This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus,” by looking at when Jesus fed 5,000 with a little boy’s lunch. We looked at this miracle yesterday and we will do it again today.
Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share be sharing with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
(John 6:1-14 NIV)
1 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 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.”
Matthew tells us that the disciples wanted to send the crowd away
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
He also tells us that Jesus told the disciples to give them something to eat (note: Mark and Luke capture the same point).
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
Mark tells us that when Jesus told the people to sit down and get into groups. He wanted them organized.
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.
40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
So what does this mean for you today? I won’t be able to get through this miracle today. But I will give you a few thoughts and share more tomorrow.
1. In the miracle of feeding the 5,000, Jesus initially told the disciples to feed the crowd.
— When it was clear that a large crowd was still hanging around and it was late, the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowd away so they could find something to eat. When they did, Jesus said, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” This seems like a small thing, an insignificant statement, but it’s not.
— Remember, God’s instruction is always equal to His injection. Meaning that God will never instruct you to do something that He has not already equipped you to do.
— It would be unrighteous of God, as heavenly Father, to expect you to do something you cannot do.
— We know the grace of God was available for the disciples to perform the miracle because Jesus told them to do it. God will never tell you to do something that he has not already given you the grace to do. Every Word from god comes with the power to perform it.
— Said another way, the fact that Jesus told them to feed the crowd meant that the grace of God was present for supernatural provision. To be clear, we know that Jesus tapped into that grace with His faith. However, Jesus’ statement tells us that the disciples had the opportunity to do the same thing. But they failed to provide faith where God had provided grace.
— The more I teach you about #TheGraceLife, the more (I pray) you open your heart to the limitless nature of God. If God tells you to do something, no matter how seemingly impossible it seems, the impossible just became possible for you when God said it. The Word of God reveals the grace of God. So when God speaks (whether in His Word or by His Spirit), just know that He is revealing to you what He has already given you the grace to do! This understanding will be critical for you to maximize your purpose and potential in 2023.
2. The earth and the Kingdom of God function on a system of sowing and reaping.
— There is a seed for every need. Years ago, I taught a series on the Principles of Sowing and Reaping (the teachings are on our website. Here is the link if you are interested: http://todaysword.org/teaching-series/the-blessing/sowing-and-reaping/
— There was clearly a need in the text (over 5,000 hungry people), and the need exceeded their resources.
— Where was the need? In the crowd. So, where was the seed? In the crowd. There is a seed for every need. What you don’t want to do is eat your seed.
— The provision did not come from the disciples, nor did it really come from Jesus. The little boy in the text sowed the seed that met the need.
— When you have a need that clearly exceeds your present resources, it is evident that what you have in your hands is not harvest. If it were a harvest, you could take a portion of the harvest as “bread for eating” and a portion of the seed as “seed for sowing.” But when you don’t have enough to meet the needs of your present situation, what you have in your hands may not be a harvest but a seed.
— The Bible teaches us that God ministers to us seed for sowing and bread for eating.
(2 Cor 9:10 KJV)
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
— This means that whatever God puts in our hands, there is a portion of it that is allocated for you to enjoy and to meet the needs of our living (bread for eating). But there is also a portion of it that God expects you to sow for your future harvest.
— If you continually sow, you will always continually reap.
— If you continually have seen in the ground, then you have a right to walk in the continuous harvest. But if you eat your seed, then you are eliminating the possibility of a future harvest.
— For whatever reason, the little boy in the text is often overlooked. But he was the one who sowed the seed.
— There is no indication that he fought back, debated, or even contemplated not giving up what he had in his hands. He was willing to sow what he had for the greater good. And we serve a God who will take whatever you put in His hands and multiply it. God will see to it that you receive a harvest from every seed sown.
— The boy willingly gave up what he had, for him, for the greater good. When you sow and put things in God’s hands, God will not be in debt to you.
— The Bible is not clear on what happened with the 12 baskets of food that were left over. But based on what I know about God, I believe those 12 baskets of food had to go to the little boy in his family. He was the only one who sowed a seed, so he was the only one who had a covenant right to reap a harvest.
3. Please don’t eat your seed. Live with the confidence of knowing that you have seed in the ground.
— Our God is the Lord of the Harvest. He knows how to provide harvest. But He requires you to provide seed.
— God can multiply whatever you put in His hands.
— God is so gracious that He not only ministers to us “bread for eating,” to ensure our needs are met, but He also ministers to us “seed for sowing,” so we can sow into our future.
— When we sow, the Bible teaches us that God multiplies our seed as we sow it. So when we reap a harvest, it will always be greater than our seed.
— We sow on one level, but God multiplies and ensures that we reap on a greater level.
— When you live your life with a generous heart, and you are quick to give a portion of everything God places in your hands, you have the confidence of knowing that you have seed in the ground. You enter every day, month, and year, knowing that the Lord of the Harvest is working on what you sowed into His Kingdom, and at just the right time, you will receive a harvest on every seed sown.
4. God will do with you what Jesus did with the fish and loaves.
— The process that Jesus went through with the fish and the loaves (which is basically what He did with the bread during The Last Supper, i.e., communion) is similar to the process that God ushers us through as He prepares us for ministry.
— Jesus took it, blessed it, broke it, and gave it.
— Often with God, while He prepares us for the work of the ministry, will take us (receive us as we are), bless us (empower us to break free from our past), break us (usher us towards total surrender in Him), and then give us (to be a blessing to the world).
— The breaking, or proving, part is critical. Private processing precedes public ministry.
— The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by satan BEFORE He started His public ministry.
— When we come to God, He initially blesses us richly, by grace, without requiring much of us. Everyone enjoys the blessing phase. But you will never get to the phase where God presents you into the world as his son or daughter and as a conduit through which He will manifest His glory if you’re not willing to go through the breaking phase.
— It is in the breaking phase that you die to your will and yield to God’s will.
— You are not fit to be a conduit of God’s divine power until you have gotten over the initial euphoria of being Born-Again and then come to grips with the reality that discipleship means dying.
— God will take you, bless you, break you through processing, and then give you into the world.
— If you’re willing to endure the discipleship and development phase, then God will be able to use you to the max extent. Said another way, you will never get to your max and best use until You die to sin, self, and selfish desires. At least not from the Kingdom of God perspective.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for Your love and grace! I believe this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
As I study the miracles of Jesus, my faith is reignited and increased!
This year I will honor You in all things and in every way.
I thank You for everything You place in my hands. The Holy Spirit tells me which portion of what I have is SEED FOR SOWING and which portion is BREAD FOR EATING.
I take the BREAD FOR EATING to meet the needs of my present circumstances and to enjoy life. But I take the SEED FOR SOWING, and I SOW into my future.
I am not foolish enough to EAT MY SEED. I have SEED in the ground, and I know that You, Lord, are the Lord of the Harvest, and You will see to it that I reap a harvest on every seed sown.
And lastly, Father, I am willing to die to self. You take me, bless me, break me (from sin and self), and then GIVE ME to the world as a blessing! This is how I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
