John 6: Jesus, Bread from Heaven

John 6: Jesus, Bread from Heaven

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

CH6 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Jesus has been teaching this crowd and doing miracles, and they are following him for more. Now was the feast of Passover was near- A time of remembering God’s sustenance of Israel in the Wilderness in the Exodus. Jesus would soon sustain this multitude with both PHYSICAL and SPIRITUAL BREAD from HEAVEN.

Jesus Feeds the 5000 men, plus women and children. All sat down in an orderly fashion. Jesus administers blessing in an orderly and perfect fashion. Man, without prayer for direction, can easily screw that up. We caused a riot in Kenya just trying to feed 70 boys!!

As Jesus takes the 5 barley loaves and 2 fish from the young lad in thanks, He gives thanks, and takes a meager meal for a young boy and turns it into an overflowing feast for 10-20,000 people in all.

- What LITTLE you may think you have to GIVE can truly be multiplied beyond Measure in the hands of Jesus! Your GIFT is never too small!! Your simple act is never too simple! Give what you re able to, and GOD will bring the INCREASE!!

- Once Jesus multiplies the loaves and fish, does he hand them out himself?? NO! He relies on his disciples to distribute the miraculous meal to the crowd!!

- Jesus DOES NOT work alone! God designed us to work hand-in-hand with him! He supplies the miracle, but he RELIES ON US to distribute the miracle to ALL he allows us to! No one would have eaten this food without the Disciples there to distribute it. God wants to use you today. Yes you. In your current state. Put your “Yes” on the table! He will use it!! And you will be blessed in the process!

What about the BOY? He gave up all he had for this miracle to occur.

Maybe for a moment, but the extravagant abundance of the meal that came out of it was a feast compared to “sufficient”. By GIVING the meager gift God had blessed him with, God turned it into a MIGHTY BLESSING NOT ONLY for many thousands of people, but for the Boy himself!!

12 baskets are leftover, despite 200 days wages not being enough for each man to get even a little bit. This is the sustenance of God! Overflowing!:

representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Representing God’s ABUNDANCE for those who TRUST in Him. God WASTES nothing! Jesus said: Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” In Jn 6:12 Jesus wanted to account for every single blessing in that miracle. No detail is too small for God! He blesses completely, and then the leftover blessings are saved for a future time when they can be doled out!

- So then, let us then use this as an opportunity to look to our own past year, and count our blessings. Count the ways God gave us abundance in our lives. Count the over-abundance that you have sitting in your shed, room, or bank account. What can God do with that kind of blessing when you choose to freely give, instead of save it for your own rainy day??

1: Thankfulness: Count everything you were thankful for in 2023: Relationships restored or gained, children thriving, bills paid, borders increased, whatever it was that God did for you (remember ALL good things come down from the Father of lights). Use this as your starting point. Remember that EVERY good thing you experienced in 2023, or ever for that matter, was a gift from God. Give Him thanks!!

2: Abundance: Now think about the ways you were blessed beyond measure, in a way that you had no immediate use for that blessing??

A Windfall of money?? A MASSIVE harvest in your garden (for us, we had hundreds of huge zucchinis that we didn’t know what to do with! Bread! Pasta! Grilled! Sliced! Diced! When we tried to enjoy the blessing on for ourselves, we got sick of Zucchini! But, when we gave away anything we couldn’t immediately use to our neighbors and friends, God kept the harvest coming. God blessed us to be a blessing to many others! And that was just our Garden! FFMC has an abundance of finances when you all give. And do we save it or spend it?? We spend it indeed, on things God leads us to spend it on IN HIS KINGDOM! Orphan kids going to school and eating in Kenya, Slaves set free and a school built in Pakistan! Evangelism teams in Uganda! Homeless Street ministry in Mount Vernon! You name it, and if God blessed us with it, we gave it back out and watched the blessing just pour right back in!

John 10:9-11 'I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. '

Greek word Perissos!! It means Exceedingly abuntantly MORE than all we could ask or think!!

SO, is this whole sermon about BLESSINGS and ABUNDANCE, or is it about KNOWING and ABIDING in the ONE who Blesses??

Jesus goes on to really drive his point home, that HE is the bread of life. HE ALONE! You can eat and your stomach will hunger again in 6 hours. Or you can eat the bread of life, and you will never hunger again! You will always be satisfied IN HIM!

Jn 6:26–27. “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

Jn 6:32–35. “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Jn 6:53-58 “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

Jn 7:37–38 “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

Now,

May 'The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. ' and fill you with Perissos, the Superabunant life found ONLY in Him, ready to GIVE out of your overflow, and fulfill every good work and ministry He has called you to! In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

There will be a few of us upfront for PRAYER after the Service!! Please come up if you need prayer!