John #18 Feeding the Masses
That You May Believe and Have Life
John #18
John 6:1-14
Well, healing the sick, turning water into wine, Jesus was gaining a reputation. Last week as we read, Jesus admitted that he was from the Father that he WAS the Son, but that as Son, he was submissive to the will of the Father
We also found out last week that the Religion that the Father desires for us is one that honors Jesus Christ. IT places Jesus Christ in the place of honor and it draws the world to him.
So, let's continue our journey through John as we move into chapter 6 and one of the most famous events and one of my favorite stories in scripture
As I've suggested before … pay special attention to the words in RED
That is the words of Jesus …
READ 6:1-14
This really is one of those stories that just makes you shake your head.
It's a story that stretches our ability to understand.
Jesus takes a little boys lunch and feeds THOUSANDS of people.
We know there were 5000 men. Matthew says the count didn't include the women and children so double most like quadruple the number and you get the total number of people
The crowd gathers following Jesus as word traveled that he was in the vicinity, much like the scenes in Rocky, when first a few, then more, and more follow the growingly popular boxer, just doing his morning workout.
Jesus hadn't advertised. He had not gathered a crowd.
He's just sitting on a hillside with is disciples and thousands are there.
and we study today from question today on How do we FEED the MASSES Isn't that what we're trying to do as a church?
… They haven't eaten, it's late in the day and Jesus asks a question …
Well let's learn from the words of Jesus …
1. Where Will We Buy Bread?
Why did he ask this question?
V6 gives us the answer. He was testing his disciples
Testing their faith? Perhaps
Testing their perception? Most Likely
Testing their compassion? Most definitely
A. Recognize the hunger
V5 says Jesus "looked … and saw"
We look but do we see
We hear but do we listen
There are hungry people all around us
You passed hungry people this week, did you see?
Remember that the purpose of the signs was to reveal Christ in his deity as Messiah.
And so because of what they had seen, these hungry people came to Jesus
Yes they hadn't eaten all day but they were hungry for more than food;
I looked up the English word Hungry
Ä craving or urgent need for food or a specific nutrient; a strong desire
Jesus recognized their hunger
Mt 4:4 Jesus said "man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God"
Hunger is something that SCREAMS to be filled … the problem is when we fill it with things that do not satisfy
Micah 6:14 "you will eat, but not be satisfied, and there shall be hunger within you …
Isaiah 29:8 as when a hungry man dreams that he is eating but he awakens, and his hunger remains; as when a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking, but he awakens faint, with his thirst unquenched. So will it be with the hordes of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion.
BUT In Luke 6:35 Jesus said "blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied"
B. Have Empathy
That is "the action of understanding, being aware of, being senstitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another
The difference between Jesus and the disciples was that the disciples recognized their physical hunger but Jesus experienced their spiritual hunger
C. Respond with compassion
1. Jesus asked the question … where shall we buy bread for these people to eat"
2. in the Mark account the disciples said "send the people away so they can go … and buy themselves something to eat"
3. In mat. 15:23 a Gentile woman is seeking Jesus help and crying out after him and the disciples said "send her away, she keeps crying out after us."
Jesus says "where are we going to get the bread"
Philip gives an answer that doesn't answer the question … he says
Eight months wages (200 denari) would not buy enough for everyone to have a bite
JESUS DIDN"T ASK THAT - He didn't ask how much
He asked WHERE …
The disciples were sympathetic to the problem - that is the KNEW it
They were empathetic they FELT it
But they weren't compassionate
That is "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress TOGETHER with a desire to alleviate it
The disciples didn't want to alleviate it … not personally … not at personal cost …
Jesus knows we can't afford it
You scan the newspaper, you watch the television and you recognize that there are hungry people all around us
Listen to the conversation at work, in the neighborhood, in the cafeteria and you find we live among hungry people
And Jesus leans into your ear and says "where are we going to get the food to feed these people?"
And you say, "that will cost me too much Jesus"
These hungry people needed more than what 8 months wages would buy.
I think Jesus must have thought to himself ."Philip, you have NO IDEA what it will cost to satisfy the hunger of these people"
Jesus "I emptied my heavenly bank account, I rejected the rights of Godhood, so that these people could have the food they needed"
By the way … Andrew gives an answer …
"here is a boy with 5 small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many"
>The where is Jesus -
If you see this story, of course we don't think that the little boy was the solution. Jesus was the solution … The little boy was just a vehicle for the amazing hand of God
"how far will one life go among so many"
Could it be that YOU are the boy with the LUNCH?
You might think of yourself, at the office, as a little lunch among thousands … so you've got your masking tape on your lunch with YOUR name on it and it's in the fridge but you are saying "this is for me and no one else"
Could Jesus have fed the thousands without the little boys lunch? You Bet, but because the little boy turned it over, he got to be a part of it.
Take the tape off your lunch, take it out of the fridge and let's see how far it will go in the break room …
Stand on your front porch … and ask "Lord how far can this life go among so many"?
Let's get out in the parking lot and ask "Lord how far can we go among so many in North County?"
So, with the lunch given … Jesus speaks again …
2. Have the People Sit Down
>Get their attention
>Get them focused on Jesus
>Get them willing to receive
Jesus didn't ask the disciples to perform the miraculous, he asked them to get the people focused on him and he performed the miraculous
You remember we read one place they were baptizing and it mentions "because there was plenty of water"
Well notice here it says "there was plenty of grass"
Some people don't come to Christ through some churches, through some Christians because there's not enough grass
What do you mean Pastor
Jesus said make them sit down
>Get their attention
>Get them focused on Jesus
>Get them willing to receive
But there's no where for them to sit!
And I am NOT meaning that the building is too full either
I've been in empty churches where there was no room to sit down
Have you been there?
Some of you have visited churches like that
I've seen some big houses where there's no room to sit down
A. If we want people to "sit down"
Three things about the "grass"
Three things … required for people to sit down
1. welcome - "welcome / accepted" - have you ever been in a room but knew that you better not sit, you're not staying long? - If you have someone on your heart, invite them for dinner … have them over for a barbeque … make them feel welcome
2. room - There's got to be "room" - there was enough room for them to be seated … again … you can be in a building and there be room, but not room for you … is there room for a hungry soul in your life? Is there room for a hungry soul here at New Life Baptist Church?
3. comfortable - Are they comfortable? … we can invite people into our lives, into our church, we can make room for them, but then the comfort is that genuine care and concern that they feel when they get close to us
Feeding the Masses … we need to know where to buy food … JESUS
But how do we get them to sit ?
B. How
We need to get them to sit down
If you've got some people on your heart ask yourselves …
Lord … how can I
>Get their attention …
How about some random acts of kindness
How about a conversation across the fence, water cooler, lunch table
Lord how can I turn the conversation toward the things of God?
>Get them focused on Jesus
What is the hunger in their life?
Offer Jesus
>Get them willing to receive
Tell them how Jesus filled the longing in your heart
Tell them what Jesus has done someone else's heart
Tell them how much Jesus loves them
Recognizing the Hunger of the World
Where will we buy something to eat?
Jesus has what they need
Get them to sit down
And when it's all said and done …
3. Gather the Leftovers … let Nothing be Wasted
What do you take with you?
When Jesus speaks, when Jesus moves, what do you take with you?
When Jesus teaches you, what do you take with you?
Now look, I know we are all wired differently, learn differently, work differently, but if you do NOT take notes on Sunday, let me just talk to you for a minute
I don't about you, but I'd have to be honest with you, in OUR house, sometimes we waste a lot of leftover food
I would guess that in America, we waste enough to feed the hungry in many countries
But worse than that, what do we do with the leftover gospel preached here every Sunday?
There are great and powerful messages preached in the pulpits of this city and this country every week
You hear great messages on the radio
What are you doing after you get what YOU need?
Are you repeating the truth that you hear in this place?
You are being taught by some great Bible teachers in your Sunday School classes, what are you doing with that?
You are seeing souls saved, lives changed, what are you doing with what you have seen God do?
Notice in particular that Jesus' disciples were told to get the leftovers
Let me just say first to the leaders here.
What I have here on Sunday is not just for someone else. It is for you first … take the leftovers home with you, don't waste it
Take notes … I take notes when Doc preaches, when Aaron preaches, when one of our ministers teaches on Wednesday night this summer, I took notes
Why? Because the Lord is speaking through them to ME and I'm not going to waste anything. I know that the Lord is going to keep on speaking to me through that message
Leadership, you need to be taking notes
If you are not in leadership, you should be taking notes on what is being taught
If you are a new Christian, you need to be taking notes
Don't waste any of the leftovers …
What am I going to do with them?
For everyone
Perhaps you struggle with, what do I do with a personal quiet time? Where do I start, what do I read?
Well, take these notes from Sunday morning.
On Monday, Reread the first part of the scripture from Sunday. Ask the Lord to teach you something … and break down the first point of my message … pray over it, write down what the Lord is telling you … if you use a computer, type it out.
Then pick up where you left off on Tuesday, then on Wednesday
At the VERY LEAST … you'll get at least 3 days out of it, I would guess that most days you would get your full week out of what the Lord would teach you …
Share them with others
If you are a preacher / teacher
You can probably develop multiple teachings or sermons out of these messages.
Don't waste any of the leftovers
Somebody that you work with needs to hear this message
Somebody you go to school with needs to hear this message
Look for the opportunity
Listen for the opening
Pray for the opportunity
Respond in obedience when it is there
My warmed over messages are still the power of God to Salvation because they are the gospel of Jesus Christ
What it boils down to … is having the heart of Christ
Realizing how hungry the people are
Understanding the wealth of what he has given us in his gospel
Being transformed for self-centered to people centered
Desiring to be an instrument of peace
Are we like Christ asking the question
How do we meet this need?
Or are we saying with the disciples … it will cost too much, send them away, send someone else
Can we be like the little boy that says "Lord can you use this"?
Could we be like Andrew and say "Lord can you magnify what we have"?
Do we withhold our giving because we don't think it will be enough?
Do we withhold our going because don't think it will go far enough?
As I searched the scriptures on compassion … I noticed something that I had never noticed before …
There are many times where Christ IS moved with compassion
But in the gospels I don't see the disciples MOVED … The were in it for themselves
But AFTER the cross
After Pentecost
Then there is a change and they are moved with compassion for the lost compassion for those in need, compassion.
Well … we HAVE the Holy Spirit
We have Seen and Experienced the Cross
We need to make the move past the disciples pressing on to be like Christ
The Other Team
In the comic strip Peanuts, Linus was watching a football game on television, cheering "Go! Go! Go!" When the game ended victoriously, he jumped up in a surge of emotion and ran out to find Charlie Brown.
"What a comeback!" he exclaimed. "The home team was behind six to nothing with only three seconds to play. They had the ball on their own one-yard line. The quarterback took the ball, faded back behind his own goal and threw a perfect pass to the left end who whirled away from four guys and ran in for the touchdown! The fans went wild! You should have seen them! And when they kicked the extra point, thousands of people ran onto the field laughing and screaming and rolling on the ground and hugging each other and everything!"
Charlie Brown turned to him and asked, "How did the other team feel?"*
In our excitement to be on the winning team, let's not be so busy celebrating that we forget how those on the other team feel
The best thing is we can recruit them to change teams and give them something to celebrate …