Sermon Tone Analysis

John 6:1-15

Stephen Caswell © 2012

I have been involved in many VBS programs and never cease to be amazed how God uses the little we have.

The last VBS I lead at Baptist we had about 200 kids come each day and 500 came to the parents night.

We had about 50 leaders helping during the week.

Others helped to prepare crafts and food.

Still more people helped on the Friday night.

We saw about 30% make commitments and the whole ministry was given free of charge, although some gave donations because they wanted to.

What do you look for in effective ministry?

Warren Weirsbe describes Christian ministry like this.

Ministry takes place when Divine Resources meet Human Needs through Loving Channels to the Glory of God.

Today, I would like to look at some of the principles of .

Today the needs around us are so great.

How can we make a difference?

Where do we begin?

What can you do when the resources aren’t adequate?

John 6 answers these questions.

We will see how the Lord Jesus Christ overcame human inadequacy.

We will see 3 things: The Multitudes, The Master, The Miracle.

1.

The Multitudes

a. Great Needs - John 6:5: Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

Jesus knew how great the needs were.

The people of like all of us had incredible spiritual needs.

They also had immediate physical needs.

The feeding of the 5,000 is one of the few miracles recorded in all 4 Gospels.

As we read the various accounts we get a detailed description of the day.

Christ and the disciples had gone aside to a quiet place to rest for a while.

They had just returned from a ministry trip in the region.

The disciples had been very busy preaching about the .

Luke 9:10-11 shares that they were now having a time of Rest & Recreation, yet, Jesus still received the crowd.

5,000 men, plus women and children came to Jesus with various needs.

The Lord ministered to all their needs.

He healed the sick amongst the crowd.

He also taught them about the .

This dealt with their most important need; their need of salvation.

Christian ministry is not physical or spiritual, it’s both.

The Salvation Army used to have a slogan when ministering to the down and outs of society.

Soap, Soup and Salvation.

It’s not an either or situation.

We minister to the whole person.

b.

Limited Resources

John 6:8-9: One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?

Jesus asked Philip where they could buy food for all the people to test him.

Philip replied that 200 days wages wouldn’t be enough to give everyone just a little.

Perhaps Jesus asked Philip this question because it was close his home town of .

He was a local and should have known where the local markets were.

Philip’s reply was we can’t meet the need Lord, we just don't have the money.

This is a problem Christians are always confronted with.

We just don’t have enough money, resources and workers to help everyone.

Yet the disciples were wrong.

They had the Master with them.

Jesus is always sufficient.

He can always meet the great needs of this world.

The disciples answer was to send the crowd away hungry.

Luke 9:12: When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.

Another disciple, Andrew found a young lad with a small lunch.

He brought the boy to Jesus with his small lunch of 5 barley loaves and 2 fishes.

Andrew then correctly observed, but what are they among so many?

c.

God’s Concern

Mark 6:34, 37a: And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.

Jesus answered and said to them, you give them something to eat.

Christ looked upon the crowd very differently to the disciples.

Firstly, Christ lifted up His eyes to see the crowd.

Then He considered their needs.

The word saw, θεάομαι in John 6:5 means to behold, contemplate, view attentively, indicating the sense of a wondering consideration involving a careful and deliberate vision which interprets its object.

He didn’t see them as a multitude as the disciples did.

The disciples saw the crowd as a problem they couldn’t solve.

They wanted to send the problem away.

Jesus saw them as individuals, sheep without a shepherd.

He saw their individual needs.

The good shepherd is concerned about lost sheep.

He wants to save them and bring them into the fold.

Therefore he commanded the disciples to give the people something to eat.

They weren’t just a multitude but individual people with real needs.

A shepherd feeds his flock.

Jesus fed them spiritually and now He was concerned about their physical needs.

Application

How do we view ministry?

The needs of our community are great.

Our resources are limited.

Money, time and workers seem insufficient.

Do you see the needs as too great for us to make a difference?

Have you responded like the disciples did, sending the crowds away?

Or do we view the multitudes like Jesus did?

He saw them as individual lost sheep needing a Shepherd.

Have we forgotten that the Master is with us and His resources are sufficient?

Lets meet the needs of those God brings into our lives!!

2. The Master

a. Brought To Christ

John 6:9: There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?

You often find Andrew bringing someone to Christ.

Firstly, he brought his brother Peter to the Lord.

Look how mightily the Lord used Peter after He had been trained.

In Christ’s hands Peter became a mighty man of God who lead 3,000 to Christ on the Day of Pentecost.

Here, we read that Andrew brought a small boy to the Lord with his meager lunch.

Leading people to Christ is the best thing that we will ever do.

It lasts for eternity.

The boy is to be commended for giving his entire lunch to the Lord.