Divine Illumination
By Pastor Jim May
How often do we witness a miracle and don’t even see it as a miracle? How often does the Hand of God move in our lives and we don’t even see Him at work? How much do we miss because we not looking for it? God still moves in the lives of His people but how often do His people even recognize what He is doing?
This message today begins on a hillside near the town of Bethsaida. This little town was built along a river that flowed down to the Sea of Galilee. It was on that hillside that one of the great miracles of the Bible happened. That’s where Jesus blessed the fish and bread from one man’s lunch basket, and fed 5000 men plus the women and children. With 2 small fish and a few loaves of bread, under the direction of Jesus, every one ate all they wanted and then 12 baskets were left over.
What can we see in this miracle? What illumination does the Holy Spirit bring to your mind?
Does the Spirit tell you that this is a story of God’s power to provide whatever we need?
Does the Spirit tell you that God really cares and loves mankind?
Does the Spirit tell you that, if God can do that, then there is nothing that God can’t do?
Does the Spirit tell you that God didn’t stop creating after six days in the beginning but is still creating today?
Does the Spirit tell you that God was using this miracle to not only meet the needs of the people but as a test to help the disciples grow in their knowledge of Him?
Just what does the Spirit tell you and what do you see?
The fact is, that unless we are paying attention to what is happening, and unless the Holy Ghost opens our minds to see what God is doing, then we may not see anything at all.
So the question arises once again, “How much does God move in our lives, and how often does He perform miracles for us, but we don’t see it as a miracle because we are not in tune with what’s really going on?”
It appears that this is exactly what happened to the disciples as they went about breaking bread and fish and giving it to the 5000. They were so busy working to feed the people that they didn’t stop to think much about the miracle that was taking place right before their eyes.
They walked along breaking off a piece of bread, and then another, and then another; on and on they went, breaking off pieces of bread and fish, one by one, and still reaching back for more, and it was always there. Yet, in their work, they somehow didn’t see what was really going on.
I’m sure they wondered how there could be so much bread and fish from the little that they had begun with, but somehow it just didn’t click that they were witnessing a miracle.
You don’t see them start to shout for joy, or praise God for the miracle! They just kept breaking, dividing and passing it out without much thought.
Let’s read the account of this miracle in Mark 6:39-44, "And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men."
Did you sense an excitement in the crowd as they were all fed? Did you notice any unusual worship going on? It seems to me that the whole miracle was taken for granted. It’s as though neither the crowd, nor the disciples, even recognized that a miracle had happened right in front of their eyes!
How could that happen? How could they not see and understand that Jesus had done a miracle with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread?
The answer is this – they were too busy doing the work of God to see the miracle of God in operation, and they were too caught up in completing their task of feeding the people and missed the lesson that Jesus was trying to teach to them. They were so busy doing the work that they didn’t allow the Holy Spirit to let them see what was really going on!
Now, I’ve never heard anyone preach on this before, at least not in this manner. I’ve read the story of the feeding of the 5000 many times before, and I’ve always thought of how great it would have been to be there that day to see the miracle happen. But I wonder if I would have seen it as a miracle?
The crowd didn’t see it as a miracle. All they could see was that they were receiving bread and fish from one of Jesus’ disciples. I can imagine that the vast majority didn’t even know that it all started with 2 small fish and 5 loaves of bread. How could they know it was a miracle happening to them?
Perhaps some of the disciples didn’t know how much they had begun with either. All they knew is that the bread and fish just kept coming. Maybe the disciples passing it down the hill had found more and didn’t tell them.
But there should have been at least a few of the disciples should have seen it as a miracle. They knew what Jesus had blessed. They knew it wasn’t nearly enough to feed the crowd of people, and yet when it began to multiply right before their eyes, it’s almost as though they just took it for granted, because not one is recorded as stopping, even for a moment, to recognize the miracle in progress.
It’s amazing to look back at the story now and see just how spiritually blind and ignorant the disciples really were. They had walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, and seen him do some mighty works, but somehow, they just didn’t see Him for who He was. They needed some Spiritual Illumination. Without the Holy Spirit opening your mind, and helping you to understand and see the Hand of God at work, you won’t see it for what it is. You will take everything that happens for granted because your eyes are spiritually blind.
That’s the same reason that the world doesn’t see Jesus for who He is. That’s the same reason that most of the church world doesn’t see the Hand of God at work in their midst either. It’s because both are in need of some Divine Illumination. They need the Holy Ghost inside to open their hearts and minds to understand what God is doing.
How do I know this is what happened? How can I know that the disciples didn’t recognize the full lesson of the feeding of the 5000?
Let’s read a little further in Mark chapter 6 to see what happens next and hear what the Word of the Lord is saying to us this morning.
Mark 6:45-52, "And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened."
Pay attention to verse 52, “For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened." – That’s the key to this whole message.
As soon as the 5000 were fed and Jesus’ teaching was finished, he sent the disciples into a ship to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while he went into a mountain to pray.
Just as a side note here – Why do you think Jesus went to the mountain to pray? Why not just go find a place in town? Why not just pray where He was?
The fact is that we all need to find our “quiet place” to pray and get alone with God. Praying here in the church is great. Praying as a group around the altar, or around the dinner table is great, but we must have our own secret place to be alone with God. It’s only there that we can really pray as we should.
When I’m alone with God, I can pray and not worry about if I say it right – because He knows my thoughts and intent of my heart. I can talk to God differently than I can when I stand in front of the church to lead you in prayer. I can say things to God, and ask things of God, that I can’t do in a crowd. And, I can better hear the voice of the Lord, speaking back to me, when I’m alone with Him. He speaks in a still small voice, but it can be heard, as long as we don’t allow the people and things around us to drown it out.
Jesus needed to be alone with the Father in prayer so He went up into the mountain, where most of the crowd would not try to follow because climbing the mountain would be hard. The crowd would have followed him anywhere else because the way would have been easy. But no one followed Jesus up that mountain. That was just too much hard work. Think about that the next time you try to pray and remember it’s hard work to climb up the mountain and get alone with God. Getting to the place where we need to be in God requires a lot of hard work and effort. It never comes without a price that must be paid.
So the disciples were sent away and Jesus went up into the mountain to pray. As the day began to grow dark we see the next great miracle of God begin to unfold.
According to John 6:19, the ship was about 25 or 30 furlongs out in the Sea of Galilee when a sudden storm blew in. A furlong is about 1/8th of a mile, so the ship was between 20 and 24 miles from land. That’s a long way to row and an even longer distance to swim, especially in a gale force wind and rough waves.
Jesus was alone on the land, up on the mountain – and yet the scriptures say that he could see the distress that the disciples were in. If he was high enough on the mountain, and the light of day was still bright enough, maybe He could literally see them. But, I’m convinced that he really saw them in a different way. He was very God, omniscient in power, and so Jesus knew at every given moment, where His disciples were, and what they were facing.
That gives us hope this morning! Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still omniscient God today. He knows where you are, he knows what you are facing; and He knows exactly how to come to you in your times of distress to meet your need.
If Jesus were just a man, maybe He could have seen his friends in trouble on the sea, but with 20 miles of open, rough water between them, what could He have done? He wasn’t with them, and yet he was with them in a way.
Sometimes you may feel that you are all alone, but never forget that Jesus sees you and He knows you better than you know yourself. Your circumstances don’t worry Him. They might worry you terribly, but that’s because you can’t see Jesus watching from Mount Zion.
Job 34:21 says, "For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings."
Mar 6:48 says that Jesus saw them working hard in rowing for all they were worth.
He saw their distress. He saw them being tossed about by the winds and waves of life. He saw that they were doing everything in their power to reach the safety of the shoreline. He knows that every wind that blows against you tends to only drive you in the wrong direction. He knows that every wave of temptation that comes over you, threatens to sink you soul into the pits of hell. He knows that your soul is vexed and tortured by the wiles of the devil and the things that come against you. He knows that sometimes your mind is greatly disturbed, almost to the breaking point, and your spirit is weak as a result of the hard fighting against the enemy of your soul. He knows that you are doing everything in your power to remain faithful and true. But He also knows that, in your own power, you will drown. He knows that, for every two steps you go forward, the winds of adversity blow you three steps back.
So Jesus made a decision – since the disciples couldn’t make it on their own – He would go to them.
At the 4th watch of the night, about 3 o’clock in the morning, after the disciples had been struggling for nearly nine hours and were no closer to land than when they began, Jesus came to them, walking on the water.
The wind and waves that threatened to drown His disciples didn’t bother Jesus. We must remember that all things are “under His feet”. Your sickness, your pain, your suffering, and your circumstances are “under His feet”. The devil, the demons of hell, the powers of darkness and rulers of darkness in high places, are under his feet. The top of the waves looked mighty high to those disciples in the storm, but Jesus just skipped from wave to wave like they were nothing at all – because even the high places of the devil are still “under His feet”.
1 Corinthians 15:27 says, "… he hath put all things under his feet…”
Ephesians 1:22, "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,"
Hebrews 2:8, "Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him."
In the darkest hour, when it seems that the long hard night will never end, when all hope is nearly gone, that’s when Jesus will come. It doesn’t always have to be under those circumstances though. Jesus will come when we call upon Him. He will come whenever we look up and realize that we can’t do it alone. But how long will we try to fight that battle alone before we learn to call upon Him?
Jesus came walking along, across the waves, at 3 o’clock in the morning. He didn’t need a light to light the way, for He is the “Light” and in Him is no darkness at all. He shone with glory of God.
It’s no wonder that the disciples thought he was a ghost, a specter, an apparition, or a demon of the night that had come to destroy them! What would most of you have thought under those circumstances?
What made it even seem stranger is that Jesus was acting as though he were just out for a walk and not even paying them any attention at all. The scripture says that He walked on the water as though he would have passed by them. He was on His way to the other side and was focused on the work that lay ahead.
Do you ever feel like Jesus just passed you by and left you to drown in your troubles? You know He is there because you can see Him in the Spirit, but He just keeps on walking.
Fanny Crosby was probably the most prolific hymn writer in history. Though blinded by an incompetent doctor at six weeks of age, she wrote over 8,000 hymns. When she died, her tombstone carried the words from one of her hymns, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.” But one hymn that she wrote back in 1868, just 3 years after the end of the Civil War, goes like this:
“Pass me not, O gentle Savior, Hear my humble cry; while on others Thou art calling,
do not pass me by.
Let me at Thy throne of mercy, Find a sweet relief, Kneeling there in deep contrition;
Help my unbelief.
Trusting only in Thy merit, would I seek Thy face; heal my wounded, broken spirit,
save me by Thy grace.
Thou the Spring of all my comfort, More than life to me, whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in Heav’n but Thee?
At first, because of their peril, the disciples didn’t know Jesus. They were still spiritually blind. It wasn’t until Jesus spoke peace into their hearts saying, “Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid”.
The sound of his voice began to calm their fears. They were afraid of the winds, of the waves, of the night, of supernatural things, or demons, devils, and death. But one word from the lips of Jesus and their fears were calmed.
Jesus is saying those same words to you this morning. “Take heart, have courage, don’t be fearful of life’s circumstances, or of the storms around you. It is I, your Lord, your Savior and your God. I am here to deliver you from it all.”
Peter’s faith was so increased that he walked on the water to meet Jesus too. When Jesus stepped into the boat, the winds and waves stopped immediately. The disciples just couldn’t believe what had just happened? What manner of man is this that even the winds and waves obey him? They still didn’t grasp who Jesus really was, even after all of this!
But why didn’t they know Jesus? Why didn’t they see the miracles of the fish and the loaves? Why didn’t they recognize the man who had walked with them and talked with them and who had just performed the great miracle on the hillside not more than 10 hours before?
The answer is found in Mark 6:52, "For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened."
They were still spiritually blind, not because sin, not because they had rejected Jesus, but because of their own lack of paying attention to what God was doing in their midst. Their minds were dull, and some would even call them stupid, dumb or ignorant. How can anyone who has witnessed, first hand, the feeding of the 5000, and Jesus walking on the water, and calming the stormy seas, still not know who Jesus was.
The answer is simply this – no man can know Jesus unless the Spirit gives him Divine Illumination to see Him for who He really is. The disciples could not know Jesus as God, until it was revealed to them. They could not understand the meaning of the miracles until they could know the God that created those miracles. Until them, it was all just coincidental circumstances.
How much has Jesus been doing in us that we have not seen? How many miracles have happened that we didn’t recognized because we too were ignorant of what God was doing? Are we yet spiritually blind? Can we see God at work in our midst, or do we count it all as circumstantial?
Are you fearful of the storms of life? Do you feel like you are about to go under for the last time? Can you see Jesus afar off, but He just doesn’t seem to come your way?
I pray that today God will give us some Divine Illumination, that we may see the Lord as He really is. I pray that we will recognize the Hand of God in operation in our lives.
If you need Jesus to calm your storms today – just call on Him. He already sees your need and He’s already coming to you. Call out to Him and let Him speak peace into your heart and life. Then let the Holy Ghost give you some Divine Illumination so you too can see and know Jesus as He really is. Jesus loves you and He wants to come to you. Will you let Him into your heart?
