Allow Jesus to Stretch You

Family Service August 2014

We'll be returning to our Second to One Series next month after the summer holidays.

[During the family service there will be three volunteers making sandwiches of various ingredients for a tater session at the end - not for any big illustration but to help engagement of all ages - and it’ll be a bit a fun.]

Have you ever felt that your faith was being stretched?  It might be in different situations or circumstance, or church, work, school, friendships and so on; but there are just times when we wonder when God is going to show His hand.  Let’s read an account from John’s gospel together to see if the disciples ever felt this way.

John 6: 1-15:  Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

There are a few things I’d like us to pick of from this passage - it’s so well known that you’ll be already anticipating some of what I’m going to say, but hopeful there’ll be something fresh for all of us.

1. Allow Jesus to stretch you

John 6:5-6: [5] When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” [6] 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. …

Philip, we’re told, is being tested.  We’re not told why Philip in particular.  We know he’s an evangelist at heart and we know that he experiences absolutely amazing things later in life; do you ever wonder what it was like to be ‘translated,’ physically moved and appearing somewhere else (Acts 8: 38-40 - I’m not saying we should seek this experience or that it is for all believers; it is different from the occultic ‘astral travelling,’ which is an imitation of what we see here.)

How much faith must Philip have developed in his Saviour to be wholly available to be physically moved by  the Holy Spirit and not totally freaked out by the experience.

Right now though, in his early development, he can’t see beyond the problem to Jesus’ provision.

Don't allow our formula to inhibit heaven's answer.  Sometimes we can over think what God is doing.

If you are facing a challenge don’t rely solely on human resources.  Philip could do the math’ he knew they didn’t have money or resources to get even bread for the crowds, but he didn’t go further than the problem.

Rely on Jesus to bring you through.

2. Walk close to Jesus

We have the young boy come along with a few fish and some bread.

I believe that Jesus had already seen the boy - he knew what he was going to do (verse 6).

This boy is an example of walking close to Jesus.  He is close enough to catch the eye of Jesus and the lunch he was carrying.

John 6:8-9 NIV

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

Isn’t it great to have friends who will support you in your problem.  I have this picture in my head of Andrew trying to help Philip put of a tight spot.

What he does to bring a statement of non-faith into a situation that needed someone who was walking close to Jesus to act.  

Having friends help you out is great as long as they help you towards Jesus and not deeper into the problem.  

We talk about being used by Jesus all the time, but when the opportunity comes we often miss it.

We talk about being want to be used by Jesus but actually it's not just about willingness but about proximity.

Our closeness to Jesus can at time be elastic - we stretch this with our sins, disobedience or refusal to follow.

Being used by Jesus is as often as simple as sharing our sandwiches!

3. Be obedient to Jesus

Note the several obediences here:

John 6:10-11: [10] Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. [11] Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

Disciples were obedient in organising the people.

The people were obedient to sit and wait even though this might have inhibited their view and they were hungry

The boy is obedient is sharing his lunch.

Often we will talk of wanting to see God move and that this should be spontaneous.  Sometimes this is.  

But the big miracles occur when there is individual and corporate obedience - the word we use for this is unity.

When the Sprit fell in Acts 2:1 we are told that they were in ‘one place.’  Some translations use the phrase ‘one accord;’ meaning they were of one mind.

Psalm 133 reminds us that unity is a prerequisite to God’s blessing.

Unity does not mean we all get our own way; it means we each choose to submit to Christ in preference to His cause.

4. Nothing given to Jesus is ever wasted

John 6:12-13: [12] When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." [13] So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Can you imagine when this boy gets home and his mum asks, "did you eat all your lunch?"  How many leftovers did he take for his family?  How much did people take home?

Jesus didn't want it wasted so what happened to the baskets?  We're not told but we are told it wasn't to be wasted.

Nothing you give to him is ever wasted.

There is a lavishness in the heart of God when it comes to blessing His children.  Jesus could have made enough to feed people and not a bit more.  He didn’t.  They all ate their full and then there were leftovers (verses 12 & 13).

The disciples would have seen the Messianic nature of this miracle as there were 12 baskets collected - a reminder of the 12 tribes of Israel perhaps?

Wrapping this up:

Whatever situation we are facing Jesus is bigger than the problem.  

When things look impossible He can work the miracle - but He will need our co-operative and corporate faith for the really big things to happen.

He will need us to dedicate ourselves and our resources to His cause.