Little is Much
Notes
Transcript
We have in our Bibles, four gospels. Four different human writers, each writing from their own perspective, each focusing on a different aspect of Jesus’ character. Matthew demonstrates Jesus as King of the Jews, Mark as the suffering servant, Luke as the Son of Man, and John, his focus is on the deity of Jesus. John is different than the others. He leaves out certain facts about Jesus other writers include, and includes other events omitted by the others, but everything that John writes is done to prove that Jesus is God.
There is, however, one miracle of Jesus that is recorded by all four gospel writers and that is the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. In each of the gospels the disciples are presented with a problem: There is a huge crowd of people. They are hungry. They are in a desert place. It is getting late.
In each gospel account Jesus refuses to send the people away and demands His disicples to meet the need:
But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.
When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
All accounts demonstrate to us that Jesus is not just concerned with the spiritual needs of the people, but with their physical needs as well. Mark tell us Mark 6:34
And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
We all know what Jesus is going to do. I want us for a moment to look at this from the disicples perspective. They were exhausted…they had come to this desert place to get some rest. They had come here after weeks of non-stop ministry. Now, they were faced with just one more thing! They felt they couldn’t catch a break! They felt they would never get any rest. The stress and pressure of walking with Jesus was real. Church, the stress and pressure of walking with Jesus is real today.
What was their overall response to the problem? I think you’ll find that it is very similar to our response to these situations. Read John 6:5-9
5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
In short, their response was “We can’t”. My friends, that that is where God dwells! God lives in the “We can’t” ! Do you know why? Because when finally get to the point where we say “I can’t” , then and only then, do we learn that God can!
Proposition: There is nothing more important when trials come than making sure your focus is in the right place!
Interrogative: When trials come, where does your focus lie?
There is a lot we can learn about focus from the disciples in this passage. Notice first of all, when faced with a difficult situation...
Phillip Focused on the Scope of Their Problem
Phillip Focused on the Scope of Their Problem
In other words, “The problem is too big” - 5,000 men, plus women and children! It’s too much! Here’s what we see here:
We see where he’s coming from 5a, 7
Jesus was intentional is all that He did
He asked Phillip where to buy food because he was from the area
If anyone knew where to buy food, it would be Philip
Jesus also understood Philip’s position
Phillip was from the area, he knew there was no where to buy enough food to feed everyone. That’s why the disciples kept saying to Jesus, “It’s getting late, send them on to get their own food.”
He wanted to hear Phillip’s response
200 day’s wages is not enough food to even begin satisfy everyone
There are too many people
There is not enough food
There is not enough money
Talk about a “Negative Nancy”!
Don’t be too hard on Phillip though!
Have you ever found yourself saying in the middle of a crisis: “It’s too much for me Lord!”? Well, guess what
You probably, like Phillip were looking in the wrong direction! We may see where he’s coming from, but...
We also see what he missed v. 6
6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
Don’t ever forget, that trial that took you by surprise, did not take God by surprise!
God is using your difficulty to “prove” you, just as Jesus’ question was asked to “prove” Phillip
Prove = to put to the test
Jesus wanted to know just where Phillip’s focus lay
For over a year now Phillip had been with Jesus, had seen Him do miraculous things. Seen Him cast out demons, heal the sick, and raise the dead…have you ever asked, “Why did he not just turn to Jesus and turn the problem over to Him?”
Here’s a better question: Why don’t you turn to Jesus when you’re faced with an impossible situation? Want to know the answer…here it is: For the same reason as Phillip - you don’t think Jesus can do anything about it either.
We are just as guilty as Phillip…we focus on the problem that’s too big for us. We look to ourselves when we should be looking to Jesus!
Well, if Phillip was guilty of focusing on the scope of the problem, then...
Andrew Focuses on the Size of Their Provision
Andrew Focuses on the Size of Their Provision
To put this plainly, “Our resources are too small”
I don’t want to read too much into this scene, but it seems like with Phillip he was exacerbated, just worn out from the work and this problem was just more added stress.
Andrew on the other hand, while Philip had been looking around, Andrew had been walking around. Jesus said, “Give ye them to eat” and Andrew went looking for some food! That’s faith Church! He had a willing spirit! Jesus called him to go and he went…but then, disappointment set in. For all his looking, all his searching, for all his willingness, he felt he came up short… John 6:9
9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
Notice how he:
Describes what is available
Five barley loaves....
Barely was the ration of the poor
It was just barely edible for humams, in fact it was just as commonly used as animal food
Obviously this boy was not from a rich family
Two small fishes
These were not tuna
Most likely this little boy had been given something similar in size to a sardine
Imagine trying to feed a family of four with two sardines…now imagine trying to feed 5000!
Downplays their significance
“…but what are they among so many?”
It is not the size of your available means that matters but your willingness to give everything you have to Christ!
Again, here was Jesus saying, “Give ye them to eat”. Rather than saying, Jesus, we don’t have a lot, but here is all we have, Andrew, like us, says, “I’m sorry Lord, but I just don’t have enough to give you!”
Listen to me, when trials come, and they will, when you face the uncertainty, you will bet tempted to say, “I do not have enough faith to endure”, let me remind you, God is not interested in what you don’t have, but your willingness to give Him all that you do have!
I’m reminded of the lyrics to Katie Suffield’s famous hymn:
In the harvest field now ripened
There’s a work for all to do;
Hark! the Master’s voice is calling,
To the harvest calling you.
Refrain:
Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.
Church when you have your focus in the wrong place, you miss the blessing God has for you! How do we know this? We see Phillip focusing on the scope of the problem, Andrew focusing on the size of the provision, but thank God we see that...
Jesus Focuses on the Source of His Power
Jesus Focuses on the Source of His Power
You can almost hear Him say, “Look at me”.
I’ll go back to words of John 6:6
6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
When your focus is on the Lord, your mind will be at ease. Why?
Because He knows what He is going to do.
Nothing ever takes God by surprise!
The next time your life seems out of control, set your focus on the One who is always in control!
Because no problem is too big for Him.
If you focus on your situation you will only be able to say, “I can’t”
When you focus on Jesus you will only be able to say, “God can”
Because no means are too small for Him to use.
God is not interested in amount you have to offer, but rather in your willingness to offer Him your all
God is worthy of your all.
Perhaps this is represented best in John 6:11-12
11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
Conclusion:
The biggest danger when facing a difficult situation is missing the blessing God has in mind for you. That is what happens when you focus on your situation instead of the Savior. I know it seems as if you cannot handle anything else, and I know when trouble comes the devil and the world whisper: You’re not enough. You can’t handle anything else! Church, when the enemy whispers this in your ear, remind him, God can.
Let’s bow our heads, as the piano plays softly, I wonder today if you’re facing a trying time? Are you in a place where it feels as if you just can’t handle one more thing? If that is you this morning, I simply want to say, you can’t handle it, but God can. Get your focus on Jesus and trust Him to see you through. I wonder, would you say, “Preacher, I’m facing a trial, but the Holy Spirit has spoken to me and today I am giving it God. I am going to stop focusing on my situation and start focusing on the Savior.” I won’t embarrass you, I just want to pray with you, would you raise your hand?
One more question before we leave, this is the most important question you’ll be asked today, but I wonder, do you know beyond any doubt that you are a saved, that if you died right now you’d be in heaven, would you raise your hand today?
Listen, not everyone could raise their hand today and that’s understandable. Today if you are not sure about your relationship with Jesus, where you will spend eternity, right now, you can take care of that if you will just call on Him.
The Bible teaches we’re all sinners and that none of us is good enough to enter heaven. That’s pretty sad, but the Bible also teaches us that God loved you so much He gave His Son Jesus to die on your cross in your place, taking all of your sin. Right now, right where you are, if you will simply call out to God, admit you’re a sinner, believe with your heart that Jesus died in your place, and call on Him to forgive you, He will!
