FEEDING FIVE THOUSAND
When built for the White Star Line in 1912 the Titanic was the marvel of her age. At nearly 883 feet in length, Titanic was longer than the tallest structures on Earth at the time. Over 1800 people left England on the “unsinkable ship”, but only 675 arrived. After hitting the iceberg on April 14, 1912 it took the Titanic just two hours and forty minutes to sink. While the Titanic was sinking in the North Atlantic another ship was being built. The SS Medina was not nearly as large or grand as the Titanic. It made no claim to being unsinkable. For years it carried onions between New York and Texas. During World War II it was converted to a troop ship and carried soldiers across the ocean. It was bombed and torpedoed but the ship refused to sink. On one crossing it was the only vessel in it’s convoy to reach it’s destination. After the war it was sold as scrap but rescued and converted into an Italian cruse liner called the Roma. Years later it again was sold for scrap but rescued again to become the MV Doulos. For many years it held the record as the oldest active passenger ship in the world. Since 1978 she had welcomed over 20 million visitors in 450 ports in 90 nations. Many lives have been changed and countless have come to Christ through it. A few months ago she was finally decommissioned, more than 95 years after being built.
God is in the business of taking little ordinary things and using them for His glory. While it may be the great “Titanics” which make the headlines – it is the faithful Doulos that are making the difference. The same is true of people. God often chooses the smallest and weakest to demonstrate His power. God wants to use you not only be a history watcher but a history maker. So what can you do?
John 6:1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near. 5 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?" 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 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. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten
If we want to be world changers we need to remember 3 things:
1. ABILITY - Jesus multiplied what He was given (5-9) -
This miracle is recorded in all 4 gospels. This incident happens on the far side of the lake down from the town of Bethsaida on the north east bank of the Sea of Galilee. This is the town where Philip was from. Jesus asked Philip where they could go to buy enough food to feed all the people. Philip, who knew the area, saw the task as impossible - and he was right!. They did not have the physical resources to do what Jesus asked them to.
Have you ever been in a situation where, like Philip, you faced an impossible task? It says here that Jesus said this “only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do”. Jesus already knew what He was going to do. Isn’t that a relief. Sometimes like Philip there are in life things that seem like mountains before us. You look at the situation and realize that it is impossible. At times like that it is easy to concentrate on what you don’t have instead of on what you do.
Remember the story of the widows oil in 2 Kings 4? The widow focused on what she did not have but Elisha used and God multiplied what she did have.
Remember, that God has a plan for your life. He knows what He wants to do in and through you. Instead of concentrating on what you do not have, remember what you do have and give it to Jesus. That is what Andrew did. He trusted and brought to Jesus what he could find. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Jesus took what they had and miraculously multiplied it. What do you have that Jesus can multiply? What can you offer? Start with what you have already been given – your spiritual gifts.
The problem with the church is that, “few of us really know our strengths. The great teachers, and great leaders, recognize their strengths and focus on them.” -- Peter Drucker
Many of us do not know what we have already been given. So few people in the church seem to really know what their spiritual gifts are.
During the depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn’t able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on government subsidy. Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract.
At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day. And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he’d been living on relief. A multimillionaire living in poverty. The problem? He didn’t know the oil was there even though he owned it. Many Christians live in spiritual poverty. They are entitled to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and his energizing power, but they are not aware of their birthright.
John MacArthur once said “No local congregation will be what it should be, what Jesus prayed that it would be, what the Holy Spirit gifted it and empowered it to be, until it understands spiritual gifts.”
Perhaps you are here today and you have never really discovered your spiritual gift. Let me ask you 3 questions to help you think about it. What do you:
a. Envision – what do you see yourself doing?
Of all the different areas of ministry, is there something that your are drawn to – that catches your attention? Like the small lunch, sometimes this is difficult to see at first.
So what are the gifts? Let me go quickly through a list of some of the gifts. As I do ask yourself which of the gifts you are most drawn to:
There are the gifts of REACHING which include Missionary, Evangelist and Teaching.
There are the gifts of LEADING which include Pastor, Leadership and Administration.
There are the gifts of REVELATION which include Prophecy, Tongues and Interpretation.
There are the gifts of INFORMATION which include Wisdom, Knowledge and Discernment.
There are the gifts of ACTION which include Faith, Healing and Miracles.
There are the gifts of COMFORT which include Encouragement, Mercy and Hospitality.
There are the gifts of SUPPORT which include Helps, Service and Giving and the gift of Intercession
One of the ways you envision yourself doing something is to ask “what bothers me the most about the church?” This may seem a little strange but it is true. If you could change one thing about church, what would it be? Maybe you think the church is cold and uninviting. You could have the gift of hospitality and encouragement. Maybe you think it is disorganized. You could have the gift of administration. Maybe you think I am a terrible speaker. You may have the gift of teaching. What are you drawn to?
The important thing to remember about Spiritual Gifts is that they are often given to us in raw form and develop as we use them. You may have the gift of teaching but that doesn’t mean that the first time you speak everything will be perfect. The gift must be developed.
Gifts are not necessarily mature at the time of discovery ... they are developed through practice. -- Doris Freese
b. Enjoy – what do you enjoy doing?
As you try to get involved in different areas of ministry there will be opportunities which you really enjoy. God does not call us to do things we hate. Unfortunately often people are forced through guilt into ministries they are not gifted for and the result is a bad experience. One way of knowing your gift is that it is an area that you enjoy. You feel a buzz when you do it.
Everything I understand about gifts indicates they are to be enjoyed as well as employed. -- Wayne Pohl
c. Encouraged – what do others encourage in you?
What gifts do others see in you? Often we do not see our own strengths and weaknesses but others do. Is there an area of ministry that others have recognized and encouraged you in? It is good to get feedback from others, especially people who know you well.
What do other people say comes easy to you and not so easy for others? A man is pulled over by a police officer for a broken headlight. The cop looks in the car and sees a collection of knives on the backseat. "Sir," he says. "Why do you have all those knives?" "They’re for my juggling act," the man replies. "Prove it," says the cop. The man gets out of the car and begins juggling the knives just as two men drive by. "Man," says one guy. "I’m glad I quit drinking. These new sobriety tests are hard." What is easy for one person is not always easy for another!
2. AVAILABILITY - the disciples gave what was multiplied ( 10-11) -
Matt 14:18 …Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
Jesus was the multiplier of the food, not the distributor. While Jesus was the supply he did not actually give anything to the people. His disciples had to do this. The same is true in ministry today. While Jesus is the giver of life, the church exists to take that message out to those who need to hear it. He has entrusted us with the task of distributing the message.
You can be the most gifted person in the world, but if you do not use your ability then it is of no good to anyone. Ability is important, but availability is essential.
Too many Christians are not serving. When you ask them to do something they say, "Sorry, but that is not my spiritual gift." The trouble is that they seem to think they have no spiritual gift because they say that about everything and do nothing. I tell you the truth in Christ that are no such gifts as pew warming and sermon or music listening!! All of the spiritual gifts are proactive. You will be doing something. If you tell me that you are sold out to the Lord and not doing anything I will try not to be rude and call you a liar, but I will have to ask you to explain your definition of consecration to me.
1Co 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
The gifts are given for the common good. That means that church is not a spectator sport. It not like a spiritual spa where you can just come every week and soak in God’s goodness. In every family there are family responsibilities. You divide up the chores. In this church everyone has a part to play. Every person is important.
Eph 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
What happens if each part doesn’t do their part. Then the work does not get done. Living in Kuwait the one Arabic word I really disliked was the word “Enshala”. It means “if God wills it”. It basically is used to mean – if it happens, it happens… In the church we can often have the same attitude. Maybe we feel that God is moving us in a certain direction but instead of doing anything we say “Well, if God wants this to happen, it will happen”. Unfortunately that is not a true statement. The Bible is full of cases where God wanted to see something happen but the exact opposite occurred.
Ezek 22:30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
The truth is that there are things that God wants to do that will not happen until you do it. If you do not do your part it will not get done. Remember the story of Elisha and the widow. God gave the miracle of multiplication but it was the woman who decided how much oil would flow.
As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole Body is healthy and growing together. When we work together we get things done. You have a part to play. When we cooperate, we get more done together than we could ever get done by ourselves.
3. ABUNDANCE – the result was that everyone was more than satisfied (12-13)
The multiplied food was more than enough to satisfy the crowds. It was like a Mennonite potluck. Everyone ate as much as they could and even then there was a huge supply left over. Jesus did not simply make enough so that everyone could have a bite. There were no ‘on each’ signs on the buffet table. There was an overwhelming abundance for all.
The offspring of ability and availability is abundance. Remember the story of Gideon and his 300? A small band of willing and able soldiers were able to defeat a great army because God was with them. When you recognize your gifts and then use them for His kingdom there is blessing in your own life and also blessing in the lives of everyone around you.
A Michigan factory worker, earning less than ten thousand dollars a year, was an unknowing heir to a half-million dollars. When located by an investigator some years after his benefactor’s death, the worker explained that he had neither returned home nor kept in touch with his family for 24 years. The investigator who located him estimates there is about 40 billion dollars in inheritances lying unclaimed in the US alone. Are you as a Christian unaware of your status as "an heir of God through Christ"? Do you fail to receive the gifts our Father offers-release from the stranglehold of sin and suffocation of guilt, power in the Holy Spirit to experience the abundant life, and the joy of fellowship with the. Father and his other children? Like the prodigal factory worker, do you live in ignorance of your inheritance and at a spiritual poverty level because you have moved away and fail to keep in touch with our Father or his family?
Does anyone here remember taking music class in grade school? When you first join a music class you are given an instrument to play. You really don’t have much of a choice in what you play. The instructor simply assigns you the instruments based on what the school has available and what he/she thinks each kid is most suited for. You take your new instrument home and start learning how to turn squeaks into notes. Then the time comes when you first come together as a band to play. The teacher raises the baton and motions for you to begin and it sounds like a train wreck. You play at different tempos. You play at different volumes. You didn’t watch the conductor and you didn’t listen to each other. You love to hear yourself play so the room is filled with soloists and the result is terrible.
However, over time you learn more and grow in experience. Eventually by the end of high school the band has come together. The instruments begin working together and building on one another and the result is beautiful music for everyone to enjoy.
God has given each person here today an instrument and He has given us as a church a song to play. Maybe you are still trying to figure out what that instrument is. Maybe you are learning how to play it. My prayer is that as each one of us learns that we would become an orchestra making beautiful music to be enjoyed by the community that God has placed us in and the world.
