When Jesus Asks A Question
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Welcome to week 2 of “The Seven Miracles of Jesus” series. For the seven weeks leading up to Easter we are going to look at the seven miracles recored by the Gospel of John.
Do you believe in miracles?
Have you ever experienced a miracle?
In our day and age people are fascinated with the paranormal and many people are looking for “Signs and Wonders” and it seems in some circles miracles are a normal occurrence and in others not so much. There is fake miracles and at the same time God still works real life changing miracles.
The Preachers Commentary defines Miracles as, “a divine intervention into, or an interruption of, the regular course of the world, that produces a purposeful but unusual event that would not (or could not) have occurred otherwise. The natural world is the world of regular, observable and predictable events … a miracle is an unusual, irregular, specific way in which God acts within the world.… if a miracle occurs, it would not be a violation or contradiction of the ordinary laws of cause and effect, but a new effect produced by the introduction of a supernatural cause.”
The Bible records miracles as times God revealed His power to humanity as with the Exodus story. In the Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke focus on the supernaturalness of the Miracles with an eschatological, end times focus, but John is more concerned with what you believe about Jesus, his focus in on the Christological side.
For John, faith based on miraculous signs is not regarded as satisfactory, he wants our faith to center on Christ. It is, however, at least a step beyond those who willfully refuse to even see the signs as we will see in the weeks ahead. John closes his gospel with the promises Jesus did many other things, so many they could never have all been written down. So he choose to write about these seven miracles that teach us a truth about who Jesus is and teach a truth about the Kingdom of God.
It is my hope that as we prepare for Easter, you’ll commit to coming every week and focus on these truths you’ll learn about Jesus. I believe God might even have a miracle or two for us, I believe there is something for each of us in these accounts.
Will you commit?
Theme Story:
Looking for bread, I feel todays story in John is so timely , 5000 people are hungry and looking for food. I’m telling you it’s like food shopping today, In the last week I’ve been to Walmart, Kroger, Food Fair and went all week without bread until Friday we found some at Walmart. I could hardly believe walking around the stores and seeing everything gone. It brought home to me this story of 5000 people sitting on a hill to listen to a teacher they hardly knew while they had no food around them and not even a store to go to in order to buy some. Weeks like this last one remind us how short life is and how quickly life can change and how easy would it be to wake up one and be without the things we need.
We feed 137 people on Friday as part of the #LoveKenova pantry and so many of them were so grateful for the food they recieved. It was our biggest pantry day yet and we still have some food on hand to give to those who call us asking for help. Having the ability as a church to help feed people in a time like this is such a blessing.
What is it after this last week, you couldn’t find or are still looking for? Are you hungry for something you don’t have?
Hook: Please turn with me in your Bibles to; John 6
Explanation
Explanation
With the exception of the resurrection, this is the only one of Jesus’ miracles that appears in all four Gospels. This miracle took place about one year before Jesus was crucified. Jesus had taken his disciples to the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee for rest. But while they were there, the crowds followed to hear Jesus teach and to have him heal their sick.
Jesus provides more than enough to meet everyone’s needs even in an impossible situation.
After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 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?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 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. 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. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
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.
I. WITH JESUS, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.
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?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”
A. In John 6:5, Jesus asked Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”
In verse 7, Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little”
Philip had already calculated the impossibility of feeding the crowd. Two hundred denarii was about 8 months wages. I can imagine for Philip this whole thing seemed crazy, he knew they did not have a enough money or resources to feed all these people. I bet he was shocked to have the Lord ask him such a question.
But Philip was thinking through His human reasoning, he could only see what was in front of him. We often do this with the problems in our own lives, we convince ourselves that the problem is too great, we don’t have enough resources, it can’t be worked out or helped.
We always see what’s in front of us and rearly see beyond that. So often we are crippled from moving forward because we can see past the current situation
Philip was doing what we all do, giving up too easy.
B. But verse 6 suggests that when Jesus asked the question, he already knew what he was going to do. He already had the solution to what seemed like an impossible situation.
Jesus was testing Philip, did Philip believe Jesus. Jesus saw the problem and knew what He was going to do.
While we see a problem, Jesus sees and opportunity to show His glory.
When we’re ready to give up, Jesus shows up!
What if Philip answered, I don’t know Lord, what are YOU going to do? It takes great trust in our lives to hand over our problems to Jesus and ask him to take care of it.
Many of us can’t see past this current COVID-19 situation and it seems hopeless.
When we’re ready to give up, Jesus shows up!
C. Likewise, in Isaiah 65:24 God says,
Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
“Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.” You cannot face a problem that God hasn’t already figured out. Do you believe that God is already at work and has this whole COVID-19 problem figured out. That right now he’s working in the minds of doctors on the cure.
I believe God is working through this in ways we can not see, because we can not see what He see’s.
Philip couldn’t see what Jesus saw.
God declares
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
II. WITH JESUS, NOTHING IS INSIGNIFICANT.
A. Jesus started this miracle with a small boy’s lunch. Barley was the grain poor people used for bread. The five “loaves” weren’t like our loaves; they were small lunch biscuits. The two fish were dried fish about the size of sardines. It wasn’t much, but Jesus fed more than five thousand people with it.
B. Jesus not only fed the crowd until everyone was full, but the boy who gave up his lunch got much more than he gave. He started with a small lunch. He ended up with a meal for himself and his community with left overs.
I am totally shocked Church people left leftovers. Just goes to show you, Jesus provided a lot.
When we’re ready to give up, Jesus shows up!
For this boy this was all he had, the disciples knew it wasn’t enough. I know there was the one brother that was like really?
But see when we come to Jesus with all we have, no matter how little, if we give it freely over to him, He can multiply it many times over.
Sometimes we don’t give to the Lord because we feel like we can’t give enough or the what we have isn’t worth giving. I know this boy had no idea what Jesus was going to do with his little bit of lunch. But Jesus shows the disciples and all that were there, that He alone is the creator God who can make something out of nothing by his very Word.
And our God always brings an increase!
Right now if you would just trust Jesus and bring what it is that He is asking for, He’ll bring the increase.
I pray this morning that you’ll give online so that the Lord can give us the increase we need.
C. God often uses small things with greater effectiveness than the things we think of as great and most promising.
I know right now the Lord is asking someone watching to give him something, to surrender something over to him, to trust him with a situation in your life and your holding out, because like Philip you are only seeing things your way.
I pray this morning, you’ll hand it over and let the Lord bring the increase, Let Him take care of the things you can’t.
Philip was never meant to provide the food, it was the Lord’s moment to shine.
III. WITH JESUS, NOTHING IS WASTED.
And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
A. Verse 12-13 reports that, after everyone had had enough to eat, Jesus ordered the disciples to gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing would be wasted.
B. According to Romans 8:28, nothing that happens to us is a wasted experience,
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
C. Not everything that happens to us in life seems positive or good at the time. Life is often filled with broken dreams and lost hopes. Loss of a job can shatter dreams of financial security, professional advancement, and comfort. A divorce can shatter dreams of home, family, and a loving relationship. A serious illness can shatter dreams of a vibrant, active life full of accomplishment. The death of a loved one can shatter dreams of companionship and years of gracefully growing old together.
COVId-19 can turn our world upside down.
D. All of us have dreams, and when those dreams are shattered we are often caught in the morass of disappointment, frustration, and hopelessness. We are a dreaming world of shattered dreamers. So what should we do when our dreams are broken, when our plans fail, when insurmountable barriers stand in the way of our vision for the future?
1. We can give up and say, “It’s not worth the effort,” and then just do the least that we can with the rest of our lives.
2. We can grow bitter and lash out at God, society, and others, living a life that is sour to us and everyone we touch.
3. We can live in the past, the good old days, and miss God’s present (and future) blessing and victory.
4. Or we can dare to dream once again, trusting God to use everything that happens to us for our good. Even negative experiences teach us valuable lessons and shape our character. With God, nothing is wasted.
We can trust that..
When we’re ready to give up, Jesus shows up!
IV. Jesus is the bread of life.
This forth miracle took part and Jesus made one of His “I AM” statements.
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.
When I opened this sermon I asked this question; “What is it after this last week, you couldn’t find or are still looking for? Are you hungry for something you don’t have?"
Look how quickly each of us searched for food this week, even toilet paper, look how crazy the world went buying up everything in site.
I want you to know this morning we have the same Problem the Philip had and the 5000 people following Jesus. We are all hungry, we all have needs, we are all worried about the things we can not control or have the power to fix.
Jesus is the bread of life and only He, can satisfy our deepest needs, wants and desires. We can not get through this without him, because if we try we’ll end up like the rest of the world lost and searching.
Only Jesus can satisfy that satisfaction is found when you start feasting on the living giving bread of His word and like any good meal, you enjoy it, you seek after it and you have your fill.
Maybe this morning you’re ready to give up trying to get by on your own.
When we’re ready to give up, Jesus shows up!
Application
Application
So what does this mean for us?
God has a wonderful plan for your life, a plan in which he has already taken care of every “impossible” situation you will ever face. Nothing in your life is insignificant to God—and no life under God’s direction and care will ever be wasted.
God is working now in ways we can’t see, but one day like Philip we see the outcome.
Are you handing over to God what seems impossible?
Are you operating from a place of trust? Or the failure-ship or doing it your own way.
Maybe the most honest pray we can have right now is, I don’t know how Lord this will work out, but I trust you’ll do something.
Are you spending time searching for and feasting on the bread of life?
Commit this week to reading the Word more and standing on it’s truth.
If you need help with that ask.