What Do You Have?

WHAT DO YOU HAVE?

Mark 6:34-43

Mark 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

6:35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:

6:36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.

6:37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?

6:38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

6:39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.

6:40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.

6:41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

6:42 And they did all eat, and were filled.

6:43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.

The hectic holidays are gone now and for most of us it is back to business as usual. The New Year lies ahead and as we step out into the future, one day at a time, we know that Jesus is already there. He has prepared the way before us and he is our Jehovah Jireh, our Provider. We are assured that through the power of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will continue this journey through life victoriously.

As we look at the coming year with hope and faith and we know that our God is faithful but there is always a concern of what this year will hold in store for each of us. We have no promise of tomorrow in this life. We don’t know what the future holds. It is so very comforting to know that Jesus walks beside us and that he is our Great Shepherd who cares for and provides for the needs of his sheep. Aren’t you glad to be a part of God’s family?

The 23rd Psalms says it all in the very first verse, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."

In the desert country around Galilee at the time of Christ, there were multitudes of people who faced each passing year with fear and dread of what the future would hold for them. But these people didn’t have the hope that you and I have today because they had no shepherd to lead and guide each of them through life and to provide for their every need.

Jesus saw that they were hungering and thirsting after the words of righteousness, but these hungry people had no faithful, spiritual pastors to feed them with knowledge and understanding. The Scribes and Pharisees were supposed to lead them and guide them, but these men, who were to be their shepherds, were blinded by their own sin and self-righteousness. Their spiritual leaders were not leaders at all, but they were false teachers and men who sought only for gain and for the reverence of men for the position that they held. Because they had no shepherds, the people of Israel were ready to perish for lack of knowledge. There was no spiritual food being given to them in their synagogues. There was no refreshing move of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They were left destitute and hopeless and there seemed to be no way out for them.

Then into their lives walks the Man of Galilee, the Lord Jesus Christ. Here was a teacher, a preacher, a minister, a prophet and someone who came like a breath of fresh air to the hungry souls and hopeless lives of the people of Israel.

The fame of Jesus had spread far and wide. His name had become well known and everyone knew that this man was different. This was not a scribe who only cared for his own fortunes. This man called Jesus was different. He was a man who had compassion, and a man who had answers for their questions. Here was a man who actually practiced what he preached. His words were powerful, informative and refreshing to the soul. His words brought hope and a newness to life that every man longed for.

And so we see that Jesus and his disciples have come to a desert place in the hills to find a place of solitude the multitudes . They felt a little overwhelmed by the crowds of people who were always thronging around Jesus. The need of the people of Israel was so very great and their only answer was in Christ and everywhere they went the crowds would follow. Sick, hurting, diseased and dying people filled the land, and when they found out that the man who could heal the sick, raise the dead, open blinded eyes and deaf ears, was coming their way, it wasn’t long before a very large crowd of needy people would gather around him.