Stir It Up - John 6:1-9
John 6:1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias),
Jhn 6:2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.
Jhn 6:3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.
Jhn 6:4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
Jhn 6:5 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?"
Jhn 6:6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Jhn 6:7 Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages [fn] would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"
Jhn 6:8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up,
Jhn 6:9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"
Here in this passage we see there was a group of people that were hungry but the disciples didn't have any food except a lad who had a lunch that didn't seem like much in the natural
Jesus said have the people sit down and He took the five loaves and two fish and fed over 5 thousand people...
See it is not about what you have but it is about in whose hands you put what you have...
Let me give you some examples by what I mean...
1. A cricket bat in my hands might not be I-yo-baa but if you put it in the hands of Jacque(jock) Kallis(Callis) it means a good score
2. A rugby ball in my hands might not be I-yo-baa but if you put it in Bryan habana it means tries
3. A soccer ball in front of me might not be i-yo-baa but if you put it in front sha-ba-lala it means La Duuuuuuuuuuuummmma
A lunch in a little lads hands might not seem like much but if you put it in the hands of Jesus it means over 5,000 people fed
I don't know who I am talking to tonight - but what you have might not seem like much in the natural - but I just stopped by to encourage you - if you put what you have - in the natural - in Gods hands - He will put His super in front of your natural ..and take you to the super natural...
Little becomes much in The hands of God...
In this portion of scripture we see people who were hungry and they needed something to eat...
Jesus told the disciples you give them something to eat and all they found was a boy with a lunch...
Little becomes much in the master’s hands...
Also - He didn't have to give up his lunch but he was willing - are you and I willing to give of what we have?
Just like these people in this portion of scripture were hungry for food - we have people in cape town, people in Jo berg, people around the world that are hungry, but they are hungry for hope - they are hungry for truth - and they are hungry for an answer...
We as God's people have been given a commission to reach this world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We have been called to reach out to the:
1) Hurting
2) Gang Member
3) Party Animal
4) Alcoholic
5) Run Away
6) Drug Addict
7) the depressed,
8) the one looking for an answer - who has it all together, but is still empty on the inside.
That's who we have been called to reach...
Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.
Jesus came to serve and not to be served.
Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for many.
How many know if Jesus has that attitude of using His life to serve others, that should be the attitude that you and I have also.
We should be willing to make our lives available for God to use, to reach out to someone else.
Tonight I would like to talk about a few areas that you and I can put in the hands of God to see an impact in the lives of people
1. Time
Eph 5:16
making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:16
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with R86,000 that carried over no balance from day to day...Allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and every evening cancelled whatever part of the amount you failed to use during the day, what would you do? Draw out every cent every day, of course, and use it to your advantage! Well, you have such a bank, and its name is TIME! Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as lost whatever of this you failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balances, it allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow.
What are you going to do with your time?
Source Unknown
See today people spend a lot of time doing things, that brings no benefit at the end of the day.
Let me read some statistics to you:
Percent of People Who Use Social Networks Percent Yes
Do you ever use / have a profile on… (Poll Taken in early 2012)
Any social network 58 %
Facebook 56 %
LinkedIn 14 %
Twitter 11 %
Google+ 9 %
Social Network Statistics Data
Total number of Facebook users worldwide 1.4 Billion
Total percentage of 18-24 year olds who already use social media 98%
Total percentage of people on Earth who use Facebook 11%
Total amount of minutes people spend on Facebook every month 700 billion
Average amount of time a person uses Facebook per month 15 hours 33 minutes
Total amount of people who access Facebook with phone 250 million
Total amount of unique YouTube users per month 490 million
Total amount of YouTube page views per month 92 billion
Total amount hours spent on YouTube per month 2.9 billion
Average amount of tweets per day 190 million
Percent of teenagers who log on to Facebook over 10 times per day 22%
But how much time are we willing to spend time in The house of God or to spend putting in work for God?
2. Treasures
Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The body of David Livingstone was buried in England where he was born, but his heart was buried in the Africa he loved. At the foot of a tall tree in a small African village the natives dug a hole and placed in it the heart of this man who they loved and respected.
If your heart were to be buried in the place you loved most during life, where would it be?
In your pocketbook? In your house? In your car? In an appropriate space down at the office?
Where is your heart?
Are we willing to invest in the house of God?
3. Talent
Matthew 25:24
"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
Mat 25:25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
Mat 25:26 "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
Mat 25:27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
What are you and I willing to do with the talents that God has given us?
See we all have been given at least one talent or another and like I said earlier, we have been given a mandate to reach this world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So we should be willing to use our talents to bring good news to a hurting world?
What is it that God has given you? We are all working together to see souls reached.
1) If you like to smile help in the greeters ministry.
2) If you like to talk on the phone you can help with the follow up.
3) If you like to sing get in the choir.
4) If you like to serve or cook you can help in the hospitality.
5) If you like working with children you can help in the children’s ministry.
See we are all working together to reach souls, but we should be willing to take of what we have and allow God to use it.
6) If you like to get loud - you can get behind the mic at a street rally and testify.
7) There are all kinds of different areas that you and I can allow God to use our life to bring life, hope, and the good news to someone else.
Whatever talent or gift we have God can use it, but we need to be willing to turn it over to Him.
The young lad who had the lunch - had to be willing to turn it over to Jesus
II Timothy 1:6 - wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands...
Somebody say Stir It Up!!!
This reminds me of Sister Julie in the book "Treasures out of Darkness"
Pastor Sonny was in the room talking to a few guys of how powerful our God is - He asked Sister Julie to make some food for the men but all she had was a little pancake mix
She didn't want to tell Pastor Sonny that we don't have enough food to feed these men after hearing him tell them how great and awesome our God is...
So what did she do - she took the pancake mix that she did have and began to stir it up - somebody say Stir It Up!!! - the little pancake mix that she did have began to multiply right in front of her eyes- the first bowl filled up and she had to get another one and then that bowl began to fill up.
I tell you this all the men ate and were satisfied.She stirred it up!!! –
Someone here tonight needs to know - that it's not about the little that you do have - but it is about in whose hands we put what you have?
If u sing it's time to sing for God
If u preach it's time to preach for God
If I have a testimony it's time to testify for God
If u dance it's time to dance for God
It's u rap it's time to rap for God
Holy ghost party - Holy Ghost Party - Holy Ghost Party
YE- es - A-ru-rung (fa NAND) Ye es A Ru-Rung (fa NAND)
Illustration - Piano Story
Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Famous piano players concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE."
When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."
At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing." Then leaning over, The famous piano player reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was mesmerized.
That's the way it is with our Heavenly Father. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren't exactly graceful, flowing music. But with the hand of the Master, our life's work truly can be beautiful. Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing." Feel His loving arms around you. Know that His strong hands are there helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces. Remember, God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. And He'll always be there to love and guide you on to great things.
Lets take what we have and put it in the hands of God to make an impact in someones life!!
