HE'S MAXIMIZING MY LIFE

HE'S MAXIMIZING MY LIFE

Matthew 14:13-21

13 When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.

14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

18 He said, Bring them hither to me.

19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

HE'S MAXIMIZING MY LIFE

Intro

It is amazing what we have, and we call it little and insignificant, but God takes it and maximize it to its full potential that’s a miracle in itself.

This is exactly what Jesus does in our text this morning. He’s maximizing what was little.

The text teachers When Jesus got involved, He took something small and created a surplus.

Jesus can take something small (given by faith) and create a surplus.

Ivor Powell said,

There are some people , who find difficulty in accepting the literal inspiration of the Bible, constantly endeavor to explain away any supernatural cause for what is described as a miracle. They have focused attention on the feeding of the thousands, and one of the interpretations suggests the people were selfish as many had possibly brought a lunch.

Another one says that when the people saw that little boy giving his lunch to Jesus, they were all moved with compassion and they gave their lunches too and there was enough for all with some left over.

Why can’t people just take the Bible at face value? Jesus is the Lord of the Little! He took a little and made a lot out of it!

There is no question that we serve a God Who specializes in the spectacular; Who majors in the miraculous and Who operates in omnipotence.

When we think of our great God, we often think of Him in terms of the grand, the great and the glorious. After all, He is the God of creation. He stood in the middle of nothing, took nothing, and created everything. That’s big!

But, I would also point out that He is also Lord Of The Little! He is a God Who moves in big ways, but He is also a God Who is able to take the small, insignificant things of this world and use them for His glory.

This miracle and the miracle of transforming water to wine in John 2 are the only miracles in which Jesus actually used His power to create. In all the other miracles, He used resources that were already present.

There are 4 things about this miracle:

The Multiple Penmen Who Recorded The Miracle.

It is the only miracle,, The fact that this incident is recorded in all four gospels shows the impact it had on Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This miracle is mentioned nine times in the Gospels. For that reason alone it is an important miracle.

It was as if the disciples had appointed themselves to the board of directors to tell the Lord Jesus what to do.

This miracle informs us very clearly of the place of the disciple in the work of Christ. The story tells that Jesus gave to the disciples and the disciples gave to the crowd. Jesus worked through the hands of his disciples that day, and he still does.

The Multitude Of People That Received The Miracle.

v21. said About 5,000 men ate. Mark’s account shows how easily an estimate could be made; they sat in groups of 50 and 100. However, the count here was of males, that is, of men only. The number does not include the women and children who were also present. The total fed may have been 15,000 or more.

Nothing is recorded about the reaction of the people. The lesson of the miraculous feeding was for the disciples, not the crowds. The disciples first and foremost must know that Jesus is the Son of God.

The Meager Provisions Required For The Miracle.

v17. The magnitude of the request is reflected in the disciples’ response: “We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.”

John 6: Philip says, “Lord, we have 200 pennyworth of bread, but that’s not enough!”

Philip was insufficient in faith. He basically saw a hopeless situation and felt that nothing could be done about the needs of the crowd. He felt that the problem was too big! Have you ever felt this way?

Philip saw a Burden, Andrew saw a Boy…

Philip see a problem, Andrew sees potential.

Philip was insufficient in faith.

Andrew, finds a little boy and brings him to Jesus.

He does this a lot. Andrew said that there is a lad here..

But when Andrew so the boy lunch, even his faith broke down and said what is this among so many?

I find it fascinating that there's only one verse in the entire Bible that talks about the boy with the loaves and the fish... we don't know his name... we don't know how old he was or what he was doing there in the first place...

But we do know without a shadow of a doubt that he BELIEVED in Jesus. But this boy... saw Jesus as the solution to the problem that day.

Although the boy was SMALL-His faith was HUGE

[Although the boy was SMALL-His faith was HUGE] Though he had little to give, he gave all he had.

The Master's Pain Related To The Miracle.

v10 and had John beheaded in the prison , And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus

The news of the death of John the Baptist must have been distressing to Jesus. He had not only lost a dear friend; He knew coming events were casting their shadows before Him. He also would be rejected by those He wished to help. Feeling the need for solitude and contemplation, Jesus stepped into the small boat, and instructed the disciples to seek a quiet place where He would remain undisturbed.

“When the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities” (Matthew 14:13).

14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

"HE'S MAXIMIZING MY LIFE"

I. JESUS BLESSED THE BREAD

v19 and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed..

John emphasized that they were five barley loaves, the kind eaten by the poor (John 6:9.

This boy has his lunch with him: five barley loaves and two fishes. Here is a boy who basically said, “I’ll give what I can. It’s not much, but you can use it!” The boy was most likely poor because barley was the food of the poor. It was fed to the livestock.

And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

1 Kings 4:26 (KJV)

"Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

1 Kings 4:28 (KJV)

"BLESSED"

Eulogeo (Greek)

" To speak well of"

Jesus took this bread in His hands and He looked up to Heaven and blessed God….

Jesus set a standard that we are to follow as well!

Just as Jesus blessed the bread and fish that day, He blesses the lives of His people! Think about His blessings upon you since the day He placed His hand upon your life!

Note: Just take a moment to think with me about how the Lord has blessed your life! Remember the answered prayers?

Remember the mountains He has moved?

Remember the needs He has met?

Remember the times He came near to you and held you by grace?

Remember the lonely hours when He reminded you that He still cared for you? His blessings are wonderful and He deserves to be thanked for them! Have you done that lately?

I. JESUS BLESSED THE BREAD

Il. JESUS BROKE THE BREAD

v19 and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and break,

After He had blessed the bread, He used the same hands to break the bread!

Before the bread could be shared with others, it had to be broken!

"And break"

Aorist Tense

Action at a Specific Time

Did you notice where the bread was while it was being broken? It was in the Master’s hands! I would just remind you that when the Lord is breaking you, it isn’t to damage you beyond repair. He does it to prepare you so that He can use you in a far greater way. The bread was never closer to the Master than when He was breaking it!

The Blessing ON THE BREAD Didn't Stop The Breaking OF THE BREAD.

This bread was broken so that it could be distributed to the people. Breaking is a painful part of life. God, many times, will break us in order to use us and spread our influence around to touch the lives of others. He has to break our stubborn will sometimes, or break our heart to soften it and make it tender. In another story in the New Testament, an alabaster box was broken, and the fragrant, expensive perfume was poured upon the Lord. Like this box, our lives are broken so that we might bring forth the fragrance of a Christlike life.

One of the hardest truths for humans to grasp is the great truth that those God would use greatly, He hurts deeply! A period of brokenness always precedes a time of usefulness! You can see this principle at work even in the life of the Lord Jesus Himself. Before He could provide salvation to the world, He had to be broken on the cross! We love His blessings, but we shrink from His breakings! However, while the blessings of the Lord are nice, the breakings of the Lord are necessary!

I. JESUS BLESSED THE BREAD

Il. JESUS BROKE THE BREAD

III. JESUS BESTOWED THE BREAD

v19 and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

The words “brake” and “gave” are important. They indicate that “He kept on breaking and He kept on giving”. Jesus took those little biscuits and sardines and they were multiplied in His hands. He just kept on breaking them and giving them to His disciples and the loaves and fish kept on multiplying. Jesus exercised creative power to accomplish this miracle.

Jesus just took what was available and multiplied it for His glory!

Bring your little faith to Him and watch Him move your mountains.

• Bring your little testimony and watch Him save souls.

• Bring your little praise and watch Him get glory.

• Bring your little abilities to Him and watch Him use you. He specializes in using the small thing to amaze men and to reveal His glory.

› He used the cry of a little baby to bring peace to Abraham.

› He used a little stick in the hand of Moses to part the Rea Sea and deliver His people from Pharaoh.

› He used a little boy named David who slung a little stone to remove a big giant.

› He used a little piece of bread called Manna to feed His people for forty years.

› He used a little leather mantle to part the Jordan River for Elijah and Elisha.

› He used a little widow with a little meal and a little oil to take care of the man of God.

› He used a little girl name Mary to bring a little baby into the world, Who would grow up and die on a little cross on a little hill in a little country called Israel. But, in His death, He would provide salvation to all who will receive Him!