FROM A MESSAGE AT THE SUNSHINE RESCUE MISSION MAN CAVE ON FEBRUARY 16, 2021
Life or time is never wasted in the mind of God. The timing of God's provision coincides with the hunger of man. Life is filled with hangovers - memories of things we wish we wouldn't have done. In today's lesson we'll learn how God orchestrated a miracle through a little boy of insignificance (we don't even know his name.) One little boy in a crowd of many thousands. He can use you too.
There are two times in the Bible where Jesus fed thousands with a few meager loaves and fishes. He started with what we would call, "not-enough," and ended up with "more-than-enough." The stories talk about feeding 5,000 and 4,000, but that's only the men without counting the women and children. Here's one account of feeding of more than 5,000 from John 6:1-13 ICB. (Bold letters are for added emphasis by me.)
"After this, Jesus went across Lake Galilee (or, Lake Tiberias). Many people followed him because they saw the miracles he did to heal the sick.
Jesus went up on a hill and there sat down with his followers. It was almost the time for the Jewish Passover Feast.
Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him. He said to Philip,
“Where can we buy bread for all these people to eat?” (Jesus asked Philip this question to test him. Jesus already knew what he planned to do.)
Philip answered, “Someone would have to work almost a year to buy enough bread for each person here to have only a little piece.”
Another follower there was Andrew. He was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew said,
“Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people.”
Jesus said, “Tell the people to sit down.” This was a very grassy place. There were about 5,000 men who sat down there.
Then Jesus took the loaves of bread. He thanked God for the bread and gave it to the people who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish. He gave them as much as they wanted.
They all had enough to eat. When they had finished, Jesus said to his followers, “Gather the pieces of fish and bread that were not eaten. Don’t waste anything.”
So they gathered up the pieces that were left. They filled 12 large baskets with the pieces that were left of the five barley loaves."
Here are some bullet points for you to chew on:
This is a mentoring story. Jesus used individual mentoring and group mentoring to teach a lesson. He used several different learning styles including, visual, auditory and experiential. The Disciples played a physically active role in a spiritual miracle. Jesus asks us to do the same. We are His mentors expected to go into the whole world and help others experience the miracle new birth in Christ.
Romans 6:4-16 The Passion Translation"
Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried and entombed with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life.
For since we are permanently grafted into him[a] to experience a death like his, then we are permanently grafted into him to experience a resurrection like his and the new life that it imparts.
Could it be any clearer[b] that our former identity[c] is now and forever deprived of its power? For we were co-crucified with him to dismantle the stronghold of sin within us,[d] so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sin’s power.[e]
Obviously, a dead person is incapable of sinning.
And if we were co-crucified with the Anointed One, we know that we will also share in the fullness of his life.
And we know that since the Anointed One has been raised from the dead to die no more, his resurrection life has vanquished death and its power over him is finished.
For by his sacrifice he died to sin’s power once and for all,[f] but he now lives continuously for the Father’s pleasure.
So let it be the same way with you! Since you are now joined with him, you must continually view yourselves as dead and unresponsive to sin’s appeal while living daily for God’s pleasure in union with Jesus, the Anointed One.
Sin’s Reign Is Over
Sin is a dethroned monarch; so you must no longer give it an opportunity to rule over your life, controlling how you live and compelling you to obey its desires and cravings.
So then, refuse to answer its call to surrender your body as a tool for wickedness. Instead, passionately answer God’s call to keep yielding your body to him as one who has now experienced resurrection life! You live now for his pleasure, ready to be used for his noble purpose.[g]
Remember this: sin will not conquer you, for God already has! You are not governed by law but governed by the reign of the grace of God.
Grace Frees Us to Serve God
What are we to do, then? Should we sin to our hearts’ content since there’s no law to condemn us anymore? What a terrible thought!
Don’t you realize that grace frees you to choose your own master? But choose carefully, for you surrender yourself to become a servant—bound to the one you choose to obey. If you choose to love sin, it will become your master, and it will own you and reward you with death. But if you choose to love and obey God, he will lead you into perfect righteousness."
Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we.
There are two times in the Bible where Jesus fed thousands with a few meager loaves and fishes. He started with what we would call, "not-enough," and ended up with "more-than-enough." The stories talk about feeding 5,000 and 4,000, but that's only the men without counting the women and children. Here's one account of feeding of more than 5,000 from John 6:1-13 ICB. (Bold letters are for added emphasis by me.)
"After this, Jesus went across Lake Galilee (or, Lake Tiberias). Many people followed him because they saw the miracles he did to heal the sick.
Jesus went up on a hill and there sat down with his followers. It was almost the time for the Jewish Passover Feast.
Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him. He said to Philip,
“Where can we buy bread for all these people to eat?” (Jesus asked Philip this question to test him. Jesus already knew what he planned to do.)
Philip answered, “Someone would have to work almost a year to buy enough bread for each person here to have only a little piece.”
Another follower there was Andrew. He was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew said,
“Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people.”
Jesus said, “Tell the people to sit down.” This was a very grassy place. There were about 5,000 men who sat down there.
Then Jesus took the loaves of bread. He thanked God for the bread and gave it to the people who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish. He gave them as much as they wanted.
They all had enough to eat. When they had finished, Jesus said to his followers, “Gather the pieces of fish and bread that were not eaten. Don’t waste anything.”
So they gathered up the pieces that were left. They filled 12 large baskets with the pieces that were left of the five barley loaves."
Here are some bullet points for you to chew on:
- People had to get hungry before the miracle occurred.
- An insignificant little boy with an inadequate supply was used by God to go beyond the people's needs.
- The little boy gave up all his food did not go hungry.
- Jesus gave thanks before the need was met.
- Did they give thanks for the leftovers?
- God does good things for us to remember in bad times.
- Nothing is wasted in the kingdom of God.
- Hangovers given to God become Do-overs.
- Leftovers are memories of God meeting our needs.
- The boy was willing, selfless and nameless - are you willing to be used by God that way?
This is a mentoring story. Jesus used individual mentoring and group mentoring to teach a lesson. He used several different learning styles including, visual, auditory and experiential. The Disciples played a physically active role in a spiritual miracle. Jesus asks us to do the same. We are His mentors expected to go into the whole world and help others experience the miracle new birth in Christ.
Romans 6:4-16 The Passion Translation"
Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried and entombed with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life.
For since we are permanently grafted into him[a] to experience a death like his, then we are permanently grafted into him to experience a resurrection like his and the new life that it imparts.
Could it be any clearer[b] that our former identity[c] is now and forever deprived of its power? For we were co-crucified with him to dismantle the stronghold of sin within us,[d] so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sin’s power.[e]
Obviously, a dead person is incapable of sinning.
And if we were co-crucified with the Anointed One, we know that we will also share in the fullness of his life.
And we know that since the Anointed One has been raised from the dead to die no more, his resurrection life has vanquished death and its power over him is finished.
For by his sacrifice he died to sin’s power once and for all,[f] but he now lives continuously for the Father’s pleasure.
So let it be the same way with you! Since you are now joined with him, you must continually view yourselves as dead and unresponsive to sin’s appeal while living daily for God’s pleasure in union with Jesus, the Anointed One.
Sin’s Reign Is Over
Sin is a dethroned monarch; so you must no longer give it an opportunity to rule over your life, controlling how you live and compelling you to obey its desires and cravings.
So then, refuse to answer its call to surrender your body as a tool for wickedness. Instead, passionately answer God’s call to keep yielding your body to him as one who has now experienced resurrection life! You live now for his pleasure, ready to be used for his noble purpose.[g]
Remember this: sin will not conquer you, for God already has! You are not governed by law but governed by the reign of the grace of God.
Grace Frees Us to Serve God
What are we to do, then? Should we sin to our hearts’ content since there’s no law to condemn us anymore? What a terrible thought!
Don’t you realize that grace frees you to choose your own master? But choose carefully, for you surrender yourself to become a servant—bound to the one you choose to obey. If you choose to love sin, it will become your master, and it will own you and reward you with death. But if you choose to love and obey God, he will lead you into perfect righteousness."
Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we.
YWAP IS BIG ON MENTORING & COMMUNITY SERVICE! YWAP empowers people in Christ to become collaborators in a community effort to create a better world for children and their families. Investing in youth is a preemptive strike against sexual abuse, drug addiction and human trafficking. Man Cave is a place of transparency and accountability. A fatherless generation is lacking the knowledge of a Father’s Love. Our goal is to help guys become Christ-centered men who respect women and accept the responsibilities of becoming a dad. We don’t hibernate in the Man Cave, we believe in Community Engagement through good neighborliness. The YWAP Directors serve in Pastoral Leadership by ministering to Youth Ministry Teams and Prayer Teams. We teach Biblically based best practices from a 25 year background in ministry. We appreciate your prayers and support. For more information about YWAP programs, to volunteer or become a guest speaker, please call us at: 716-830-8240 or email, ywapbuffalo@yahoo.com.
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