God’s Provision For Ministry

Text: Matthew 14:15-21

Place Preached - (Mississauga International Baptist Church)

Date Preached - (08/18/02)

Introduction:

Several important questions need to be asked at the outset of this message…

1). Does Christ give us any commands that are impossible to obey?

EXAMPLES:

Ye must be born again – John 3:7

Repent and be baptized – Acts 2:38

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse – Mal 3:10

Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together – Heb 10:25

Give ye them to eat – Matthew 14:16

2). Does Christ lead us to a place of conviction, obedience, and surrender only to abandon us?

3). Will Christ fail to provide for us in the fulfillment of the ministry to which He calls us?

The text before us provides us with a truly Biblical pattern for ministry.

It leads us to correct thinking concerning ministry.

This is the one miracle found in every gospel and is therefore a very important one.

It is not just about the provision of lunch for 5,000 hungry people.

You can see this in the following passages

LOOK UP & READ – John 6:5-6 & Mark 6:52

Back to our text where the disciples raise several objections to ministry and Christ answers every objection in the performing of the miracle.

Key Thought – Effective Biblical ministry is possible today if we will follow God’s pattern.

I. The (wrong) Thinking of the Disciples vs.15

A. This is the Wrong Place (A Desert)

Not a desert of sand dunes and cactus.

It’s a wilderness all right. It is away from the cities away from the conveniences and services of civilization.

B. This is the Wrong Time (Evening)

The time is now past

The Jews, as Grotius rightly observes, had two evenings; the one began when the sun declined at noon, and the other at sun setting:

Now it was the former of these, and not the latter, that was now come; for after this, you read of another evening that was come, Mt 14:23 between which two evenings Christ made the multitude to sit down, and he fed them in a miraculous manner.

And the disciples reason for the dismission of the multitude, that might go into the neighbouring villages, and buy provisions, shows that it could not be the last, but the first of these evenings, that is here meant.

C. This is the Wrong Crowd

“Send the multitude away”…

They are self-reliant – They are self-sufficient – There are natural ways of meeting their needs.

D. We are not Able to Help vs.17

What we have here is not enough.

(200 pennyworth – year’s wages – is not enough)

Just one lad with five loaves and two fishes – His Lunch!!

They were right if it were not for one thing – They were with Christ!!

How similar the above wrong thinking is to the attitude of so many today regarding Biblical ministry (EXPLAIN)

So How did Christ answer these objections? ANSWER - Simply by His power and the Performance of the miracle!!

II. The Power of Christ (Making the Difference)

Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

His power proved them wrong on every count!!

What did His miracle-working power demonstrate about ministry? How did it answer the objections of the disciples?

A. The Desert was not the Wrong Place

It became a bountiful banquet table for 5,000 plus women and children.

Psalms 78:19 Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?

The answer Class? – YES! Of course He can!!!

Can He turn stones into Bread? – Yes!!!

Can He make dry bones live???

Can He cause a barren womb to become fruitful? - Oh Yes He can!!

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

APPLICATION: A spiritual desert exists in the heart of man apart from Christ.

There is such a thing as a spiritually dry land.

Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

LOOK UP & READ Ezekiel 37:1-14

Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

God is not only able, He would delight to do such a thing.

B. The Evening was not the WrongTime

1. The evening is a time of tiredness.

When we are physically exhausted.

2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

2. The evening is a time of darkness.

Christ is still the light of the world.

Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

3. The evening is a time of lateness.

John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

It may be late, but it is not yet TOO late.

There is still time to furnish a table!!

Still opportunity for folks to be saved! There is yet hope for Revival!!!

C. This was not the Wrong Crowd.

WHY?

1. Because of Christ’s compassion

God is interested in people who are not interested in Him

Christ’s tears demonstrate His compassion…

John 11:35 Jesus wept.

Luke 19:41 ¶And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

2. Because of their need - Hunger

Beneath their apparent self-reliance and self-sufficiency was a basic need –they were hungry.

3. Because of Christ’s choosing vs.16

God has ordained that all the world should hear the Gospel.

The Gospel cannot be delivered to the wrong address.

D. The Disciples were Wrong about their Ability

1. The result did not depend on them.

They were right about that

2. There is a definite pattern for ministry here

a. Our RESPONSIBILTY – “Give ye them to eat” vs.16

b. Our REALIZATION – “We don’t have much” vs.17

c. Our RESPONSE – “Bring them to me” vs.18

All we have and all we are we are to give back to Him.

Moses – “What is that in thine hand” – Exodus 4:2

d. Our ROLE – “Distribute to the multitude” vs.19

All we are is messengers, ambassadors - Delivery Boys!!!

e. Our REWARD – “There remained 12 baskets” vs.20

Conclusion: (Review)

MAIN POINTS -

Is the Desert the wrong place for ministry?

Is the Evening the wrong time for ministry?

Is the Multitude the wrong crowd to minister to?

Are we unable to fulfill Biblical ministry?

1). Does Christ give us any commands that are impossible to obey?