Is It Enough? - Pastor Sam Simoes - August 02, 2026

Pastor Sam Simoes message for Sunday August 02, 2026. 

Welcome to the Northwest Church of the Nazarene podcast, where we share the heart of our church’s mission: discovering and engaging in a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ through inspired worship and intentional ministry. Each episode brings you sermons, insights, and messages that challenge and encourage spiritual growth. Whether you are part of our diverse, multicultural church family, or listening in for the first time, you’ll find a community that loves Jesus and welcomes everyone with open arms. Join us online at nwnaz.org or in person in Columbus Ohio, as we journey together toward a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Jesus and each other. 

Transcript

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Every Sunday at Northwest Church of the Nazarene in Columbus, Ohio, a congregation is challenged to grow spiritually. This podcast shares the sermons, insights, and messages that encourage our congregation to mature spiritually.

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Well, today we're going to be talking about a beautiful passage that we may all have been familiar with. And we're starting a new series called Kingdom People. We're going to learn how to be kingdom people. Now, I don't know if you ever cleaned your garage, but every time I clean my garage, I find things that I can't identify. I wonder, I wonder how how I got this. You know, it's an odd-shaped piece of wood. And then I think, oh, wait a minute. I may have found this and thinking, oh, I may need it sometime, someday, and then I just put it aside. I don't know if it happens with you, but it happens with me. And I have a lot of junk, a lot of things in my garage that have no purpose or no value or anything useful for it, but I have it just because it's part of one day I may need it. And one time my father-in-law came over and and stay with us, and as he went down to the basement, he saw a light bulb with a sharpie uh word written on it, bad, replace. And he saw that light bulb, picked it up, went all the way back, and came to me holding that light bulb and saying, What's wrong with you, boy? And I said, What do you mean? He said, You had is this a bad bulb? It's like, Yeah. Why'd you write bad on it? Why don't you just throw it away? I said, Well, I just kept it over there just to remind me to pick it up. He goes, When when did you put it there? I don't know, about a year ago. So you have a bad light bulb that you wrote bad on it. Yeah? He goes, You make no sense, boy. That's what he told me. And even today he he teases me about it because like you're still writing bad when you have a bad light bulb rather than throwing it away. So sometimes we do things that make very little sense to anyone else, and sometimes to the world, but we we gather things and we have things that for us has a not a lot of value, and we just keep adding junk and wondering, is it ever enough? Well, today we're gonna be talking about is what I have enough? Do I need more? Do I need to provide more? Do I need to do more? Or is it what I have enough? And we're gonna be looking into a story written uh uh about Jesus following one of the toughest days of his life. His cousin, his friend, his companion John has been uh killed, and Jesus just hears the news, and his heart's broken, as we can imagine, uh hearing about someone that's very, very dear, very close to us that we grew up with. So Jesus' heart is broken, and he wants to go into solitude, and he goes into a place where he just wants to be alone. There are times that we mourn differently, and there's times that we just want to be by ourselves, other times we just want to be with people, but whatever situation it is, we come before God that he may come and just console and heal our hearts, and this is exactly what happened. Jesus went away to just mourn that very, very difficult loss, and the pain that he experienced was a powerful pain. But we're going to see how and what happened. So if you stand with me as we open our Bibles and the Word of the Lord, as we consider what he has in store for us, as we hear what he has for our hearts, uh in the book of Matthew, chapter 14. We're gonna read verses 13 to 21, and and we're gonna uh read this passage that is uh uh spoken and and and referenced in different parts of the Bible. Thus said the word of the Lord. When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by both privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As 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. Jesus replied, They don't need to go away. You give them something to eat. Well, we have here only five loaves of bread and two fish, they answered. Well, bring them here to me, he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. Father, we thank you for your word. And even though if we grew up in a church, we may have heard this passage, we pray that you still speak to us, that you still transform us, that you still minister to our hearts. And Father, today I pray that as we look into becoming more and more kingdom people, that you become more and more our God and our everything. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. We find in this passage a miracle, but this is a miracle that God used for his glory, a miracle that that over 5,000 people, or 5,000 men, and there's more women and children, were a witness of this miracle. But the importance is not the miracle, is the significance of that miracle for us today. And but before I talk about the miracle, I want to see what is the Lord speaking to us? What is God telling us today? And what we see is that it begins with the power of surrender. Once the disciples recognized that they were hungry and that the crowds were hungry, they came to Jesus and said, Jesus, the crowds are hungry. Send them away so they can buy their own food. And Jesus said, Well, you don't need to send them away. And then he said, You take care of that. And they said, Well, we don't know how to do this. All we have is these five five loaves and two fish. And as they come before Jesus, they surrendered what they had, and Jesus was able to use that for his glory. A couple years ago, I went to Nashville with with a few pastors, and and as we were traveling uh around Nashville, uh, some of us played guitar, and we went to this very uh nice guitar shop that had vintage guitars, and they had guitars behind a locked vault, and they were worth over a hundred thousand dollars. One of them was worth over $200,000, and they were beautiful guitars, and I loved a beautiful guitar. And when I was looking at those guitars, and I'm wondering, wow, the history, and and they were played by very famous, famous musicians, and that's why they were so expensive, and not just the quality, but who played them. I just saw at that guitar and thinking, how amazing must be to play that guitar. And then as I walked around, I saw a lot of guitars, and they're all inside of a case. And I don't know if you're familiar with guitar cases, but guitar cases are made to keep guitars protected. Guitar cases are made to keep guitars without safely to transport them, and so they are not scratched or broken, and they're pretty sturdy and they're pretty strong. And the case is meant to protect the guitar, but the value and the beauty of the guitar is not the case, it's the guitar. So when we open a case and we see the beautiful guitar, we're able to see, you know, the beautiful wood, the beautiful finishes, and the and the beautiful, and the few uh the beautiful varnish. And also we get to see the craftsmanship, the attention that was made. We get to see who made it. There's there's the signature in there. There's we get to see so much about this guitar, and it's a beautiful thing to see. It's a it's a piece of art. But it wasn't made to be looked at, it wasn't made to be appreciated by the beauty of the of the craftsmanship. It was made with a purpose. And what is that purpose that this guitar was made for? To be played. So when you when you play, you and you hear this beautiful sound, and if you plug it in, you can give it to the hands of a very, very capable person, and they can take this instrument, this beautiful piece of art, and worship God and make music and sing and elevate and fulfill the true purpose of a guitar. But the guitar first has to surrender the case, has to surrender the protection, has to surrender the comfort, has to surrender the safety to be used, and once it's out of the case, he has to surrender the control of its beauty and to be taken care of by the hands of the musician. And this is what God is doing. Sometimes for us to recognize the miracle and recognize what God is is asking, we have to surrender our safety. We have to surrender the things that that we we want sometimes. We don't want to be scratched, we don't want to have hurt, we don't want to be broken. And when we are out of the case, it feels like we're a little bit naked. I know that we were made with a different purpose, but we even when we are out of the case, we're not just made to be shown behind uh closed glass, we were made to be used by God. So when Jesus is before this crowd, when Jesus is speaking to this crowd, and the disciples come and say, Hey, they're hungry. Jesus, instead of saying, Well, let's put them back into safety, let's them put them back into a place where they don't get hurt. He looks at the disciples and teach them, and he teaches them something very interesting. He says, You feed them. He didn't say, Let me take care of this. He didn't say, Well, let me let me figure out something, let me just make a miracle, and everyone just feels right now that they're full. He said, You feed them, and when they recognized that, they said, Wait a minute, I don't know what to do. You know, the logistics don't work here. All we have is these five loaves and two fish. I have to surrender my ability to fix things. I have to surrender my my ability and recognize that there is nothing I can do. I am completely at loss to this request. All we have is this five loaves and two fish. So the miracle began with Jesus saying, You feed them, and then when they when Jesus said, You bring it to me, both of them were surrender. You surrender your ability and you surrender your your um your possessions, your resources. So they surrendered their ability and then they surrendered their resources. And when we look at our lives and think, instead of logistics, I'm gonna let God take care of that. I'm going to have the Lord be taking care of the miracle. He's not asking us to be to do the miracle, he's just asking us to give and to do what we already have. So the question today that Jesus asked the disciples is what is it that we already have? What do we have? What do we own? What do we possess that he can use? You see, we constantly, and when we think of that question, we constantly, you know, believe that we don't have enough. Oh, I just wish I had more money and I'll be doing more, I'd be giving more. I wish I had more time and I'll be using it more. I wish I had more resources and I'll be using them. I wish I had more talent, then I would be using that. I wish I had more availability, then I would be using that. I wish I had more, then I could use it for God. So we ask God for resources so we can use them. We ask God for more for more volunteers so God can use them. We ask God for more so we can use them. And what Jesus said is like, what can I give you? What he asked was, What is it that you already have? It's not about what I can give you, it's what you already have that I can do a miracle with. But in our minds, we just keep asking God for things. Say, God, can you can I have this? If I have this, I will if I had a million dollars, oh, I will do so much for your kingdom. And the Lord asks, what do you already have that you can use for the kingdom? What is it that you're in your hands? What is it that you already possess that I can do something amazing with? Because if you have a million dollars, yes, you can feed this crowd. You can actually have a very nice meal for this crowd, but that will take away God's power, that will take away God's presence, that will take away God's compassion, that will take away God's movement, and will take away the miracle. Because the miracle is when we have very little and God can make much. So we don't look at what what is it that I can have, so I'll do, is that what do I have now that God can use? See, the problem is not the resources, the problem is not what we have, the problem is the underestimated obedience. The problem that we have is underestimated obedience, thinking, well, I can't do what God has asked me because I don't have enough, or I think I don't have enough. Five loaves and two fish cannot feed a crowd. It may feed one person, maybe two people, but not a crowd. And we're not talking about big fish, and we're not talking about massive loaves, we're just talking about a meal, a small meal. But yet God used what they had to make something amazing. Jesus just asked to bring what they had because he wanted them to participate, to to teach, to be a part of that moment. And they became became a part of what God was doing by surrendering what they had so God can use the little He had they had to do great and amazing things. But we think, oh, maybe you know, God will call me, God would ask me if I have the resources, if I am good enough, if I work hard enough, if I know what to do and how well to do. Are you great? Because if you're not great, I'm not gonna recruit you because we want to win over everything. No, the coach said, So you are not very familiar with with hockey. I'm gonna teach you how to do it. Now, dad could not teach him how to play hockey. Dad never played hockey, dad doesn't even know hockey, he never even grew up with watching hockey. So he had to listen to the coach, he had to hear the coach, and the coach equipped the boys and girls to play the game. He taught them, they didn't come in knowing how to play the game, they came in to learn. And when we think about our resources, God's not calling us just because we know how to do things, he's calling us so he can equip us, prepare us, teach us, disciple us. And we keep bringing this word discipling to our congregation because this is what God is equipping us to do, to disciple others, to teach others on how to be kingdom people. So when we see that God is calling us, not just because we we have all the requirements, all the specifications, all the needs, and all the things that we could ever accomplish, it's calling us to equip us, to prepare us, to build us up, to make us kingdom people. So we see that the power of surrender begins the miracle, but when we give what we already have, that then fulfills the miracle. So what are we to do? Well, we recognize that the miracle begins with availability. Hattie Mae Wyatt was a little girl who loved going to Sunday school, but she went to a church near her house and the room was a little bit crowded. And every time she'd go to Sunday school, they had very little space. So one day they went to the she went to the pastor and said, Pastor, and his name was uh Russell Conwell. So, Pastor Russ, I have a really hard time going into this crowded uh Sunday school room. Can you help me? And he said, Well, honey, we don't have a big enough church and a big enough room to accommodate your Sunday school. Uh but one day God's gonna give us the money and we will be able to do that. So she went home and decided to start saving her money. And this is in the mid to late 1800s, so she started taking a penny by penny. And as she was starting to gather money and start making her own collection for this new room that she felt God was going to provide, she became very ill. And unfortunately. Passed away. Pastor Cromwell was asked to come and do his funeral her funeral. And as he prepared the funeral, he spoke with her mother, and her mother said, I want to give you something, Pastor. This is the money that little Hattie has collected for that Sunday school room. And gave him 57 cents. Which is not a shabby amount in 1886. But those 57 cents, the pastor picked it up and said, you know what? I want to share this story. So he went to the bank and gathered 57 dime and uh pennies. 57 different pennies. And he shared the story at the funeral. And following, he sold each penny that she had given for money, and he gathered $250. In 1886, that's a lot of money. And with that money, they were able to purchase a house. And they began teaching Sunday school, but during the day they began to teach classes, university classes, and they called it the Temple College. Well, there is a society called the Wyatt Might Society who decided to continue with Hattie's work and trying to raise funds. And of all the 57 pennies that were sold, 54 came back. So they displayed those 54 pennies and asked people to continue with Hattie's legacy. And that house then began teaching classes, but then it uh over overran with with people, so they needed another house, and they started having other buildings and purchasing other buildings, and the Temple College became what is known today as Temple University. But the ministry kept going, they kept asking for people to look into this story and continue to be faithful. And people saw that story about her faithfulness, and they were faithful, and they built Samaritan's Hospital, which is Temple University Hospital today. And they continued to raise funds, and then they built a 3,500-seat temple. Why? Because it's not what we have. Use what I have, use my resources, use my heart, use my self for his glory. So it begins. So this is when we have an active cooperation with God. We trust him in what God can do with us and through us. And that is what's going to bring not only the miracles, but the transformation in our lives. When we say, Lord, I want for you to use me. Whatever I have, whatever abilities I have, whatever I can do for your kingdom, I want you to use them, to use me. I am not waiting until I have what I think I need. I am letting you use what I have now. Because what that does, it allows us to participate in the gift. And the disciples participated in this miracle by finding food, by bringing food, by obeying, and by completely surrendering what they had before God. So we participate in the gift. We participate in the gift. Now, if we look into those words, we see a very interesting, you know, looks like a scribble, but that's the Greek word didomi. Now, didomi is uh a word that means to give, to bestow, to bless someone with, to transfer someone something without asking anything in return. So it's it's it's the word gift, didomi. But the word that is in this passage when Jesus speaks to the disciples, is the word date. And date is not the word giving, is you give. You yourself give someone, you provide, you take care of this. It wasn't Jesus saying, You trust me, is you take care of this. And when they realized they couldn't, that's when God took care of that. And if you have been a part of a church for a few years or or all your life, uh we have a modern case of a miracle of the 5,000 with potlucks. Have you noticed that you prepare one small dish and you bring it to the church, and often you go back with a little bit left over? It's a modern-day potluck, it's a modern-day miracle of feeding 5,000. Because if we have 200 people, or if we have 100 people, or if we have 50 people, and we come to the potluck and we bring our dish, it somehow feeds a lot of people. And the more people that bring, the more it feeds. And we recognize that it's not the amount of food that we bring, is our willingness. And I believe that God multiplies because logistically it makes no sense that 50 people can eat out of five dishes. I I think that is a miracle. And I think it's a miracle that many of us don't get sick afterwards, but but I'm not saying telling on anyone, but and that doesn't happen in this church. But when we talk about potluck, and when we know about a church potluck, it's like a miracle. We just bring a little, and that little becomes a part of something greater. And God multiplies that. So didumai, which means to give, is to surrender something from what we have and to give to someone. And when we participate in that gift, God really blesses. So God's invitation, Jesus' invitation to the disciples, was an invitation to the wonder, to the provision, to the compassion, to the moment of a miracle. An invitation, you take care of that. An invitation, you do that. And when they realize, well, I can't without you, that's when the miracle happened. But how often have we felt, oh, I have to do this? And we try to work out logistics, and we try to figure things out, even for even for his ministry, even for his glory, when he's asking us to recognize that what we have, God can use. What we have, God can multiply, what we have, God can really transform. But to do so, we're gonna have to first recognize that we can't without him. God will provide. So when we look at what we have and we think it's not enough, well, it wasn't enough then, but God can make a miracle, and that's the kind of kingdom people that he's looking for. People that trust that no matter what we have or how much we have, he will do great and amazing things. So I have a challenge for you this week. Challenge is a little bit different. I'm gonna challenge you to give one loaf, and that's misspelled, but one loaf and one fish. One loaf and one fish. Now, Pastor, what does that mean? Do I go to a neighbor and give him a loaf and a fish? I don't think my neighbor would appreciate. He doesn't like seafood. Does it mean that that uh that I just that I just you know carry uh stinky fish and and and some bread with me? No. When the disciples brought five loaves and two fish, they brought everything they could find. But sometimes for us to be kingdom people, we can give one resource that we have. An encouraging conversation. We can use our ability or our talent for God's glory. We can we can bring an encouragement, we can pray over someone who is going through a difficult time, we can give something that we have that is not everything, but asking the Lord to bless that one something. So, my challenge is to give one loaf and one fish to someone this week. Something that you have that you are able to give them, something that is beautiful, something that is godly, and something that is true. Because once you do that, you will see that God's going to bring something beautiful, maybe just an encouraging text, maybe just a prayer or an invitation for a meal, but something that can make a difference in their lives that you already have. So give of something you already have. Before uh we move into our time of communion, I do have a challenge. If you are feeling that sometimes you you don't think you have enough, that you that that you're not as strong in your faith, or or that you don't have all the resources or you don't have all the abilities or the theological knowledge. Jesus is not asking for what you know, he's not asking for what you understand, he's not asking for how how well prepared you are in scripture interpretation. He's asking for what you already have so he can use it for his glory. But to do so is a willingness. And if you're feeling that lately you just feel discouraged because you don't have enough, or or you, or or you look at the church and and it feels like we don't have enough, it begins with availability. So ask the Lord to reveal to you where you can be a difference, make a difference, and transform the kingdom, be the kind of king little kingdom people is calling us to be. Father, I thank you for this word, and as we prepare to uh partake of communion together, I ask that you would speak to us, that we may recognize your work, your ways. And Father, today, as we become one for your glory, we pray that you would lead us into your way. So, Father, make us kingdom people that we may be faithful before you. We pray this, and we ask in your son Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

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As it is known in our community, Northwest Church is committed to discovering and engaging in a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, with inspired worship and intentional ministry. People from all walks of life are welcomed and received as family members. Our family is diverse, multicultural, and although not perfect, in love with Jesus. Join us online at nwnaz.org or by visiting us in Columbus, Ohio. God bless you.