WATCH GOD WORK
MATT. 14:13 21
This morning I want us to look at one of Christ's most important miracles...the feeding of the multitudes. This miracle is important because all four gospel writers tell about it. It is important because it happened before such a large crowd of people.
Jesus and the disciples were worn out from many days of hard labor. So they left the crowds and went across the sea and rested at an oasis in the desert. But they were destined not to be alone. Great multitudes followed them. There was no privacy for them.
It's a bad thing to be lonely, but it's a worse thing to have so many people following you that you can't have any private life of your own.This was true of Jesus at that time.
He had performed so many miracles and done so many wonderful things that the crowds followed Him where ever He went. The sad thing is the way they saw Him. They saw only a wonderful magician who could work miracles...a clever physician who could heal the sick.
They failed to see that He was the Savior of sinners and the Son of God. They were blind to His divine glory, just as people are today. Today people are anxious to get physical relief for themselves or their loved ones, but few of them are looking for soul healing.
But in spite of the fact that Jesus knew their hearts, He cared very deeply for them. He looked beyond His own physical and emotional needs and looked with compassion on the crowd that had come to Him.
To see such a crowd was to realize how many precious, immortal souls were there, the greatest part of which would likely perish because they failed to see Christ for who He was.
Jesus not only had compassion, but He took that to it's logical conclusion He healed them. He met the very needs the people had come for. But then He went beyond...
Verse 15 16
The disciples here come to Jesus and they bring to His attention that it's starting to get late. They've put in a full day and all things considered it has been a good days work. But now it was time to dismiss this crowd so they can head back to the villages for supper.
But look at how Jesus reacts. He also realizes that they are hungry but rather than sending them off to fend for themselves, He tells the disciples to feed them.
I see this as a real challenge to their faith. They had all seen the miracle working power of Christ, and now He was challenging them to do something that would seem to need that same type of power. How did they handle such a request? The very same way we handle something that puts our faith to the test!!
The disciples were more than willing to send these people off to take care of themselves. But after all, they weren't invited, they just came on their own. It didn't matter that they were a far distance from where they could get food and shelter for the night.
Many came a very long distance, and in their search for Jesus probably hadn't made adequate preparation. But were they to be responsible for taking care of everyone? Just how far can we take this Christianity, anyway?
Jesus would not dismiss them as hungry as they were, or keep them any longer without something to eat, or even put on them the trouble and expense of buying food for themselves when they had journeyed so far to see Him. He decided the disciples should take care of it.
In the gospel of John it says that Jesus turned to Philip and said to him, "Where can we get enough bread to feed all these?" Now Jesus knew what He was going to do, but He said this to test Philip. But Philip failed the test.
Instead of looking up to Jesus and saying, "Lord, You are the Son of God. You can do everything. You changed the water into wine. You healed a man who had been sick for 38 years. Surely you can provide bread for these people," what did he say?
He said, "Eight months wages wouldn't buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" He saw the crowd...he saw the difficulty...he looked at the problem and not at the Lord Jesus.
We act the same way today. God has unlimited resources. He declares that His grace and His power is sufficient for all our needs, but what do we do when the need arises? We look at our own resources instead of looking toward the Redeemer.
We know that in times past God has cared for us and brought us out of many hard places. We know that He promises to keep doing that. Why do we rack our brains to find a solution to the problems of life? Why don't we just look to Jesus?
He is still filled with compassion. He still wants to help us. We need to learn the lesson of turning to God first, and then step out in faith as He leads. He will make a way as we obey Him and set out to do His will.
Verses 17 18 It did look like a helpless situation. There were 5,000 men there besides women and children which means there were likely in excess of 20,000 people.
This is their first act of faith bringing forth these 5 loaves and 2 small fish...Taking what may seem to be small and very inadequate and presenting it to the Lord, trusting Him to bless it.
Are your needs great and your resources small? Then remember that God has an abundant storehouse. Keep your eye on Him and be sure that you are on His side, and He will see you through.
One day somebody asked Abraham Lincoln this question concerning the Civil War, "Is God on our side?" This great man answered, "I'm not so much concerned about that, but I am concerned about this are we on God's side?"
You just line up with Him and trust Him...love Him and serve Him faithfully. And when you need Him, God will be there.
Now Jesus directs the people to sit down on the grass. When the people were seated, Jesus took the bread in His hand. What was He going to do? He looked up to God and gave thanks for it.
Then we note that He didn't give out the food directly to the people. He gave it to the disciples. This was their second test of faith.
This, to me, is very interesting.
I'd love to have been there and even more so to read their minds as they took that bread from Jesus. It was still just 5 small loaves of bread. Were they thinking like I would have...Now what do we do??
Did they realize what was about to take place? Did they have the kind of faith that believed what they had in their hands could feed 20,000 people??? Yes, they obviously did. And what a privilege it must have been for them.
It is most interesting to note that the loaves and the fishes were multiplied not at the moment Jesus prayed, but as it was distributed by the disciples.
Just like the widow's oil, as it was being poured out it increased. While other things perish as they're used, spiritual gifts and blessings increase as they're used.
If only we could really catch on to this principle. God doesn't give so we can hoard or even to keep things within our own little group... He gives so that we in turn can give. !That's„Ç when we will truly discover that we can not out give God.
I truly believe that Christ intended to honor His disciples that they might be respected as workers together with Christ. It was also intended to signify the way that spiritual blessings must be distributed to the world.
This is the way it must always be. Before we can give out the blessings of the gospel, we must get it from the Lord ourselves. We can't give until we have received, and the only place to receive it is from the hands of the Lord.
Christ has given us a spiritual blessing and it is meant to be given out to the multitudes. Someone spoke to us...or put a tract in our hand...or quoted Scripture...or preached a message...or sand to us... or in some way shared with us the gospel of Jesus Christ.
God uses human instruments, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to bring men to Christ. We have the message and the ability to get that message out to the lost all around us. It is a tremendous responsibility we have as Christians.
If there is one person in our area who doesn't know about Jesus, is it because we haven't invited them to our church...or told them about the Savior?
If there is one soul on the other side of the world who doesn't know about Jesus, is it because we have withheld the money which could be used to send the gospel to him?
Who else does Christ have to accomplish the task? Who is going to be the light to those in the communities around us? It's time to put our faith to the test. To begin to do all that Christ desires for us to do in accomplishing the work yet to be done.
How did God reward their faith? Well, the people didn't just have a snack that day. They had a real feast. God is never stingy. Come to Him, He will give you not just a meager blessing, but a life and eternity full of blessings.
We note that the Lord was not wasteful, either. After the multitude was filled, He told His disciples to gather up the fragments. When they did there were twelve baskets full left over. What a miracle!!
He took five small loaves and two little fish and fed thousands of people with them. And all were satisfied. And they had more at the end than they did at the beginning.
Today we are Christ's disciples, and we are required to put our faith to the test in much the same way as the 12 did during the feeding of the multitude.
We've been given the bread of life. It may seem like a meager portion that we have, but as we give it will be multiplied. Do we really trust God to meet our needs?
I believe we are being challenged to step out in faith...and this may take a variety of forms. But whether it is in sharing our faith, giving of our time, talents, and yes...even our money.
It is only as we take what Christ has blessed and give to others in His name that we can really stand back and Watch God Work. Let's be His hands extended and truly "feed" the multitudes the bread of life.
