Binham 20-07-03
This morning, I would like to look at one verse from the record in St. Mark’s Gospel of the feeding of the five thousand. And this is the words of Jesus when he said to his disciples:
"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
I would like to consider why this was so important.
We live in a society where we are often very busy.
Often I look in my diary and wonder how I will survive the week. I am in such a rush.
Yet Mother Theresa once observed: God is rarely found in the midst of noise and restlessness. Instead he is the friend of silence.
Background:
I think it is important to see the feeding of the five thousand in its context.
Jesus has returned to his home town of Nazareth, where the people rejected him and where he made the famous comment: “A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country ” (Mk. 6:4 KJV).
Jesus then proceeds to send the 12 apostles out “two by two” to preach a gospel of repentance.
They are far more successful than he has been in Nazareth - for we read that the disciples “drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them” ( Mk 6:13)
And then chronologically we come to the feeding of the five thousand.
The disciples were on Cloud Nine. They wanted to keep on going. God is at work – how wonderful.
Conventional wisdom would have said: “Strike while the iron is hot. Put another evangelistic campaign together.
But JESUS said: “Pull aside with me for rest”
Rest is so important if we are going to complete the course. By resting in Jesus, we see three principles illustrated in the story of the feeding of the five thousand.
I. God is in control. Our problems don’t go away, but we acknowledge that God can deal with them.
II. We will be surprised that God will use our meagre resources- in ways we cannot dream about
III. When God acts, He supplies liberally.
Let’s look at each of these principles.
1. The first principle is that God is in control.
There is a temptation in life to be overwhelmed by things. The disciples were probably going to burn out if they had not drawn aside. How many of God’s people haven’t finished the course - because of burn out.
Story: In the fall of 1904, Wales experienced a monumental religious awakening that shook the nation, turning its coal mines into sanctuaries, shutting down its saloons and brothels, and even cancelling its scheduled sporting events.
God used a young man called Evan Roberts (1878-1950) as the prime mover in this Revival and he rose to national prominence. The Welsh press was for several months full of stories about Roberts - and the revival meetings he presided over.
Yet after six months of intensive labour, Roberts withdrew from his ministry - an emotionally and physically broken man. At the invitation of Mrs. Jessie Penn Lewis, he retreated to the Lewis home in Leicester for what was originally intended to be a recuperative stay of one week. Sadly, he did not return to public ministry for nearly twenty-five years. Evan Roberts suffered from “Burn out”.
Jesus recognised that we all need rest - to draw aside regularly and spend time with God. And as we do so - our problems take a different perspective.
If we are going to be successful as Christians, we need to acknowledge that Christ is the source of all we do. And so we need to spend time with Him, in prayer and Bible Study, recharging the batteries and receiving our guidance from him.
The disciples had a massive problem – how to feed 5000 people – with no supermarkets to buy from.
It seemed an impossible problem. But they did the only thing they could – they brought the problem to Christ
Story: (Sylvia Chesterman) Last year in one of our fifteen parishes, one of the treasurers despaired of paying the Parish Share for that year - with so few people in church giving regularly.
The previous year, the Church had defaulted and
she just couldn’t see how they could possibly pay
this year either. So when the bill for the Parish Share came, she took it into church and laid it on the altar. Within six months, God had provided and the parish share was paid in full.
2. The second principle is that God can take our meagre resources and use them spectacularly.
We might feel, like the disciples, did that five loaves and two fishes wasn’t going anywhere, but our gifts in the hands of God can be multiplied spectacularly.
Often we think that what we have to offer isn’t worth offering.
Jesus took the five loaves and two fishes to feed 5000 people.
Story: When I was in Switzerland, I heard a Scottish preacher, Alex Gillies tell this true story.
Alex had started a church up in Scotland but the premises were too small for the Community work they wanted to be engaged in.
As Alex was walking down the street, he saw a pound note on the floor (you can see how old this story is) and he heard the voice of God inside him saying: I will provide the vacant building opposite for you with this £1.
As the Glasgow City Council were wanting to dispose of the building, Alex took his £1 note to the local solicitor in charge of receiving the bids. The solicitor laughed and said: If you get it for a £1, I’ll pay it myself.
Come the day of the Council meeting, at which they were going to dispose of the property, Alex went along. He met an old acquaintance - one of the Councillors, a dour Scottish Communist party member, who told him that he would not allow the building to be used for a Christian church. He told Alex he would vote against selling the building to become a Church.
When the business got down to this particular building – there was only one bid – Alex’s. The Councillors were a bit nonplussed, but could not vote on it, unless someone proposed it.
So one of the Council proposed the offer and a second seconded it. And Alex’s bid was carried unanimously.
Alex went up to the old Communist afterwards and said: I thought you were going to vote against it. The old Communist replied: “I don’t know what happened, I just felt my hand being pushed up in the air!”
God provides but he uses the little we have to kick start the process.
3. The third principle is that when God supplies the needs, everyone goes home satisfied
What has often surprised me in this story is the fact that there were 12 baskets left over. People didn’t just eat a little – they ate a lot – and there was still some leftover.
When God supplies our needs, we don’t have to worry. He cares for us just as we do for our children
If you are anything like me, you worry. Maddy has a wonderful saying: Why pray when you can worry.
When I am tempted to worry, I find the words of Jesus in Matthew 6 so encouraging:
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.
30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31So do not worry, saying, ’What shall we eat?’ or ’What shall we drink?’ or ’What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.:
And thereby lies the key. We as followers of Jesus are called to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.
There is a temptation to look at all the problems we have and despair.
However, Jesus challenges us today to draw aside and bring Him our problems.
In conclusion, I believe that the feeding of the five thousand illustrates three important principles that happen when we spend time with Jesus.
These are:
I. God is in control. Our problems don’t go away, but we acknowledge that God can deal with them.
II. Our problems will be resolved and we will be surprised how God will use our meagre resources to resolve the problem.
III. And we will see that when God acts, He supplies liberally.
All we have to do is to bring our problems to Jesus in a quiet place and get some rest.
Let’s resolve to do that daily. Amen
