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)
Yesterday I introduced you to a passage in Mark 8 that I want us to revisit over the next few days. Jesus fed 4,000 people supernaturally with seven loaves of bread. After everyone had eaten until they were full, there were seven baskets of food left over. After performing the miracle, Jesus had a run-in with the Pharisees. They wanted to test Jesus. They wanted Him 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 then left the Pharisees and instructed His team to get into a boat. They were headed to the other side of the lake.
Once in the boat, the disciples realized they had only brought one loaf of bread. This caused an argument about who was supposed to bring the food. Jesus heard the arguing and said, “Be careful! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” The disciples said among themselves, “He said this because we have no bread.” 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?“
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. It is very easy to focus on the lesser important things in life.
— After Jesus performed miracle after miracle, bringing glory to the Father, the Pharisees approached Him. They asked Jesus to perform a miracle on demand as proof that He was sent from God. Jesus denied their request, and He was furious about their disrespect for God. God doesn’t perform miracles on demand to prove anything to man. He performs miracles in accordance with His will to bring glory to His name on earth. The Pharisees claimed to be the closest to God, but in reality, they were far from Him. It’s sad, but like the Pharisees of old, many who claim to be close to God today have no clue who God truly is.
— Jesus warned His disciples against allowing the influence of the Pharisees to get into their hearts. Jesus likened the negative influence to “yeast” that can grow and expand. If you are not careful, a few negative seeds planted in your heart can contaminate your entire belief system and influence your life in ways that will hinder your faith.
— When Jesus warned His disciples about the “yeast” of the Pharisees, they thought He was talking about them having only one loaf of bread. Jesus was not concerned with what to eat. He had just fed 5,000 with a little boy’s lunch and 4,000 with a few loaves of bread. Surely He could multiply the one loaf they had to feed the 13 of them. Jesus was frustrated that His disciples were clueless. They were focused on bread, while He was focused on the damage the influence of the Pharisees could have. Jesus’ disciples spent years with Him, and they still often focused on the wrong things. This is how easy it is to give your attention to things that don’t really matter. Unfortunately, today, many believers major in the minors and minor in the majors. They put lots of time, energy, and effort into things that don’t really matter to God. Be careful what you give your attention to. You don’t want to waste valuable focus on invaluable things.
2. Your focus is very important.
— If satan can get your attention for five seconds, he can have your mind for five minutes.
— If satan can get you distracted to the point where you are “giving” your attention to things that don’t matter to God, then he does not need to do anything else. You are already wasting your time and spinning your wheels. As long as you are not focused on making a Kingdom impact, you are no threat to the kingdom of darkness.
— God can use humans in a powerful way when we are fixed and focused on Him. This is why the enemy does so much to keep you distracted. And this is why God wants your attention. If you don’t GIVE God your attention, then He is going to have to GET IT. Take it from me; it is much better to GIVE God your attention than to live your life in a way that causes Him to have to GET IT from you.
3. It is important to establish some altars in your life.
— In Biblical times, an altar was a place of worship and sacrifice, but it was also a physical place of remembrance. Followers of God established altars to remind themselves and future generations of what God had done.
— If you read the Old Testament, you will see the many times the Israelites established altars that served as memorials of God’s goodness, both for them and for the generations that followed. We all face challenging times. When difficulties come, it is good to be able to go back to a point in our lives where God manifested His goodness. The reminder of what God did in the past helps fuel our faith for the future.
— When you can go back and remember WHAT GOD DID in the past, it will help keep you focused on what you believe He IS DOING in the present.
— Jesus wanted His disciples to remember what He did with two fish and five loaves — feeding the 5,000. Jesus wanted His disciples to remember what He did with seven loaves — feeding the 4,000. Jesus’ point was that if they truly remembered what God did, they would not be concerned about what God was going to do when they only had one loaf of bread for 13 people. When you can point to the times in your life when God manifested His glory, you should be able to face present-day challenges with fearless confidence.
4. Altars help you endure as you walk out your divine purpose with God on earth.
— An altar is a place of worship. It’s a place where you can commit and recommit yourself to God. It’s a place you can go back to in order to show God how much you appreciate what He did and that you don’t take His blessings lightly. You go back to thank Him for His goodness.
— An altar is a venue for evangelism. When you have something you can go back to, that highlights the goodness of God in your life, it becomes a place that you can bring up to help brag about God. You can unapologetically tell others about the goodness of God.
— An altar is a tool for legacy. In the Old Testament, the older generation would bring the younger generation to an altar to tell the story of what God did in order to help pass on the goodness of God to the next generation. Your children need to know the true source of your strength. Your children can learn a great deal from the challenges you faced and how God saw you through them.
— An altar serves as a source of divine encouragement. There will be days when you don’t “feel” like a Christian, when you don’t “feel” like living by faith, and when you don’t “feel” like going on. While you are called to live by faith and not by feelings, you are still human, and there will be times when you need to overcome your feelings. Altars help with that. If you can go back and TRACE the goodness of God in your life — saying, “I remember this…” and, “I remember that…” — then you will be encouraged to move forward. You can encourage yourself in the Lord when you are able to look back and see God’s goodness all over your past.
— I am spending so much time today on remembering because it is so easy to forget. The disciples witnessed Jesus feed 5,000 people with two fish and five loaves of bread. They later witnessed Him do it for 4,000 people with seven loaves of bread. They were part of both miracles. They participated in the act. The food multiplied as they handed it out. They were part of the experience. But right after feeding 4,000 people with seven loaves of bread and having seven baskets of food left over, they got onto a boat with only one loaf of bread. There was one loaf and 13 of them. You would think that food would be their last concern because they were with Jesus, and He was the miracle worker who could multiply food. But no. They were concerned about what they were going to eat. It’s like they forgot (just like that) what had just happened. Jesus attributed it to the “yeast of the Pharisees.”
I will close with a statement that I believe drives home the message the Lord gave me to share with you today. If you are not careful, just like a little yeast can spread throughout an entire batch of dough, a little unbelief can contaminate your belief system and spread through your spirit like a virus, disarming your faith and causing you to forget all the things God has done.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
You are restoring me to my former glory. You are refreshing my heart to believe on the level that I once believed. Every dry area in my heart is being drenched again by fresh outpourings of Your Spirit in my heart.
I remember what You have done in my life. I will never forget!
I look back over all You have done, and it serves as a source of encouragement for me.
I don’t forget Your goodness, but I also don’t allow past victories to keep me from future successes.
I don’t look back to get stuck there. I look back in order to look forward. You have done too much in my life for me to ever quit. So for me, it’s always forward never and backward never! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
