What's Wrong With Your Faith?
Notes
Transcript
Text:
And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
Topic: What’s A Matter With Your Faith!?
Sometimes we get so fixated with our current reality to the point that we develop tunnel vision. When we develop tunnel vision it means that we can see nothing but what is in front of us. Sometimes our problems and trials can get so intense that the only thing we see is the problem. In our text, we see that the disciples developed tunnel vision, they had a problem.
The problem is that when they left to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee they forgot to bring food with them. That might seem like a small problem to some, but I believe that for them it was a big problem. It is very possible, that the disciples probably had expended all of their money so that they could make sure they had food for the trip. However, they probably did like some of us did....they were so preoccupied with other things that they forgot to bring the food. It was such a problem that they left the food behind and they were so stressed about it that it lead to them having an argument. I believe that in this argument they begin to shift blame on one another and it was a dangerous thing because it could’ve caused division!
DIVISION:
The Lord wants us to be unified, He doesn’t want us to be arguing and having aughts against each other.
There is a world out there that needs to be saved and God can’t work through division. He doesn’t want us cutting one another down, he dosen’t want us talking bad about each other, walking around not speaking to one another, giving each other hateful looks.....NO The Lord wants us to be unified! He wants us to give allowances to one another’s faults, He wants us to pray for one another, and love one another!
So here they are having an argument amongst one another shifting blame and the the Lord Jesus interjects by saying “O ye of little faith”. In our modern language Jesus asks them a question: why is your faith so small, you have very little faith. Now what makes this statement so dynamic is the fact that the disciples should have known by now that if they didn’t have food for the trip that Jesus had the power to provide!
God is a provider!
Why should they know that Jesus is able to provide. Because not once, but twice they saw Jesus feed thousands of people with very little substance. On the first occasion, Jesus feeds 5,000 from a little boys lunch, Jesus feeds 5,000 not including women and children with three fish and five loaves of bread. Jesus received the 3 fish and 5 loaves of bread and then blessed it and told his disciples to start handing it out. It worked because 1st Jesus made it work and secondly the disciples moved in faith and then obedience! The blessing can be there, the miracle can be there, the healing can be there......but it won’t happen unless you move in faith and in obedience!
Jesus has an encore of this type of miracle. There was another crowd that had been with Jesus for three days. My God, they left everything and followed and sought Jesus for three days! Their food stores ran out and Jesus knew it! The bible did not say that they told Jesus.....but that Jesus knew about their situation. He knows about your situation.
Jesus says, I don’t want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the way. The disciples replied “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?” You know I’m glad I wasn’t Jesus because I would’ve probably thought “Did you not learn anything from the last situation?” Don’t laugh, because many of us in here have been and some of us are presently like the disciples in the text. We have a situation and we are trying to figure out how things are going to pan out, where is the provision going to come from, how is this battle going to work out. Encourage your neighbor and tell them “Neighbor....just believe and watch God do it!”
Jesus asked, how much food do we have? They replied seven loaves and a few small fish. Jesus then takes the seven loaves and the fish and thank God for them. He took what little he had and thank God for them. He took what little he had and thank God in advance. See that why some of us will never see the bless.....because unless it happens immediately we won’t tell the Lord thank you. We don’t believe it is possible....but when you take what you have and tell God thank you in advance......God can work a miracle for you! The disciples once again, obeyed and moved in faith and begin to hand out the 7 loaves and few fish. But when they handed it out, every time it seemed like they got to the last one....more kept coming!
When they finished the bible says said the disciples picked up 7 large baskets of left over food. So not only did they eat, they eat enough to satisfy their hunger and get full! And the number of people who ate was 4,000 men in addition to all the women and children! WON’T HE DO IT!!!
So this brings us to our text:
The Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus demanding that he show them a sign. Jesus said, and evil and adulterous generation seeks only a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights. Jesus would be in the belly of the earth, buried and dead for three days and three nights and then he would be resurrected......but these same ones who asked for a sign wasn’t going to believe that Jesus rose again anyway.
So Jesus says “Watch out/Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” This is when the argument broke out. Jesus interrupts this argument by saying “why do you have so little faith? Why are you mad, why are you fearful, why are you anxious, don’t you remember what I did the last time! (PAUSE) Why are you mad, why are you fearful, why are you anxious, don’t you remember what I did the last time!? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? God is saying sometimes when you are in the midst of the storm.....the only way you can make it through is by remembering what God done the last time. Sometimes you might have to go back and grab a testimony to make it through. Sometimes you might have to revisit that time and see bring you out all over again.
Why can’t you understand what I’m saying? Jesus says.