that God wants to do for you, but you will even find yourself in the same old situation that God has helped you out in before, wondering if he can do it again. I'm not just making this up. I'm not just hypothesizing. No, this happens in the disciples because just two chapters after Jesus fed these 5,000 people, just two chapters after the disciples, once again, do you know this, found themselves, once again with thousands of mouths of feed, except this time it wasn't 5,000, it was just 4,000. And instead of having five loaves and two fish, this time they had seven loaves and a few fish, meaning more than three. In other words, they had less mouths of feed and more food to feed them with, and yet still they don't just immediately say to Jesus, "Jesus, how do you plan to prepare the bread "in the fish this time?" No, but if you go to Mark chapter eight, beginning in verse one, through verse four, it reads this.

Now, once again, here it is, during those days, another large crowd gathered and since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples and said to them, "I have compassion for these people. "They have already been with me for three days "and they've had nothing to eat. "If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way "because some of them have come a long distance. "But in verse four, his disciples answer him. "But where in this remote place can anyone "get enough bread to feed them? "They're in the same situation. "They were in just two chapters earlier "and yet still they lack faith." And notice this time, Jesus doesn't even initially put the pressure of the miracle on them like he did the first time. The first time Jesus said to them, "You feed them." This time he said, "I have compassion for these people." It makes me wonder what situation in your life you're feeling the pressure of because you're thinking that you're gonna have to be the one to do God's job. I'm not telling you tonight and you guys can start playing to make me sound more spiritual. It feels better, doesn't it? I'm not telling it tonight to have a lazy faith. A faith that just says about anything and everything, even things that are within your control.

God will do it. God will handle it because actually oftentimes God won't do what you can't do until you do what you can do. It's oftentimes after you bring your best that then God will do the rest. I'm not telling it to have a lazy faith that just says about everything. God will handle it. God will do it. and made away last time after you did all that you can do, then the logical thing to know the logical thing to believe is that actually God will come through. Because if he can and will do it again, our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Our God is faithful. He's proven that to you. You don't have a lazy faith, but do have a learning faith, but I'll give Jesus disciples this credit. They said, Jesus, this time is from last time in that last time when we were in a good area, this time we're in a remote place. Somebody say a remote place. In other words, a far-off place, a hard-to-reach place, a place where getting the ingredients necessary for this miracle would be quite difficult. Which is kind of valid. It makes sense to me. It's a good excuse. It's what I would say if they did not have Jesus with them. Because church by the glaze I hope you know. It does not matter if you are facing a different situation, if you still have with you the same Jesus. It does not even matter if you're in a remote place. Because what is a remote place to a God that has remote control. I think this is why once again Jesus performed this creative miracle and made enough food to feed these thousands of people this way. He would give us disciples yet another experience of his power that this time hopefully would leave them with no more excuses. Because if Jesus can perform a miracle even like this, even from a place like that, then oh, this must mean that not only is he a God who can do anything and not only is he a God who can do anything at any time, but he must be a God who can do anything at any time in anywhere also. If there is anything that God wants to do for you or get to you, he can do it for you and he can get it to you even there. It doesn't matter where you are. It doesn't matter who's looking. It doesn't matter who's

watching because the Bible would say it this way. The earth is the Lord's in everything in it. In other words, everywhere you step your foot and everywhere you lay your head is Jesus' jurisdiction. Jesus can operate and he can move and he can work among any audience in any atmosphere. Biblical scholars actually believe that the first feeding, the feeding of the 5,000, was an audience of Jews. In other words, AKA people who believed in God. But the second feeding, the feeding of the 4,000, was among an audience of Gentiles. In other words, AKA people who did not believe in God. But this just goes to show and I hope this encourages somebody tonight. The at church by the glades among his friends and his fans is not the only place where God can work. But God can work at your school. God can work at your job. God can work at your gym. God can work at your grocery store. God can work when you're sick in the hospital room. God can meet you when you can't sleep in your bedroom. God can meet you when you're crying on the floor of your bathroom. But God definitely can. And God definitely will meet you in this room. Because I don't know what your Bible says, but my Bible says whenever two or three or more God's people together together. There he is with them. The atmosphere is set for the impossible to take place. But understand and be seated that you don't even have to wait to be in the presence of others to experience the presence of God. Because from his own mouth Jesus says that he will leave the 99 to go after the one that is lost. And understand there would be no need for Jesus to go after the one if the one was already close to him. I'm trying to tell you tonight that Jesus can meet you in a remote place. I don't know you. I don't know your story. I don't know the things you've done. I don't know the decisions you regret. I don't know the worst sins you've committed. But maybe you're here tonight and because you know the things you've done. And you know the different regrets you have. You've been listening to me thinking that this message is for everyone else but you. Because the things you've done and the decisions you make you believe they put you spiritually in a remote place. In a far off place. A place where you're just too far from Jesus to love you. last year i had the opportunity to travel to south africa and while i was there i got to go on a safari and it was an amazing experience and i learned on the safari that there's something called the big five five animals that if you see them on your safari man you had an amazing safari in the big five they are the elephant the rhino the leopard the lion and this last one surprised me

the cape buffalo because before going on the safari maybe like you i'd never seen a cape buffalo before but i saw one on the safari and i got to tell you it was the most massive monstrous muscular animal i'd ever seen in my life like i'm telling you that this thing had traps people it was huge and they're mean it was the one animal in particular on the safari that our tour guide warned us if we come across what we got to stay still and silent because if we make too much of a commotion and my charge the jeep i could not i washed a cape buffalo with my own two eyes charged and elephant they are crazy and this one cape buffalo we saw it had these massive long horns and they were scarred at all these dans and scratches and no doubt from different fights this buffalo had been in with different animals in the past and as i'm looking at and admiring this cape buffalo my south african friend ruhan leaned over to me and he said those scars tell the story and i'm sure that the scars of the horns of this cape buffalo do tell the story of like i said the different fights this buffalo had been in with different animals in the past but i know scars that tell a greater story because jesus christ has some scars too and his scars they don't tell a war story they tell a love story of the great length his great love was willing to go for you his great love went this great length for you left heaven and came to earth for you became a man for you lives 33 years of a perfect life for you at the end of those 33 years jesus out of his love for you and me died on a cross for you dying a death you deserved in your place so that way if you place your faith in him as job 316 tells whoever places their faith and will not have to perish but can inherit and experience everlasting life with him forever what i'm trying to say to you is the reason why i share this story and say all that is the fact that jesus love was willing to go this great length for you is what means that you can never find yourself too far from him his love has already traveled a greater distance than you could ever find yourself in him hear me where you are does not change who god is he is the god who loves you he is a god who will always love you he is the god who will never stop loving you and his love meets you where you are tonight even in the remote place you believe you find yourself and wherever his love goes they're his power follows we observe that in his story jesus had love compassion for these thousands of people and then his power fed them hear me tonight jesus love it will meet you in your place of sin but his power will take you to a place of forgiveness jesus love will meet you in your place of shame but his power can take you to a place of grace jesus love will meet you in your brokenness but his power will take you to a place

of wholeness this message it is for you too he's a god who can do anything at any time anywhere but get this for anyone even that's even now even here for even you no one is too far from our god so with every head bowed and every eye closed if this was the encouragement that this was the reminder that your head that your heart needed tonight maybe you've been facing an impossible situation and tonight you want to have the faith to believe that it's not over until jesus says that it's over or maybe you're here and you've really been having a hard time recently believing that jesus really does love you it really does desire a relationship with you and that the grace you hear he's extended towards others it is for you too with every head bowed and every eye closed would you raise your hand high enough for me to see race hands the different headaches different heartaches the different struggles the different troubles the problems that feel bigger than ourselves but God we trust in this moment that you're bigger than even our biggest problems so God right now what do you prove to be the all-powerful God that you are and God as we give you our best God as we do all that we can do God would you show up and do what only you can do by exercising the power you have to do anything by exercising the power you have to do anything at any time but exercising the power you have to do anything at any time and anywhere in God would you prove to have love for anyone. God I pray Lord over the hands that represent regret. God I pray Lord over the hands that represent hidden sin. God I pray Lord in this moment that people will just become so convinced of your love that they would have no choice once I say amen but to come to the front of the stage pray with a prayer partner and give their life to you. Lord we love you God we praise you Jesus we thank you in advance for the impossible things that you're going to do in our lives we're having the faith for it it's in Jesus name we pray together amen.