Living Miracles: Faith Beyond the Limit

Have you ever experienced in your life a time when things did not look very good? A time when you were challenged in your spirit to do something but yet you looked at your means and found no way to make things work? Do you find yourself challenged by the Spirit to do things yet you look at the means you have and you feel inadequate to meet the need? Here is the good news for you, you are not alone. Not only are you not alone in the crowd in this sanctuary, you are not alone in the history of our scripture either. I read a story of a little girl who did not feel like she had much to give. I am often challenged in my life with the idea that I must do big things. I struggle in feeling like small things are inadequate and that everything I do must be gigantic in nature.

Since I love examples with my children, I will share with you another example in our lives. Camden as you all know is likely the sweetest of my boys. While all of them have their times, Camden has more times where he is sweet. Camden does not in general ask for very much and so I had big plans for his birthday a few years ago. I wanted his birthday to be one that he would remember. We invited many friends and family. As I planned we booked a slide, we planned for BBQ for lunch, music, fun, and most of all a pinata. that would wrap everything up. As the day of the party approached I found myself exhausted, but excited. The party was a great success! We had a blast and Camden had a great day. The next year though I wanted to do another big party but we had some things going on and life was looking very hectic and we were not prepared to be able to throw a huge party. We had a simple party at the house with our family and we took Camden to a trampoline park. When we got home Camden said he had the greatest time ever! I was so worried that he would think we did not do enough. Turns out he had a great time, even more fun than the year before.

You may be wondering what this has to do with the Bible or our scripture today. This is a great example of how we often think of what we can do as insignificant and not enough. Camden loved his party and it taught me that sometimes it is in the following through that God blesses things. Just like this party, when we are faithful in doing what God calls us to do even when we do not feel like it is enough. Turn with me in your Bible to Luke 9:12-17. In the Scripture this morning we will see First, the Challenge. Second, we will see the Work. Third, we will see the Blessing.

Luke 9:12–17 ESV

12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

1. The Challenge

Luke 9:12–13 ESV

12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.”

We see here that the disciples are worried about the crowd. They are so worried that they go to Jesus and they say, hey look we are a ways from food here. We need you to stop talking and send the crowd away so that they can go find food. Jesus said well if you are so worried about it, then you feed them. Jesus immediately challenged the disciples. What I find interesting about this is, Jesus would have known what the disciples had and did not have. Jesus was traveling with them throughout the region and Jesus knew that they would not have had many if any provisions. The idea that the disciples did not have much to give was not a surprise to Jesus yet He still called on them to feed the people. Can I ask you, what areas of your life is God calling you to get personally involved? See here what the disciples did initially.

Luke 9:12 ESV

12 Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.”

The disciples much like us tried to solve the given conviction by sending the people out of their immediate sight. They said look I am worried about the people eating but if we send them on their own way and tell them to eat then we do not have to worry about whether they eat or not it will be on them. From this vantage point we will often times hold the disciples in contempt. However before we get to that point this morning can I challenge us with times that we have done that in our lives? Has God ever put someone in your life or your path and you were concerned about that person, yet instead of doing something you have gone and told the church what the church should do to meet that need? Have you ever told the person where they could get help, even though you felt the conviction to be the agent of change in their lives? We see Jesus here in this scripture issuing a challenge to the disciples and that challenge is, get personally involved. Quit standing off on the sidelines expecting things to change and get your hands dirty. What opportunities in your life is God calling you to get personally involved? What areas are you tempted to push off on others, or brush off? Is God calling you to be the blessing in someone else's life and are you willing to accept the challenge?

Most people wish to serve God -- but in an advisory capacity only.

Quoted in Sunday Express, London.

I find that many of us are willing to work for God as long as like the disciples we are telling God what He should do. I have done it in my life. I am guilty of seeing one’s needs and saying God, you should do something about that.

I am a big Christian Music fan. Especially when the music breaks the trendy cycle to meet a cycle of delivering a much needed message. Matthew West did this in one of his songs. I won’t sing it but I do want to read you a portion of his song.

woke up this morning Saw a world full of trouble now Thought, how'd we ever get so far down How's it ever gonna turn around So I turned my eyes to Heaven I thought, "God, why don't You do something?" Well, I just couldn't bear the thought of People living in poverty Children sold into slavery The thought disgusted me So, I shook my fist at Heaven Said, "God, why don't You do something?" He said, "I did, I created you" If not us, then who If not me and you Right now, it's time for us to do something If not now, then when Will we see an end To all this pain It's not enough to do nothing It's time for us to do something I'm so tired of talking About how we are God's hands and feet But it's easier to say than to be Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves It's alright, "somebody else will do something" Well, I don't know about you But I'm sick and tired of life with no desire I don't want a flame, I want a fire I wanna be the one who stands up and says, "I'm gonna do something"

Jesus challenged the disciples to do something. See a need, do something. As we enter this year and we as a church are looking for ways to meet needs, are you in your life listening for the challenges that God is calling you to?

I love how Jesus did this, He challenged the disciples then a few scriptures later He explained what people would be like when called to engage in the challenge.

Luke 9:23–27 ESV

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus said look, there will be those who are challenged and they will deny themselves, they will take up their cross and they will meet the needs of those around the. They will give up the things they want and they will meet needs of the ones I put in their path. He said there will be those who were happy to give up to be a part of God’s plan in others lives. The He said there will be those who are challenged and they will be ashamed and they will walk away from the challenge. Jesus said for those who do not accept the challenge, He will be ashamed of them in the presence of God and the angels! I do not know about you but I am not willing for Jesus to be ashamed of me before God and the angels. First we are called to meet the challenge. Jesus said look engage in the challenge. Second we are called to engage even if things do not look like we will be able to meet the need.

2. The Work

Luke 9:13–15 ESV

13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down.

The disciples said to Jesus, look we cannot feed all these people! We have 5 loaves and 2 fish to split between all these people. Have you ever been to a fancy restaurant? I avoid them, you know why? Not because of the price, because of the portions. I love the Golden Corral, why? Because you can pay 20 dollars and eat till they have to roll you out the door, I get the image of that girl from Willy Wonka that had to be rolled our and juiced. I do not like the portions at fancy places, you pay 50 dollars for a steak and get a piece of fajita steak. I could only imagine what the disciples were thinking when Jesus told them to seat the people like they were about to eat. Jesus had the disciples split them up in groups and sit them down. Listen these folks knew what was up. They were hungry and they knew that they were about to eat. If you wonder, yes this was the first meeting of the baptist church. They met and they ate. The stress had to be pretty high for the disciples. First Jesus challenged them to feed the people, then Jesus did not send them to town for supplies, yet Jesus called them to seat the people like they were going to eat. I will sum this up in one word, faith. Jesus was calling the disciples to the work that required faith. I could imagine Matthew with his background in taxes, trying to do the math on how the bread and fishes could be split up. If we give everyone one one thousandth of the load and one one-thousandth of the fish, we still will not have enough! Judas was sitting back, happy Jesus did not tell them to go spend money. Thomas was sitting back doubting that anything good was going to come from this. Andrew is saying, look man I'm a fisherman and I am telling you right now, there are not enough fish eggs there to make an omelet! Jesus called the disciples to the work even though they did not see a path to the result. How many of us are waiting to obey what God is calling us to do until we can see achievable results? Can I tell you why I believe we see fewer miracles today? Becasue we do not need them. We have science that has explained away most of the things people have feared. We do not step out of the boat until a floating dock is constructed, we do not help people until we can accomplish all of their needs. Can I ask you something today? What would it look like if you were faithful when you had no means to do what God asked you to do? What would happen if the church stepped out in obedience even when we saw not viable way to meet the needs? Jesus called the disciples to work though they saw no way of actually feeding this crowd. Jesus met the disciples with a challenge, then knowing they did not have the means called them to work out their faith.

Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends.

George Muller.

Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.

Augustine.

Faith is a voluntary anticipation.

Clement of Alexandria.

Faith calls us to sit people at the table knowing we have made nothing to feed them. What area is God calling you to simply obey? To step out and to trust Him? To step out knowing that the result is firmly in His hand, and there is nothing further you can do to achieve the desired result. I believe that often the church is stunted in growth by waiting until they can finance the challenges God is calling them to, to supply the needs God has called them to meet, in short the church operates on fact over faith and not faith over fact. Can I be very transparent with you this morning? It has always convicted me how the church will live in absolute faith when it comes to building buildings. We will start building a building with no funds in the bank, yet when it comes to meeting the needs of others around us, we must wait until the money is in the bank. It is time that we flip that on its head. It is time for the church to trust God to protect the buildings and grounds while we meet the needs. Scripture tells us the faith we are called to live in, one of my favorite examples is the widow and the prophet.

1 Kings 17:7–16 ESV

7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

We are called first to the challenge, God does not ask if you have the means to meet the need, He simply calls you to the work. What is God challenging you with? Are you ready to start the work without the means in sight?

3. The Blessing

Luke 9:16–17 ESV

16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

When we follow though on the challenges around us with faith that says, I cannot meet your needs, but I am going to walk in obedience. You will always see God bless the situation. You may say to yourself, he sounds mighty sure of that. I can tell you I have seen it in my own life. But aside from my life I can point to scripture after scripture where God has come through when the people of God obey knowing He is the only one who can provide the way. Bringing the message to an end this morning I am not going to share a cute story, I will not tell you a joke. I want the scripture to bring us to a place of sheer conviction in our lives for doubting that God will come through.

Exodus 14:10–21 ESV

10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” 15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” 19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

God delivered the Israelites when they encountered their first challenge.

1 Kings 18:20–38 ESV

20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. 36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

God rewarded Elijah by doing something that by all accounts should be impossible!

I am going to stop with these examples but I pray that we are brought to the same place. God is challenging each and every one of us in here in some aspect of your life. The challenge is to engage in the needs of others around us even if we have no way to meet their needs. Trusting and knowing that the God of the Universe, who owns and has all things, will supply all needs by His riches! Are you ready to live the miracle and truly engage in faith?