Power that Provides
Notes
Transcript
Welcome
Welcome
Good to be back
I missed you all
We are back in the book of John
we will pick back up where we left off before
our easter Sermon series
and that is John Chapter 6
today we will be covering the
feeding of the 5,000
so far we have seen 3 miracles or signs
with today being the 4th
and quite possibly the most popular of all the miracles
if we exclude the resurrection
todays miracle
is one that you dont even have to attend to church or
have grown up in church to have heard
it is so popular and substantial that it
is recored in all 4 of the gospels
we see it in Mat 14:13-23.
Mark 6:30-44.
and Luke 9:10-17.
in fact we will have the luxury of learning some
context from the other gospels that
help to round out our story this morning
so
Please turn with me to the Gospel of John
our scripture for this morning is
1 After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 A huge crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was performing by healing the sick. 3 Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with his disciples.
4 Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. 5 So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?” 6 He asked this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.”
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There’s 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.”
There was plenty of grass in that place; so they sat down. The men numbered about five thousand. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks he distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 When they were full, he told his disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.
Lets Pray
Illustration
Illustration
Anyone wake up this morning?
By alarm clock?
how about, did anyone drive a car here today?
wow!
I guess thats most of you
how about cloths?
I see we are all wearing some
so thats good
haha
well what if I told you this morning that every
single one of those acts was an act of faith?
We all had faith that we would wake up when we
went to bed last night
We had faith that our alarm clock would go off
we had faith that our cloths would fit
we had faith that our car would start
and we had faith that it would get us here
and we didn’t put just a little faith in these things
they took quite a bit
Do we do that with the things of God
when it comes down it
when the rubber meets the road
do we have the faith
to realize that he has the
power to provide
the power to save
the power to redeem
just as that car has the power to get us here this morning
that airplane has the power to get us across the country
and that scba has the power to give me air in a toxic environment?
if we really sit down and think about
do we have that kind of faith
today we will see 4 main characters
and each of these will look at this need
for food and provision
differently
depending on their faith
and as we go through this lets see
where we would fit in this story
where our faith is
should we say
this morning we will see the crowd
portray
a superficial or materialistic faith
we will see this in the beginning
and end of this passage
this is faith that is skin
deep
a faith based only on what was seen
a faith that moves with the winds of change
a faith thats based on benefits
not repentance
a faith that based on superficial
things,
material things
and faith based on sinking sand
like we will see in Philip
show us
a pessimistic faith
he is a believer, yes
but has
the type of faith that sees the problem
But cannot see past the wordly reasons as to
why God cannot overcome that problem
We will see Andrew
with a questioning faith
he says, God I know you probably
can do this, and Ill go along with what you
want me to do
But i’m still not sure how you will pull this off
with the little resources you have
and finally we will see
the faith portrayed by Jesus
in a
Positive Faith
a faith that understood the power
didn’t question anything
just looked up to God
and knew it would happen
and that is a type of faith that comes
after much prayer and obedience
and that is the type of faith
that we are to have
We will find these different types of
faith scattered between our 3 points of the morning
which are
The Problem (1-6)
The Provision (7-11)
The Power (12-15)
So Let us begin with…
The Problem
The Problem
John 6:1 “1 After this,
V1 started with After this
and if we remember John does a great job of time stamping
things for us during his gospel account
so when John says After this
he is speaking for one
that there is a decent amount of time that passed between
chapter 5 and 6
we will see in V4 that the passover was near
and we know that at the start of chapter 5
there was a jewish festival beginning then
well, we weren’t told what festival that was
if it was passover - almost 1 year
if feast tabernacles - 6 months
or somewhere between those 2
but a lot has happened
during this time period
Jesus continued ministering
in Galilee
In fact we can find the bulk of what happened
between chapter 5 & 6
in the gospels of Mathew, mark, Luke
Some things we know for sure occured
based upon the amazing way the gospels
support each other are
Jesus gave the sermon on the mount
Matthew 5-7
he healed the Roman’s Centurions Servant
Matthew 8 and Luke 7
He raised a widows son to life
Luke 7
He calmed a storm
Matthew 8, Mark 4, Luke 8
he sent demons into a heard of pigs
Matthew 8, Mark 5, Luke 8
he healed the bleeding woman
Matthew 9, Mark 5, Luke 8
he restored a little girl
Matthew 9, Mark 5, Luke 8
defiantly among other things that weren’t recorded in this
this 6-12 month period
so Jesus and his disciples were BUSY!
and Jesus just continued to gain in popularity
another thing to we need to observe about this
“after this”
time stamp is what happened specifically
just before this
We learn from
The other 3 Gospels
that just prior to this
Jesus sent the disciples out
on a
mission trip by themselves
where they were to proclaim
the kingdom of God
where they were given power
and authority over
demons and disease
remember, they were to take
nothing on their journey
they were to rely solely on God
for provision
and when they were found not to be welcome
what were they to do
shake off the dust from their
feet and leave that area
so that what the apostles were
up to jut before this
and Jesus,
well he was healing and preaching as well as we just discussed
but he also had heard of the death of his
dear friend John the Baptist
after he was rejected in his home town
So… with all of this action going on
all of this marathan of ministry happening
Jesus meets back up with his
apostles / disciples at the sea of Galilee
They were tired and weary
and frankly so was He
they were in need of a break
so
So V1 continued with
John 6:1 “..Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).”
Making an effort to get away from the crowds
Jesus and his disciples
got in a boat
we know he used a boat from Matthew 14:13.
and they went to the other side of the Lake or
the sea of Galilee or the sea of Tiberias
fact is it had
had several names through history
and the bible
but we will call it the sea of Galilee for today
and the sea of Galilee is rather large
13 miles by 7 miles
and it says they or He went to
the other side
so most likely
they were going from the
caperniuem side
or the western side
where the crowds were
to the less populated
eastern side where there is a little
more room
maybe to hide
maybe to teach
but we see in V2
what they were trying to get away from
what they were trying to get some rest from
and that was the large crown
John 6:2 “2 A huge crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was performing by healing the sick.”
As I mentioned earlier,
these crowds were following Him everywhere
but notice it doesn’t
say they followed Him
for salvation
they didn’t follow Him
out of faith
or repentance
or Love
no
they followed him
because they saw the signs he was
doing on the sick
they had that superficial faith
They were seeking the latest
thrill, the latest
what is he going to do this time
we saw that with the believers
when he was down in Judea
and we see it here
following Jesus
because they wanted the
benefits, not the relationship
They wanted his works
not his words
and I must stop here and ask the question.
as we see our first type f
Do we ever do that?
Do we ever seek after Jesus because we
want the benefits?
we want fire insurance?
we want the material things?
we want the persona
but what do those things get us
when times get tough
when times get hard
do we lean into Jesus?
or do we seek other means
to fix our problems
see a superficial faith will only
get you through superficial times
Its like painting a house with
new paint but not doing
anything with rotten wood underneath
and because that rot was never made new
it will eventually make its way back to the surface
see superficial faith will only get you so far
that is why we will see so many desert
Jesus towards the end of this chapter in
a couple of weeks in
John 6:66 “66 From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him.”
Brothers and sisters
we must root all of our faith in Jesus
Not just the outsides
all of us!
Now, lets keep moving along
It appears as though Jesus and his disciples have made
it across the see
and onto the other side
so after they got to the other side
John 6:3 “3 Jesus went up a mountain
So they made it to the mountain
and remember there are some pretty special things
that happen on mountains
we have his temptation
his sermon on the mount
the transfiguration
the olivet discourse
the resurrection
and the ascension
all of these things happen on mountains
so when it says he went up on the mountain,
something pretty awesome was about to happen
and there he sat down with his disciples.
They sat down for some much needed rest
and probably some time to reflect on all that had happened
maybe even teach on the things learned during their
time away from each other
however, unfortunately this doesn't seem like it lasted very long
John 6:4 “4 Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near.”
Why mention the passover?
well, thanks for asking
this is our time stamp if you will
as we discussed earlier
but this also explains why there may be so
many extra folks around
see not only was Jesus contending with
the crowds
but with the passover
approaching there were a
ton of travelers heading down to
Jerusalem for the pass over
which would have added greatly
to the numbers
and these travelers would have Moses
on their mind
after all Moses is the
one that led them out of Egypt
and out of slavery during the first passover
and isn’t it interesting
that these pilgrims
in this crowd
with Moses on their mind
come across Jesus
whom is about to provide bread
just as moses did in the wilderness
interesting
its almost as if Jesus could be thought
of as a new moses
or maybe he even spoke about moses at the end of
Chapter 5
see where I am going with this
the perfection of scripture is just amazing
but that is not a rabbit hole we will go down this morning
So with Passover on the crowds and on Jesus mind
Jesus, still sitting on the side of the mountain
John 6:5 “5 So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?””
I can almost imagine Jesus
that as he was sitting on the mountain
arms resting on his knees
catching up with his disciples
smiling and laughing at something
crazy that Peter did
or maybe singing a hymn
looks up
and sees the large crowd approaching
I can imagine Jesus was probably pretty good at hide
and seek
but it appeared as though
the crowds found Him
so as Jesus looks up
we get no hint of
disappointment
we get no hint of
complaint about his time
of rest being cut short
instead we see the creator and savior
show compassion
even after many long days of work
he sees there is still more work to do
So this crowd
walked all the way around the sea of galilee
along the shore
that was probably a 9 mile walk around there
they met up with the pilgrims and found
Jesus
and these people
were so desperate for Jesus
that they didn’t pack a lunch
they didn't plan ahead
And Jesus
well, He
uses this opportunity to show us
2 of His concerns
which are to meet the needs of man
and to stregnthen His disciples
which is why He said to Philip
John 6:5–6 “ “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?” 6 He asked this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.”
See he already knew he would meet thier needs
and though this, he would teach the disciples
of faith and the power that provides
Which leads us to our second point of the morning
The Provision
The Provision
John 6:7 “7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.””
And here we have our Pessimistic Faith
Jesus didn’t ask Philip where he could buy bread
to feed these people
because he needed directions
to the speedy stop
or to HEB
no, he asked this of Philip to test him
remember, Jesus knew what he would do
after all Philip was from this area
he knew the resources
and Philip also knew it was impossible
because Philip was thinking about a
human solution
he was focused on the problem
which is why he answered the way he did
They either had 200 denarii in the treasury
or he made up this large number sarcastically
200 denarii would have been 8 months worth of wages
and it still wouldn’t be enough money
Philip was thinking about the problem logistically, numerically,
if you will
not spiritually, and not in light of the power
that was standing right in front of him
I mean Philip had seen the miracles
he saw Jesus turn the water into wine
all kinds of things
yet here, he only sees the impossibility of the situation
See a person with pessimistic faith
believes in God
they profess Christ
and look to Him for salvation
yet, in light of trials and problems
they do not see the opportunity for God to work
and due to this pessimistic faith
God’s power seems to be forgotten
See
A person with pessimistic faith forgets God’s glorious power in the past
the things that God has already done does not
enter into the equation when tested
they fail to remember His power
and therefore, the solutions remain
earthly
A person with pessimistic faith feels the problem is too big for God’s power
or that the problem is too little for God
A person with pessimistic faith fails to see God’s love, interest, and concern in every little thing that happens
A person with pessimistic faith gives thanks and praise to God for what they have,
but fails to trust God for the miraculous
A person with pessimistic faith looks to others for help
instead of looking to God and depending on Him and Him alone
See, A person with pessimistic faith fails to see God is glorified when he provides and meets the need that we think are impossible
See God was using this test to show Philip that he must understand the Power of God to provide even when the situation seems impossible
And that is exactly what he is telling us as well
Then we have Andrew
Upon seeing these things Andrew says to him
John 6:9 “9 “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?””
and with this statement Andrew shows us of questioning Faith
In Mark 6:38 we see that Jesus had the disciples go look for food and see how much the crowd had
that is why Andrew found this boy
that’s all he could find
a boy with the bread of the pour
and two small fish
He did what Jesus asked
yet he questioned whether it would be enough
he was optimistic in the fact that he could say
hey, here’s something God
but, its not enough
and I don’t know what your going to do with it
See
a person with questioning faith lays out what they have before the Lord
they truly love him
yet the dont think that he has provided enough
they are optimistic that he provided something
but is it enough?
the fish were small
probably pickled
the bread was small
this bread would have looked more like crackers
than what we thing of bread
is this really going to work?
a person with questioning faith looks at the needs and the meager resources then questions God
instead of believing that he will use these small
resources to do BIG THINGS
they only think of the fact that
these small
meager, poor quality resources can provide
small, meager, poor outcomes
now, does that sound like the power of God to you?
we can think of it other aspects other than food right
money, health, clothing
whatever the need
sometimes God gives us resources we dont think will
work only to show us his power in those small things
Which brings us to Jesus in V10
John 6:10–11 “10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place; so they sat down. The men numbered about five thousand. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks he distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted.”
Here, Jesus will show us the type of faith he expects
See instead of rebuking or reprimanding them for their lack in faith
he put them to work
he had them sit everyone down
Mark tells us in groups of 50 or 100
probably to help with organization
and distribution
this was a big place
remember this is the side of a mountain
and there was a lot of grass for everyone to sit
which makes sense because its spring time
and we know that
because the passover is at hand
now our text says that there were 5000 men
men, not including women or children
5000 men
which means we should at least double or even triple that number
when we factor in women and children
so we are looking at what 10-15 thousand people
maybe even 20k
this is a huge event
and what is unique about this is the fact that not only
were all of these people witnessing this miracle
but they were partaking in it as well
they were active recipients of it
that makes this Jesus’ largest sign recorded
so here is Jesus
in this huge crowd of people
holding a couple of fish and some crackers
and instead of sending them home
he would use this opportunity to show them
who He is
Just like Moses provided manna in the
wilderness
Jesus would provide bread in the mountains
Jesus took what he had
He raised it and looked up to God the Father
He didn't think about the impossibility of the situation
he didn't think about the meagerness and small amounts of what he had
there was no hopelessness in this
no questioning about whether it would be enough
no
He had full faith that God would provide
So Jesus gave thanks
and distributed the fish and bread to the people
See Jesus simply gave God
all he had
all he could do was give what was in his
hands and God did the rest
This is a Positive Faith
a faith that sees nothing but the fact
that God will provide
that God understands our needs
and will meet them
should we only come to Him
will the fullness of our souls
knowing that he will and can
provide
The only thing we have to give
is ourselves
we have no control
over outside things
we have no control over things that happen to us
the only thing we have
we must give fully to God
knowing that He
has power over the outside things
he has power over things that
will happen to us
and when we grasp the fact that He
has the power to provide
then we will grasp the fact
that he is all we will ever need
See on this mountain Jesus gave them
bread to fulfil their earthly need of
hunger
Yet we also know that through faith
God will fulfill our spiritual needs as well
and in that aspect we will never be hungry again
Which brings us to our final point of the morning
The Power
The Power
John 6:12–13 “12 When they were full, he told his disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.”
See, not only did God provide enough for us
through Jesus
he provided enough that there was some left over
he gave them as much as they wanted
and yet there was still more!
so much more that they had leftovers for
the next day
and isn’t this a picture of His amazing grace
that He gives us each and every day
and what do we have to give in return
Faith
and that is even a gift from God
through His grace
But as we place our faith in Him
as we overcome our superficial aspects of it
as we overcome any pessimism it encompasses
as we overcome our questioning of His power
I assure you we walk even more confidently in His footsteps
And this same power that we recognize through faith
is the same power
that raised Him from the dead
the same power that created the universe
See so many today want Jesus on their terms
who want Jesus only
so that He
can heal their relationship
or make them successful
or make them feel good about themselves
so many want Jesus to grant them
3 wishes and tolerate their sin
to which there is no end to their
self serving requests
But that isn't how this works
See we must come to Jesus on His terms
and that is through repentance
that is through the acknowledgement of our own sin
and then trusting in Him for salvation
and forgiveness of those sin
we are to acknowledge that He is divine and sovereign
That He is Lord over all things
including us
So let me encourage you this morning
as go into our time of invitation
Let us stand firm in our faith
fight the good fight
trust in Him and in Him alone
for our provisions
and He will be faithful to provide
Let us pray