When You Don't Have the Stuff

Steve Bowyer

Words & Works of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted 6 months ago • Presented 6 months ago

Desolate Place (feeding of 5000)

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More than Imagined

Look at all the Operation Xmas Child boxes we have around the room. We set, what we thought was a ridiculous goal of 500 boxes this year. We have almost 550 right now, more are coming, and the we have toys and things that were donated put away for next year. Not only did we meet our goal, we blew thru our goal, and we have boxes and baskets of stuff left over to get us started on next year.

This didn’t just happen. We’ve been doing this for a few years now. And, it’s grown.

It’s amazing this little church has been able to do this. But, here’s the deal. This little church didn’t do this. God did this. And, He used us to do it. But, He didn’t just use us. He used ppl outside this church, from the community and from the valley to get this done plus have a good start on next year.

Many ppl have been involved in this. We’d have 6, 8, 13, 16 ppl sometimes, sitting around tables in the Fellowship Hall, cutting and tying old Tee shirts into jump ropes, organizing boy and girl toys in to boxes and stuffing them full.

VBS kids raised hundreds of dollars to buy soccer balls and pumps that are packaged in many of these boxes.

And for all the work by all the ppl, a few have worked above and beyond the rest. Jeff and Mary Krongaard have a lot to do w/ this. But Cosette and Cheryl have given more time and sac’d more than anybody else to make this happen.

I’ve heard stories about 4, 5, and 7-hour days getting this done. The goals seemed impossible. The days were long and exhausting. But if you get them started, you will have a hard time getting the shut about about how great they feel about all the exhausting work that went into this and what they accomplished.

We ended up w/ more than we ever imagined. More toys, hygiene items, gifts, boxes, and energy than we thought possible before we started this project.

They are more fired up and excited about this project now than they ever have been. You’d think they might dread next year and the work. And, if they were honest, there probably is a little of that.

But, they know. If they make what time and energy they have available to God, he will accomplish something bigger than they could have on their own, and they will feel better and be more satisfied than they were before the project started.

That’s the way God wired us.

When we face an impossible situation and we don’t have the stuff to do it. If we will make whatever stuff we have available to Jesus, He will bless it, multiply it, use it, and satisfy the situation and us when He’s done doing what we couldn’t do.

What is completely impossible for us w/ the stuff we have, is totally possible for Jesus to do thru us when we make our stuff available for Him to use to do it.

Of the 35 miracles that Jesus performed that are written about in the bible, only 1 is included in all four gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all wrote about what happened b/c it’s such and important lesson for us to get.

It’s a story you are all too familiar w/. But, I hope you get something new and significant this time when study the time Jesus fed the 5000 on the hillside near the Sea of Galilee.

We’re going to spend most of our time in the John passage. When I reference a detail from one of the other books, I’ll let you know most of the time. If I say something not in the John passage, just know it’s from one of the other 3.

Let’s get into it. Here’s the situation.

Situation

John 6:1–4 NIV

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

This is a major break in the writing of all 4. Time had passed. Certainly, Jesus did lots of teaching and healing during this time, but for their own reasons, they did not include the details in their books.

Some time after the events I talked about last week, the rejection Jesus in his hometown and the death of JB, these events occured.

It was near the next Passover. This will be the 3rd of 4 Passovers of Jesus’s 3-year ministry. We’re only about halfway thru the gospels and this series of all the things Jesus said and did while He was here. So, that means, we are just 1 year away from his crux and a lot is going to happen during this year.

He will go more private in his lessons. He will keep things more on the DL. The Jewish and Roman leadership had rejected him and the schemes to kill him were taking shape. And, as I said, JB had been killed. But the ppl were still turning out to see him and hear Him. Emotions were running high and hot on all sides.

They had completed a long day of ministry during one of these difficult stretches. According to the Mark passage, they were tired and hungry. They had not even had time for the discs to eat anything all day.

So, Jesus, having compassion for his team, he led them into a boat, across the sea to a quiet hillside where they could get some much needed R&R. Jesus’ suggestion.

Much like the vacay Sara and I just took. There’s a lot that goes on during the summer around here. A lot of good stuff. God is moving, lives are changing, the church is growing, and we’re kind of tired. So, we got away for a quiet couple of weeks for some much needed R&R. We’re back and ready to get back after it.

From the Luke passage, they ended up near the town of Bethsaida. Bethsaida means, “town of fishing.” By the sea. There are many fishermen. If you wanted fresh fish, like we wanted fresh lobster, they went to Bethsaida like we went to Red’s Eats in Wiscasset, ME.

Also, like Bethlehem, means, “town of bread”. It’s where all the grain is grown and made into bread. And, where the Bread of Life was born and came from.

That’s the situ. But it did not go as planned. Word got out where Jesus and the discs were headed and they ran ahead by land and were there waiting for them when they arrived. A crowd gathered hoping, expecting to hear and see great things from Jesus. They had no idea what was about to happen.

But, what it meant to the discs, no rest for the weary.

Not Enough Stuff

John 6:5–9 NIV

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

The discs didn’t have the stuff to do what needed t/b done when they landed. Imagine, being so tired, hungry, looking forward to the R&R, a little private time w/ Jesus. Only to look up on the hillside and see such a crowd.

To get the perspective of the discs, You’ll see in a minute that there were 5000 men. But, there were also women and children. The hillside would have been covered w/ between 15 and 17K ppl.

Imagine a basketball arena, like where the Suns, or Sun Devils, or Wildcats play. Think about standing on the court at mid-court w/ a raucous crowd anticipating what might happen next w/ the miracle-worker who claims t/b the Messiah in the middle of it all.

Everyone is tired and hungry. The upcoming Passover contributed to the crowd as they were traveling to Jerusalem for the annual feast and festival. Like the days leading up to Xmas for us. It’s fun, it’s festive, and adding to the atmosphere of the day.

Jesus saw the crowd and had compassion for them. The discs most definitely did not.

Jesus saw them as sheep w/out a shepherd. Their leadership had abandoned them and let them down. They were starving, spiritually, and no one was providing what they needed to be nourished.

So, Jesus taught them some more. He gave them spiritual food.

The discs were thinking more about their own grumbling tummies and physical food. Showing a complete lack of passion, suggested Jesus stop teaching and send them away to the neighboring towns to find food on their own.

They were incredulous, impatient, and out of gas. All their tanks were empty. They had nothing to give and bel’d no one else on that hillside had anything to give, either; including Jesus.

This is what fatigue and empty tanks do to us. We lose sight of what’s possible for Jesus. And we only think about what’s impossible for us.

Here in John, he wrote that Jesus knew what He was going to do. But He challenged Philip and the discs to think beyond their own stuff. This would be a huge lesson for them to get for when Jesus is gone.

Mark wrote that they told Jesus to send the crowd away. While Jesus demonstrated compassion for them and the crowd, the disc’s compassion tank was beyond empty and at that point they thought every man, woman, and child was on their own for what they needed.

Jesus’ reply was, “No, you feed them.”

The indication is the disc’s reply to that was it would take up to 8/mo. wages to feed everyone. So, if a salary was $60K/yr, then it would take $30K to $45K to feed 15-17K ppl. $2 to $3 per. What are we talking? Cheese sandwiches? Peanut butter? Lunchables? And the time to buy supplies and prepare the snacks, impossible.

Well, what did they have? 1 boy’s lunch. A happy meal w/ a Filet-O-Fish sandwich and fries. Okay, 2 fish and 5 barley loaves.

Barley loaves were the least desirable kind of bread. It was a poor-man’s loaf. So, the kid and his family were poor. They had the least of the least resources available.

You have to wonder where all the responsible adults were who showed up unprepared for the big potluck by the Sea.

And they point out by saying, “how far will this little happy meal go among this crowd?” It’s an absurd question pointing out they may as well have had nothing.

It’s like how much do you increase your odds of winning the lottery by buying one ticket? You go from a 0% chance, to a .0000000000001% chance.

So, you’re saying there’s a chance!

They had something, but it was an absolutely worthless amount of stuff given the situation they were facing.

So, what did they do? They gave what little stuff they had to Jesus. They made it available to Him to do whatever He could.

And, did He ever do something w/ it.

Our little stuff, made available to Jesus, and He will do impossible things w/ it.

Impossible

John 6:10–13 NIV

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

The first thing Jesus did was get the ppl organized. He had the ppl sit down in groups of 50. Why?

Sometimes we see organization as a dirty word. Why not fly by the seat of our pants and just follow the HS as He leads? Well, the HS is organized. When God comes into a situ, He takes our chaos and brings order. Our order may not be his order. But, organization helps us get things done.

It would have helped the discs make sure everyone got enough to eat.

Also, it helped them understand the magnitude of the miracle. There were not just 100 groups of 50. There were more like 300 groups of 50. They had no trouble estimating the size of the crowd to fully appreciate the power of Jesus to do the impossible.

What is completely impossible for us w/ the stuff we have, is totally possible for Jesus to do thru us when we make our stuff available for Him to use to do it.

After He organized the ppl, Jesus took what they had, blessed it, multiplied it, used it and satisfied all the ppl, including the disciples w/ it.

Not only that, they had so much left over, they were prepared for their next meal, too.

Kind of like our OCC boxes.

Would the ppl on the hillside fully comprehended what happened that day? Probably not. They were not privy to the private convo w/ Jesus about sending the ppl away and only having 1 happy meal between them. They didn’t know the discs were exhausted and hungry themselves.

All they knew was, something special happened, and their bellies were full.

Everyone ate and was satisfied. No one left wanting more. They all had enough. Then, there were 12 basketfuls leftover. And how many disciples were there? Of course. No coincidence.

The discs ate and were filled up, too. But they were left w/ an abundance. The ended up, not w/ just a little more than before they started. It would have been enough just for them to be able to eat, too. Or, that each one would end up w/ their Happy Meal leftover.

But, they ended up w/ a basketful left over, each. 1 full basket would have been enough to feed their family, not just the individuals.

When Jesus provides, He provides abundantly. Whatever they started w/, 1 Happy Meal in this case, they ended w/ much more.

What they could not do w/ the stuff they had, when they gave their stuff to Jesus, the impossible became possible not limited to the situation itself. But he supplied beyond what the situ called for.

Remember the parables? Jesus began to teach what kingdom life would be like in this age until the age ends and the kingdom begins.

Jesus is in the process of building His kingdom, birds from all over, ppl from every continent, county, city, and community; from every year, century, and era throughout history will come together into the kingdom and find an eternal home in its branches.

He is building His kingdom and He’s using us to do it. How? By leading us into impossible situations where we don’t have the stuff to do what needs to be done. But, when we make available to Him, the stuff we have, He will make it happen in us, thru us, and around us.

We have a Shepherd who is leading us and feeding us.

There are 2 levels to this lesson. One, for the disciples, and us as followers of Jesus. Every situ we find ourselves in, where we don’t have the stuff, can become an opportunity for a powerful story to help those around us get thru their situations, too. Ministry situations, family situations, health situations, and every other situ we find ourselves in can be a powerful testimony what Jesus will do for anyone who makes their stuff available to Him to use to satisfy the situ and us.

There’s another level. Will the ppl recognize Jesus as the One who can do this for them, too. Jesus did something they wanted to prove He could do what they needed. He met a felt need, their empty bellies were filled, to prove He could meet a need they didn’t feel at the time, get them into the kingdom.

The discs were in the process. They didn’t get it, yet. In a few weeks we’ll study the passage where they were challenged to feed another large group of ppl and they failed that test, too.

But, did the ppl get this message? Did they realize Jesus came to more than just a miracle-worker?

Sadly, no.

They Missed It

John 6:14–15 NIV

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Jesus certainly is a powerful Prophet. But He is much more.

The ppl missed the point of the miracle. He is powerful and a miracle worker. But, He came to be their Messiah.

They saw the opportunity to never go hungry again. Never have to work for it just ask Jesus. Close all the hospitals, a chicken or fish in every pot, a loaf of bread in every oven, and car in every garage.

They tried to forcibly make Him king and put him on the throne in Jerusalem, right then. Like they are going to tell Jesus what to do and when to do it. Selfishly motivated, thinking he would free them from the oppressive Roman gov’t, and give them what they wanted, they tried to force him into a role He that was not His to take at that time.

We have the benefit of reading and studying what He had said. If they’d been paying attention, then they’d know this is not what He came to do. This was not the time, nor the place for him to sit on David’s throne over an earthly kingdom. That day will come, but this was not it.

So, Jesus w/drew again, to a private place to escape the crowd and their inaccurate interpretation of what He just did for them.

We do the same thing. We want what we want and we know Jesus can do it. He’d done more. But, when He does things like this, He does to point out that He can do much more.

He is more, He can do more. He will take the throne, in time.

In the mean time, understand He will do some of what we want to prove He can do what we need.

We need to be saved so we never have to go thru these hard times ever again.

This was important enough that all 4 gospel writers included it in their account of Jesus’ life and ministry. How many times do we find ourselves in situations that require more stuff than we’ve got?

All the time.

Make whatever you have available to Jesus to use, and don’t be surprised if you end up w/ more than what you started w/ when Jesus is done w/ you.

Applications

R & R

It’s important. Even Jesus took time away to rest.

I have always advised ppl I work w/ or work for me to use their vacation time wisely. You’ve been given the time, take it. We will work you for all you’re worth while you’re here. Go rest and get ready to get to work.

Take the time you need to create margin in your life so you can do all God created you and gifted you to do.

Happy Meal

What’s your happy meal? What stuff do you have that God has given you to use?

When ppl are asked what their strengths and weaknesses are, it always seems to easy to talk weaknesses but not strengths. What are your strengths?

Whatever they are and however strong you are, your happy meal still won’t feed the thousands God will lead you to.

When you find yourself in that impossible situ, offer what you have to Jesus and see what He can do w/ it and expect an abundance when He’s done w/ it.

That does not mean when you are down to your last $100 you put it in the offering plate expecting to be rich next week.

Expect Him to do unexpected things w/ what little you have to offer.

Whatever you have, make it available to Jesus and expect Him to do impossible things w/ it.

Impossible

What are you facing right now that seems impossible? A ministry thing? Family thing? A health thing?

If it’s impossible you might not even be trying. Why bother. You can’t.

Try a different approach. Let God use what you do have, the gifts you have, the relationships you have, the health you have; and then try.

Stop trying on your own w/ what little you have. Try again after you let Jesus bless what you’ve got and use what you’ve got and see what happens.

What is completely impossible for us w/ the stuff we have, is totally possible for Jesus to do thru us when we make our stuff available for Him to use to do it.

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