Multiplied....

We learn in the first few years of school what it is for a number to be multiplied.

We learn in Sunday school how God instructed creatures to multiply. Noah unloaded the ark on an earth that had been flooded, and again, God said "...multiply, and fill the earth.." (Genesis 1:22 and Genesis 9:1)

Jesus disciples must have wondered why He didn't cash in on the opportunity to multiply His followers. He was, after all, Messiah...why would He not take advantage of this situation and build up an army of men to help Him bring victory to Israel? Jesus could easily multiply the number of followers...many times over.

But instead of rallying people to that cause, He keeps them quieted and calm, seats them on the grassy field, and multiplies....

Fish. And bread.

"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." (John 6:11)



It was Passover season...and Jesus knew that He was the perfect Lamb of sacrifice. He knew what was ahead. He knew the time was getting short. There would soon be another Bread being broken and multiplied.

His Body.




I purpose today, to get involved in breaking that Bread of Life in the multiple opportunities He sets before me.

Jesus asked those with Him that day, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" (John 6:5)

He speaks to me this moment, thru scripture....."I Am the Bread of Life." (John 6:48)

And as He spoke to Peter, He speaks to me....

"Feed my sheep...." (John 21:17)

What I have is less than a fish and a hunk of bread.... But in whatever situation I face, whatever I have, placed in The Hands of Jesus....will be multiplied.

He will make it more than enough.

Hallelujah

But....

When you see that word, look out....you usually see an excuse next.

I continue in John 6:9 this morning...

After being disturbed by a crowd of hungry people, Jesus' asks the disciples where and how these needs could be met.

 "He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do." (John 6:6)
He knew the answer before He asked them...but they didn't know, they may not have even considered the needs of these people who had chased after them.

(I'm afraid I'd have been in that mindset...probably just annoyed at the interruption.)

But Jesus causes them to consider other people, so their thoughts begin to turn....and they see the limitations. 

Phillip thinks about the amount....and he thinks in the terms of money.  "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" (John 6:7)

Andrew thought about the amount...and he thinks in terms of quantity. "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6:9)

Both are valid trains of thought... EXCEPT when Jesus is involved.

It is frustrating to face a daunting task when we look at it from a human, practical viewpoint.

We do well to remember that our God is not human. 

I purpose to place my meager little fish in the Hands of Jesus, and trust Him to use what little I have.

No excuses.  No buts...

Interruptions....

Interruptions are annoying.  Our internet is acting up and just when the Netflix show gets exciting....interruption. 

As I begin to study John 6, I wonder how the interruptions were not annoying to Jesus.  Certainly his disciples would have been troubled by the ups and downs of following after Him....the constant conflict with the religious world, the crowds...

Some two years after the wedding in Cana, Jesus has grown quite a following.  A lot of them followed Him just for the novelty....maybe they would get to see Him perform...( a miracle).

Some thought He was indeed the Messiah.

Mark 6:31 tells us that sometimes there was not even time to eat.

I don't know about you, but when my tummy gets really empty, I get impatient.  And grouchy.

As John 6:1 begins, we see Jesus going up a mountain, away from the crowd, taking His disciples with Him for some peace and quiet.  A time of rest...

But they were interrupted.

I imagine how I would have responded.  Tired. Hungry. Emotionally and physically spent.  Finally found a quiet place to just sit with Jesus....personal one on one time.  And here they come, you can easily see them from up the hillside were they sat....coming. 

Picnic and naptime is over.  No more resting.  Jesus looks down at them coming their direction.

 Interruption.

 And instead of looking for an out, maybe slip away somehow, Jesus thinks about the needs of these people who are seeking Him out.

And He sees a teaching moment for His disciples. 

As a disciple of Jesus myself, I don't like interruptions when I have time alone with Him. I love finding a quiet place and just sitting with His Word, prayerfully taking it in...

Interruptions come.

People need to be fed.  People need to know Him, not just me.

He is big enough for the crowd.  The crowd of the entire human race...

The only time Jesus is recorded to have asked His disciples advice, and He asks them how to solve an impossible situation.  How to feed this huge crowd.

He asks us to feed the crowd.  Not with fish...

"Feed My sheep." (John 21:15-17)

What will interrupt my doing that task?

Empowered....

It seems such a simple thing to just 'stop' doing the thing that we should not be doing. We are told in scripture to ".... throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles..."(Hebrews 12:1)

Even when we have the knowledge of the evil, even when we come to fully understand the reasons God has for saying 'don't' .....it is not a simple thing to just 'stop it'. It is not easy to 'throw off' those sins we are entangled in.

So, are we just in a situation that is hopeless? When we try and try....and fail....do we just resolve ourselves to it?

From the story of John 5:1-15, Jesus demonstrated the answer to humanity's dilemma.

We can't just 'stop it'.

If we could, the simple list of ten rules Moses brought down from the mountain would have been humanity's answer.

We don't have the power within ourselves to stop the cycle of sin that started in The Garden.

It takes the Word of God. It takes Messiah Jesus speaking to us. It takes the Presence of The Holy Spirit of God within.

Jesus asked the invalid man, "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6)

He still speaks. I echo His question, do you want to be whole?

Do you want to be strengthened, do you want the weakness removed? Do you want to walk on your own power? Do you want to stop depending on the strength of others?

Rather than answer Jesus' question, this man offered Jesus an excuse. Don't we do the same thing?

When He asks me if I want some situation changed, isn't my first response an excuse for being in the situation itself?

As I reflect on this passage, I hear Him say "Connie, if you want things to be different, hear Me....listen for My Voice, and when I speak....get up and walk. Don't wait for someone else to lead the way, don't wait for someone to carry you or lead you by the hand....when I say you can walk, you can walk."



How easily I forget.... What Jesus Christ says, simply IS.

I do well to know what He says, believe what He says, and respond in obedient faith to what He says.

Hallelujah.

Stop......

My son refers often to some comedy he watches where a doctor of some sort councils with his patients to 'just stop!!' the behavior that causes them to suffer.

It's a simple concept.  If something causes you to be sad or be sick....stop.  Just stop it.

It's not always easy to do, but we do have the option of exercising our will and doing just that...

...stop it.


In John 5:14, in His own way, Jesus says 'stop it'.  A man had been cured from something that must have been the result of some lifestyle or behavior.  Maybe he fell down during a drunken state, maybe it was a sexual disease that caused his illness, who knows. 

What strikes me this morning is that Jesus said 'stop'.  "...Behold, you are made whole. Sin no more lest a worse thing come to you."(John 5:14)

All sickness is not necessarily a result of personal sin. You can read thru the book of Job and clearly see that truth. 

While sickness is not always caused by sin, sin always causes sickness.

You sin, you suffer.  Maybe not immediately.  Maybe not physically. But when we choose to go outside the standard that God has set, we WILL suffer.

From this simple lesson I want to take one thing this morning....

...when Jesus heals me in a certain area, when He makes me whole again in some splintered or shattered area of my life, I want never to repeat that mistake again.

Accomplishment...

"....whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." (John 5:4)

The word 'after' in the verse above has to do with an accomplishment.

 The passage talks about a pool of water that occasionally had a 'stirring'...thought to be done by angels.  The phrase about the angels is thought to be a quotation, but even if it is not....even if the water was literally stirred by angels, this thought strikes me....you had to be first.

 You had to accomplish some accomplishment, be the best, the fastest, get there first.

 If you failed, you had to try harder. And harder. 

It was up to you.




As I begin study of John 5, I am thanking God that it is not up to me.

There is not one single thing I can accomplish to get myself cleansed.

 It's not a competition.  It's not about do more, try harder. I don't have to be 'first'. It is simply about Jesus.  He comes to us.

....and when He does, we must offer no excuses...

We must simply trust what He says, and make active steps of obedience.

Relate 2.....

Now I reflect on how Jesus handled the situation of the royal official's request and how he related to this father, and even family who were not directly involved. (John 4:46 ff)

The man's son was sick.

This was a man who had some authority to wield. He was a nobleman either by birth or because of holding some office of the court.

This official knew something about Jesus, and he traveled about a day to get to where Jesus was. His intention is clear...his son was sick and he wanted Jesus to intervene.

I wonder what it was that made him think Jesus could heal his son. It is remarkable that he didn't just send someone to get Jesus.

He left a sick son, and traveled at least a day, to speak to someone he had just heard about. He didn't wield whatever authority he had, he didn't assign the task to someone else, he did it personally, not commanding...just simply requesting that Jesus help.

But he thought Jesus’ physical Presence was the key.

Do I ?

At first, Jesus’ response seems harsh….. "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." ( John 4:48)

Jesus wasn't talking just to this father but to all of them. (..and us.)

Isn’t it like us to want to ‘see’? Don’t we all have the tendency to be in doubt and disbelief until we do?



Jesus’ simple Word is enough. More than enough.

Upon His say-so, it IS. Whatever He says….IS.

I don’t have to see or understand.

I don’t have to believe it for that matter…my belief doesn’t change His power or His character. My belief only changes how He is capable of relating to me.

Jesus said ‘Your son will live.’ This man accepted that as truth and returned to find his son alive and well.

The son had a remarkable turn toward health at the very same time the father had been speaking with Jesus.

"...So he and all his household believed." (John 4:53) 
The family who might have wondered why God would take a precious son too soon, now rejoiced...

Not just over returned health…but rejoiced because they had cultivated within themselves a new and exciting relationship with Emmanuel…God With Us.

Had the son not been sick, the father would not have gone to Jesus, and the entire household may never have been brought to faith in Messiah Jesus.

And I would not have considered this morning that Jesus’ simple ‘say-so’ is all it takes.

His Word, IS. Period.

I do well to know what He has said.