Filled
The Feeding of 5000
John 6:1-13
SERIES MAIN IDEA:
The paradox of the Kingdom is that we are FILLED as we POUR.
What do you want to be FILLED WITH? (What do you need from God?)
What are you willing to POUR OUT? (What are you willing to give God?)
SERMON IN A SENTENCE:
Giving is about being a channel through which God can use you to bless others
Introduction
Intro Story:
- How can giving away all that you have, leave you full?
- It is mysterious dynamic that can only be explained supernaturally
- Giving is about being a channel through which God can use you to bless others
- Dave Ramsey uses the example of a fist and an open hand. When you make a fist you will hold onto what you have, but nothing new can come in. When you have an open hand you can let go of what you have but new things can come to you as well.
Bridge to the Text:
- Tonight I want to share with you a powerful story about giving and the miraculous things that can happen when one young person is willing to give what they have
Biblical Text
Text
- John 6:1-13 (NASB) After these thingsJesus went away to the other side ofthe Sea of Galilee (orTiberias).2A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the[a]signs which He was performing on those who were sick.3ThenJesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.4Nowthe Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.5Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said toPhilip,“Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”6This He was saying totest him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.7Philip answered Him, “Two hundred[b]denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”8One of Hisdisciples,Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him,9“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and twofish, but what are these for so many people?”10Jesus said,“Have the people[c]sit down.”Now there wasmuch grass in the place. So the men[d]sat down, in number aboutfive thousand.11Jesus then took the loaves, andhaving given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of thefish as much as they wanted.12When they were filled, He *said to Hisdisciples,“Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”13So they gathered them up, and filled twelvebaskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
Preview the Response:
- Are you willing to empty yourself so that others can be filled?
- What are you willing to put in the hands of Jesus?
Three Lessons about Giving
1) Jesus has a plan, He just wants you to be a part of it
vv.1-7 After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the[a]signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”6 This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred [b]denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”
EXPLANATION
- Jesus looks at Philip and He asks him “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat”?
- But the scripture informs us that Jesus asked Philip that question to test him, because Jesus already knew what he was intending to do
- Philip responds with a financial answer of even if we had 200 denarii worth of bread it wouldn’t be enough
ILLUSTRATION
- Our focus with this series is Speed the Light
- We all know what Speed the Light does and the purpose behind it
- And sometimes the question becomes for each of us what good is my $100 or my $1000 or my $1 with so much need
- We become like Philip saying even if we had 200 denarii worth of bread it wouldn’t be enough
APPLICATION
- When it comes to giving its not about the amount of money you give its about what God can do with someone who is willing to say I am willing to give what I have so that others can be filled
- We have to stop looking at how big the task is and start looking at how big our God is
- Jesus knew what all the disciples were thinking
- He knew that they thought it was an impossible task to feed all of these people
- They didn’t have the food, they didn’t have the money, they were out in the wilderness so they were in a poor location
- They had every excuse and reason to say this is impossible
- That’s were many of you as students are tonight, your saying I don’t have the money, I don’t have a job, I don’t have the resources to make a global impact
- You see what the disciples failed to take into account was that Jesus was there, and when Jesus is there you can throw everything else out the window
- This is what you have to realize tonight, Jesus has a plan, he just wants you to be a part of it
Question
- Are you willing to be a part of the plan?
2) It just takes one to make a difference
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”
EXPLANATION
- In Mark’s account of the feeding of the multitudes, Jesus instructs the disciples to go and find out how much bread they had available
- So they go among the crowd and start asking around
- Finally Andrew comes back in and informs Jesus - John 6:9 – 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”
- So out of all of those people again estimating around 15,000 or more, there is only 1 little boy that has some food
- Out of everybody there he is the only one who packed a lunch
ILLUSTRATION
- If I polled the room tonight I am certain more than one of you has some food in your pocket or purse
- You see I believe more than just the one little boy had food
- I believe that he was the only one willing to give what he had
- But that is all it took
- It took one little boy willing to say hey Jesus I don’t have a lot, but what I have I give it over to you
- That’s all it takes for a miracle to happen
- One little boy says Jesus here is my lunch if you can use it
- It’s not a whole lot but here it is
APPLICATION
- Jesus is not concerned with the amount you give, he is concerned with your willingness to give
- Because Jesus can take your little and make it a lot
- Here is the deal with giving, there is sacrifice with giving
- When the little boy gave his food to Jesus he wasn’t sure that he was going to get any food back in return
- When God speaks to you about what you can give to Speed the Light
- you might be thinking well I was going to buy that Xbox or that game or that guitar or that car, etc and if I give that money I might not be able to get that thing
- That’s the sacrifice of giving
- I don’t know what God will do for you, but God always blesses when decide to be obedient and give
- The question tonight is not what is God going to do for you
- The question tonight is, are you willing to give what you have so that others can be filled
- That’s what the boy in the story did
- He gave so that others could be filled, not knowing if he would be compensated or even if he would get some food back
- Giving is about obedience it’s about hearing from God and saying I want to help, I want to make a difference
- I know what I have is not a lot but I believe if I put what little I have in the hands of Jesus, I know that he can make a miracle happen
- He can take my lunch a feed a multitude
Question
- The question tonight is, are you willing to give what you have so that others can be filled
- He can take my $1 my $100 my $1000 and save a nation, because
3) Jesus is the Multiplier
11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. 12 When they were filled, He *said to His disciples,“Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
EXPLANATION
- They start passing out food and they just keep passing it out and passing it out
- And I know the disciples are thinking to themselves this is strange
- This doesn’t add up cause we had this at the start and now we have passed out a bunch of food and we still have stuff to pass out, ummm….
- Listen when Jesus is in it, it wont add up
- Jesus is the multiplier
ILLUSTRATION
- Imagine your youth group months from now.
- Each of you have been consistently placing quarters, nickels and dimes—sometimes even pennies—into your mason jar.
- Now, after everyone has filled up their jar, you count all of the money and it totals $1,000.
- You will be asking questions like how did we raise this much money? How did we do that??? Jesus, that’s how
APPLICATION
- And here is the beautiful thing. Verse 12 says they all were filled
- This wasn’t a situation where Jesus says hey Peter pass this loaf down the line and tell everyone to pinch a little piece off
- This is everyone had all the fish and all the bread they wanted until they were filled
- And then the miracle gets bigger
- Jesus instructs the disciples to go pick up the leftovers and they had 12 baskets Filled with food
- All of that came from one little boy willing to say here is what I have, Jesus take it, and do what you can
- Now the Bible doesn’t say this, this is simply my belief but I belive at least one of those baskets of leftovers went home with the little boy who gave what he had.
Question
- Do you trust Jesus to be your multiplier?
Conclusion
Closing Story
- Here are the Three main principles of this story
- POINT #1 – Jesus has a plan, He just wants you to be a part of it
- POINT #2. IT JUST TAKES ONE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
- POINT #3. JESUS IS THE MULTIPLIER
- Are you willing to empty yourself so that others can be filled?
- Are you willing to empty your pockets so that others can be filled?
- Jesus is calling us to be a part of a miracle
- Jesus is looking for those who are willing to say Jesus take what I have and make a miracle happen
- What are you willing to put in the hands of Jesus?