This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.”
Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share 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.
(Read Mark 8:1-21)
Earlier in this series, we covered the miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread. Today, we will discuss the feeding of the 4,000 with seven loaves of bread. Something happened after the miracle that I will focus on more than the miracle itself.
After Jesus fed the 4,000 with seven loaves of bread, the Pharisees approached Jesus, wanting to test Him. They wanted Jesus to perform a miracle as proof that He was sent from God. Jesus sighed deeply and said, “Why do you people ask to see a miracle as a sign? I want you to know that no miracle will be done to prove anything to you.” Jesus was frustrated with the Pharisees’ lack of divine perception and insight. So Jesus left the Pharisees and instructed His team to get into a boat.
When Jesus and His team got into the boat, the disciples realized they had only brought one loaf of bread. They started arguing amongst themselves about who or why they forgot to bring more bread. Jesus saw them arguing and said, “Be careful! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” The disciples discussed the meaning of this. They said, “He said this because we have no bread.” To which Jesus replied, “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?“
There is a lot here to cover. Over the next few days, we will seek to glean a few things from this passage.
So what does this mean for you today? I will share a few things today.
1. Manifestations of the supernatural serve as a sign for unbelievers.
— Jesus performed miracles to destroy the works of the devil, but He also performed miracles so people could know that God is real. Many won’t believe until they see the power of God manifested on earth. They need to see it with their very eyes. So miracles help these people believe.
— God still performs miracles today. The supernatural is still supposed to be natural to us today. People are looking for a supernatural God, but they can’t find Him in the lives or in the churches of religious people who have not learned how to tap into God’s grace with their faith.
— Churches with no power are drying up and shutting down. They are closing their doors all over this country and around the world because people don’t want a God they can’t reach. And more importantly, they don’t want a God who can’t reach them. They are tired of going to church over and over, going through the motions, but never experiencing God or His power in a genuine way. They want to SEE the power of God in this world. Guess what? They are supposed to SEE HIM IN YOU!
2. God won’t perform parlor tricks for people with wrong motives. God has nothing to prove.
— Jesus never had a problem manifesting the supernatural in front of people who were hungry for a God of no limits. But as He did in Mark 8, Jesus refused to perform miracles to prove anything to the Pharisees. They did not have a true desire to seek God. They were trying to discredit the one they should have been worshipping.
— If you ever want to see God move in your life in a supernatural way, your motives must be pure. God won’t move for people with wrong motives.
— Going back to the message I taught this past Friday, part of the reason why the Roman centurion, the Syro-Phoenician woman, and the Royal officer all received miracles from Jesus, taking Him at His Word and walking away like the miracle was already done, is because their faith was pure. These people had faith that was not tainted by the rituals or rules of religion because they were not raised in the church.
They were outsiders who simply believed God. They took Jesus at his Word, they walked away, and on all three occasions, what they believed God for was waiting for them when they got home. They had pure faith that was not based on their performance. They had no ties to performance-based religion, so they were able to receive from God without any consideration for rules or their perceived goodness. This is the type of faith God is looking for.
— If you compare the three people I just mentioned to the Pharisees in Mark 8, you find very different motivations. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to perform a miracle on demand to prove something to them. Jesus was not interested. He had nothing to prove. Either people were going to believe it or not. In many ways, Jesus takes the same approach today. I know there are people who are called to be Christian apologetics. An apologetic is someone who believes they are called to defend the Christian faith. They provide rational arguments and evidence for the truth of Christian beliefs and respond to objections and criticisms against them. The term “apologetics” comes from the Greek word apologia, which means “defense” or “reasoned argument.”
I am not called to be an apologetic. I preach the gospel, explain God’s Word, and present what I believe to be the truth. Some will receive it. Others will reject it. But I am not in the business of making arguments to attempt to prove that Jesus is real. If you are paying attention, you will see that Jesus is real in my lifestyle and through my witness, but it has been my experience that most people who want you to prove Jesus to them already have their hearts closed to Jesus. They have already made up their minds. That’s what happened with the Pharisees in the text. They wanted Jesus to prove Himself to them, and Jesus passed on the offer. Jesus was like, “I know who I am, and many, who are paying attention, can see who I am. But I am not going to perform a miracle just to prove something to you. I have nothing to prove.”
— I believe Jesus is Lord. I believe He was the Son of God who came as the Son of men, so the sons of men could become the sons of God. I believe He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was wrongly accused, convicted on trumped-up charges, nailed to a cross, died for us, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and is coming back again in glory, to judge the living and the dead. When He comes back, those of us who remain will enjoy His Kingdom that will have no end! That’s what I believe. That’s what I preach. But I am not trying to prove anything to anyone. Many who claim they want to be convinced have already closed their hearts to God. If their hearts are open, they will be drawn by the Holy Spirit to Jesus. If not, they won’t, and when they die, they will wake up in hell and wish they had opened their hearts to Jesus when they had the chance.
— Let this serve as a reminder to you that there are people, many of them (the majority of the people on this planet), who will die without knowing Jesus, and if you believe the Bible, you have to believe that these people will go to hell. If that’s the case, and it is, we must share the love of God with as many people as we can, while we can. While I said that I am not trying to prove Jesus to anyone, I am trying to share Jesus with everyone! I hope you have a similar mindset.
3. God wants you to look at every situation from His perspective.
— Jesus was frustrated with His disciples when they were complaining about only having one loaf of bread to eat after He had fed 5,000 with a little boy’s lunch and 4,000 with seven loaves of bread. Even after all Jesus had done, the disciples were looking at their situation from a completely human point of view.
— If you ONLY look at a situation from a human point of view, you are failing to factor in God. When you factor God in, you will also have to factor OUT every limit because there is nothing God cannot do.
— God is looking for you to look at your situation from His perspective, considering His power and expecting His will to be manifested. You won’t receive what you are not expecting. But you won’t expect what you don’t even consider.
— What are you considering this morning? Is your mind fixed on God, His limitless power, and His promises? Or it is fixed on the problem and the limits of this present world?
What are you basing your expectations on? Is your heart SET on heaven (Col 3:2)? Or are you looking at the situation you are facing from merely a human point of view? Considering all the factors of the situation without considering God’s power?
One of the reasons why God wanted me to teach a series on the miracles of Jesus is so you can elevate your expectations and increase your faith. I also want you to look at whatever you are facing from God’s point of view.
I will use Abraham as an example. Abraham came to God at the tender age of 75. His wife was 65. She had been barren all her life. God gave Abraham and Sarah a WORD. This was a promise from Him. They were going to have children. 24 years after the promise, they still did not have any children. So when Abraham was about 100 years old, and his wife was about 90 years old, they had to still believe God. This is how Paul puts it:
(Romans 4:18-21 ERV)
18 There was no hope that Abraham would have children, but Abraham believed God and continued to hope. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, “You will have many descendants.”
19 Abraham was almost a hundred years old, so he was past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children. Abraham was well aware of this, but his faith in God never became weak.
20 He never doubted that God would do what he promised. He never stopped believing. In fact, he grew stronger in his faith and just praised God.
21 Abraham felt sure that God was able to do what he promised.
The King James Version of verse 20 says, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.” How was Abraham able to “stagger not“? The KJV of verse 19 says, “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb.”
Here’s the key:
— Abraham staggered not because he considered not.
— He could have considered how old he was.
— He could have considered the fact that his wife could not have children when she was 18 years old, much less 90 years old.
— He could have factored IN what God had factored OUT.
— But factoring IN what God has factored OUT leads to a faith failure.
— Since Abraham refused to consider the limits of his humanity, he was able to keep his faith LOCKED IN on God’s limitless power. This is how we are supposed to live!
When you look at your situation, are you only considering YOU? Are you looking at it from a completely human point of view? Have you factored in God at all? If not, it’s time to change your perspective.
We will talk more about this tomorrow.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
I see You as the God of NO LIMITS!
I believe the supernatural is natural to me. I know You can do anything, and You live in me! Therefore, I can do all things!
I am learning to look at every situation from Your point of view. I am no longer limited to the human point of view. I am no longer bound by the limits of this world.
Once I factor You IN, I also have to factor OUT every limit. When considering any situation I face, I also choose to consider You, Father.
Once I look at the situation from Your perspective, I open my heart to Your heart, and the unseen becomes more real to me than the seen. This is how I live by faith.
Living this way, 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!
