Read Mark 8:1-21
This morning we continue our series entitled, “The Year of Supernatural Manifestation”, with our mini-series on “The Miracles of Jesus.” We have been covering the miracle of Jesus feeding the 4,000, and what happened aftewards, for a few days. The last message I provided was entitled, “Establishing Altars”. I talked about the importance of looking back in order to look forward. Today’s message will flow in that same vein. Let’s get into it.
In Mark 8 Jesus fed 4,000 people with seven loaves of bread. Later He and His disciples boarded a boat to head to the other side of the lake. Once in the boat, the disciples realized that they only had one loaf of bread. This caused an argument about who was supposed to bring the food. Jesus said, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see? Are you not able to understand? Do you have eyes that can’t see? Do you have ears that can’t hear? Remember what I did before, when we did not have enough bread? I divided five loaves of bread for 5000 people. How many baskets of food were left over?” The disciples answered, “12 full baskets.” Jesus continued, “And when I divided seven loaves of bread for 4000 people, how many baskets did you fill with the leftover pieces?” They answered, “Seven full baskets.” Then Jesus said to them, “You remember these things I did, but you still don’t understand?”
Jesus made a direct connection between the experiences of their past and the expectation of their future. This is what I will focus in on today. I am calling it, “Experience based expansion.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God wants you to experience Him, not just read about Him.
a) I am convinced that far too many Christians are more focused on the God they experience in church on Sunday, than the God they are supposed to walk with once they leave the church. The church is not the experience. While it is true that you can experience God in church, the church is supposed to be the “huddle”. No one goes to a football game to see the huddle. No one wants to watch the team come together and TALK about plays. They want to see the team LEAVE the huddle and actually go RUN THE PLAYS! When you come to church you are coming to the huddle. You are supposed to LEAVE the church and RUN THE PLAYS!
b) Reading about God is one thing, but in order to truly LIVE by faith, the Father requires you to experience what you read.
c) Godly experiences take you UP to God’s level. Humanity has a tendency to want to bring God DOWN to our level. But God, in His infinite wisdom, knows that something powerful happens when we have an experience that takes us UP to His level. The disciples were part of the miracles of the fish and loaves. The fish and bread multiplied in their hands as they distributed it. It was supernatural. It was amazing. It was beyond human. It was God. But somehow their experiences with God was not resulting in a true life-change. After feeding 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread, and 4,000 with seven loaves of bread, the disciples were concerned about what they would eat, when they boarded a boat with only one loaf of bread. Here’s the point: you must make your relationship with God personal. You must see His love and power as something that He wants to share with YOU! Your experiences WITH Him must influence your expectations OF Him.
2. Your past experiences with God are supposed to influence your future expectations.
a) Jesus was frustrated with His disciples when they were complaining about only having one loaf of bread. The issue was not that one loaf was not enough for 13 people. The issue was that they could not believe God to multiply the loaf. Even after seeing the 5,000 and the 4,000 fed supernaturally. Even after being part of the miracles. Even after watching the fish and loaves multiply IN THEIR HANDS. They still got to a point where they had a need and they did not believe God. Don’t let this happen to you!
b) Your experiences with God are supposed to help you expand your capability to believe Him!
c) God wants you to believe Him. He wants you to expect the supernatural. He is not upset when you make a demand on Him to do what only He can do. He is actually disappointed when you don’t!
d) Going to church and reading your Bible are great, but those things should lead to real experiences with the God you were learning about. And God expects your experiences with Him to influence your growth in ways that simply reading about Him never could.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. You made plans for me before the world began, and You are ready to manifest those plans in my life. This is where my experiences come in. You allow me to experience You in ways that are truly supernatural. When I do, my experiences take my faith to a higher level. Reading about You and Your power is one thing. Seeing You work in the life of someone else is great. But experiencing You for myself does something for me that is hard to explain. Thank You Father for going out of Your way to allow me to experience You on a consistent basis. My experiences with You help feed my faith and starve my doubts. I have seen too much, been through too much, and experienced too much, to doubt You now! I walk and live by faith. I have strong faith because I have experienced You along the way. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
