PRINCIPLES OF MULTIPLICATION
School days, school days. Dear old golden rule days
Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic. Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
We do not use hickory sticks in schools today. But school was not that way when Gus Edwards and Will D. Cobb composed that little tune in 1907. Much has changed in our methods of education.
When I was in primary school, one of the core requirements was memorizing our multiplication tables. Today, easy access to calculators, computers, and other gadgets make mastering our multiplication tables a less emphasized discipline.
Through multiplication, you can start with a small number and be at a big number pretty rapidly. The classic example is someone willing to pay you a penny for the first day’s work and double the amount every day for 30 days. On Day 30 you will receive $5,368,709.12 and have a cumulative total of $10,737,418.23
A multiplication story of almost equal amazement is the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000 where Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish into enough food to feed a multitude. While the story is told in all four gospels, our scripture this morning is from John’s gospel.
Read John 6:1-15
You may know that in Jewish culture, the way they counted crowds is they counted men. This could be the largest crowd Jesus ever spoke to. 5,000 men, it's counting families. So, there were about 5,000 families. So there were probably somewhere in between 15,000 to 20,000 people fed that day.
While this is a familiar story, lets look at some principles that Jesus used in this miracle of multiplication.
YOU HAVE TO START WITH SOMETHING TO MULTIPLY
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. John 6:5-6 NIV
In a multiplication formula, the two items being multiplied are called Factors and the result of their multiplication is called the Product. When one of the Factors is Zero, the product will always be Zero. Zero multiplied by one is Zero. Zero multiplied by a million equals Zero
The disciples thought they had nothing or next to nothing. But what Jesus can do even with something small. And the truth is, we have something. In fact we have plenty. God has seen to it by His blessings. We sing the Doxology that affirms: Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow. We have financial blessings, material blessing, talents, time, abilities, and spiritual blessings. The letter of James tells us that Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 NIV
You may not think you have much, but you do. According to the website, www.globalrichlist.com, if you make $25,000.00 per year, you are among the richest 10% of the world. And if you make more than $50,000.00 per year, you are among the richest 1% in the world.
God has blessed us with something with which he can start. And He does not ask for what you do not have. But he will ask what you do have.
THINGS TEND TO MULTIPLY AFTER THEMSELVES
In the story, bread and fish are multiplied into bread and fish. Granted, as creator, Jesus can change anything into anything he wants, like He did when he turned water into wine. But it is more common that things multiply after themselves.
If you exercise the muscles you have, the result is greater muscles.
If you pour yourself into your studies, the result will be greater knowledge.
If you exercise your voice in song, in time you will be a better singer.
If you teach, your teachings skills will improve.
Put a boy and a girl rabbit together and pretty soon you will have a multitude of rabbits.
Apples bear more apples.
Plant corn seed and corn will grow.
Jesus said, Give, and it will be given to you. (now here is the multiplication) A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38
Circle the word “it”. What is “it”? “It” corresponds with what you give. It will tend to multiply after itself. In the Parable of the Talents, the three servants were entrusted with sums of money. The good servants returned to the master more of what he had entrusted to them.
IT HAS TO BE BLESSED TO MULTIPLY
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. John 6:11 NIV
Then He took the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So, they all ate and were filled and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. Luke 9:14-17
I’m going to ask you a couple of hypothetical questions. Here is the first: What if the disciples had taken the fish and the loaves and given it away without Jesus blessing it? Would everyone eat until they were filled? No, everyone would have gotten a fraction of a crumb. The reason it multiplied was because Jesus blessed it.
In May of 2005 a 1999 Volkswagen Golf was sold on eBay by Benjamin Halbe from the western German town of Olpe for the price of $244,000.00. The there was nothing special about the construction or the performance of that car. Its one unique factor was that it was once owned by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now known as Pope Benedict. Having been occupied by the Pope caused the value of this value to multiply many times over in value.
Jesus blessed and added value to everything He was given. He was given a coin and made it into a lesion of our responsibilities both to God and government. He was given a boat and turned it into a pulpit on which he could stand and teach the multitudes. He was given a donkey and made it an image of servant leadership. He was given a bowl and a towel and gave a model of humility. He was given an old, splintered, rugged cross, and made it a symbol of my salvation.
No matter what it is…no matter how small it is, With the blessing of Jesus on it, it can multiply. But without the blessing of Jesus it can never multiply.
IT HAS TO BE GIVEN AWAY TO MULTIPLY
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. John 6:11 NIV
They all ate and were satisfied, Luke 9:17a NIV
Here is the second hypothetical question: What if the disciples took the bread and the fish to Jesus and He blessed it, and deciding to get theirs first, they ate it? It never would have multiplied. They had to give it away.
The blessing is essential, but there is no multiplication until it is given away. If you have given something to Jesus and He has blessed it, don’t consume it yourself. It will not multiply until it is given away. Jesus said, I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. John 12:24 If you go to the garden store and buy a pack of seeds, they won’t do anything until you put them in a place where they can multiply.
What is blessed cannot do anything until it is given away
USE IT ALL
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. John 6:12-13 NIV
You have to like the efficiency of the task. Jesus did not want anything to go to waste. Don’t let go to waste what God has blessed. What has He given you? What has He given you that has multiplied? Put it to good use. Use it all.
The disciples thought there was not enough: Not enough cash to buy food for all and not enough food on-hand. But multiplied by a factor of God…there was MORE than enough.
When the Lord enters the equation, the potential is limitless. Me multiplied by God equales infinite potential. Mine multiplied by God equals infinite potential.
Remember that boy came with five loaves and two fish. I guess that at the end of the day he consumed the equivalent of five loaves and two fish. The multitudes were the beneficiaries of God’s multiplication. Not the boy. But what he did go home with that day was the joy of knowing Jesus multiplied in an amazing way what he had given.
What is in your hand? What do you have that Jesus can multiply?
Before you hesitate to give it to Jesus, remember that God is the first and most generous giver. The most familiar verse in the Bible says For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. (John 3:16a)
What's amazing is to think about is the way that God multiplied life through the life, the death, and the resurrection of His One Son. Because of the one life of Jesus, because of the one death of Jesus, because of the one resurrection of Jesus, because of His one great victory, there are literally millions and millions and millions of Christians around the world. All the people who found eternal life did so because Jesus gave His one life.
Before you can ever give, you must first receive. The Bible says that anyone who calls on His name will be saved. Receive His grace and forgiveness. Only then are you ready to put what you have into His hands to be blessed and shared. We do this not to repay Him, but to reflect what He has done for us. Then we can stand in amazement and see His multiplication at work.
