Feed Your Need
0 Amens
FEED YOUR NEED
Introduction:
One of the most exciting times that I have experienced in my life is when I retired from the Marine Corps to begin following God’s lead into full-time ministry. One critical part of that excitement I still experience today is seeing people’s needs met, when they choose to place their trust in God. After all, 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our cares or anxiety upon Jesus, because He cares for us. Some of you may be saying, “Well, Pastor Bob, how can God help me when I cannot see any evidence of His involvement in my situation?” Let me share a personal experience with you.
Shortly after I retired from the Marines, as an associate pastor, I went to the local hospital to visit a dear sister from our church that had a kidney stone. She had been running a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, and a surgeon was about to operate the following morning to remove the stone, thus alleviating the problem. I prayed with the husband and wife, encouraged them in the Lord, and then left. The next morning when I went back to the hospital, I saw the woman’s husband, who looked pretty tired. I could understand why. He told me that he had prayed much through the night. To keep this illustration to a minimum, the surgeon had one more X-ray taken to pinpoint the location of the stone. It was gone! The difficulty was not over yet. The man’s wife had difficulty coming off a ventilator, and was in ICU. We prayed again. God restored her health. I saw the husband a couple of days later. He told me that him and his wife did not have any health insurance, and would be eligible for federal benefits that seniors receive at the age of retirement later in the year. We prayed again. The church took up a love offering to help out. The gentleman received a call from the hospital to meet with their financial department. The hospital informed the gentleman that it, on occasion, depending on the patient situation, grants a one time amnesty. His debt was cancelled!! God had met this couple’s every need in a very difficult situation. What about you? Have you had great difficulty take place in your life, or a situation of where the odds were overwhelmingly against you? Let’s take a look at how God deals with the need that seems impossible to meet. If you have your Bibles with you, turn with me to John 6. We will be looking at verses 1 –15.
Background thought:
The gospel of John has been revealing to us a strong degree of evidence that Jesus is the one and only Son of God. In spite of opposition to His ministry and testimony, Jesus continues to carry out the will of Him who had sent Him into the world, His Father in heaven. After providing extensive proof of His Son-ship to God, Jesus continues the vital ministry of His calling.
Text: John 6:1-15
Prayer
GOD CAN MEET EVERY NEED IN YOUR
REALIZE THE NEED TO BE
Explanation:
As we enter into the chapter, we can see that Jesus and his disciples, after being heavily involved with ministry to others, had relocated from the populated West side of the Sea of Galilee to the desolate Eastern side of the lake to get some rest. However, according to the recording of this miracle by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the people who had observed the works of Jesus chose to follow Him and His disciples by foot around the shore of the lake. The reason that the crowds followed Jesus, according to verse two, was because of the signs He was performing before their very eyes. Apparently, based upon the narration provided by the text, Jesus and His disciples made it to the Eastern shore of the lake before the people had gathered, and had moved up to a mountain and sat down. Verse four, helps relate the time frame of Jesus’ ministry since His final dialogues in Chapter 5, approximately six months or maybe even a year, if the meal mentioned in Chapter 5 was the Passover feast. In either case of time, Jesus and His disciples had the opportunity to earn a reputation with the signs they performed and the preaching conducted. The result of the ministry prompted many to follow because of the signs as well as some beginning to believe that Jesus was this Prophet that Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy 18, the One who would not only provide for their needs, but would establish the earthly rule that scripture spoke of. Thus, a multitude was following after Jesus.
Verse five reveals the impossible physical need that the disciples were about to be confronted with. Notice, as we look at the verse that Jesus didn’t appear to be worried or anxious about the need for food to feed the multitude. In fact, Jesus uses the opportunity to teach His disciples, as well as those in attendance, a vital lesson, once again, about His being the Son of God. Jesus challenges Philip, a native of
The impossibility of meeting the need at hand was also realized, or in some respects, reaffirmed by Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, when he pointed out that the only physical resources available were only five barley loaves and two pickled fish. Verses eight and nine help us to see that not only were the financial resources inadequate, but so were the physical resources. Without Jesus’ intervention in the situation, there was no way that the multitude would have anything to eat.
Illustration:
Such was the case for Jacob, the father of Joseph in the Old Testament. He was a father who had lost his son to ravenous wolves, or so he thought, was suffering from a tremendous drought or famine when he sent his sons to Israel to get food, one who had given up all hope about the future for him and his family, and ultimately had even lost his second youngest son to Egyptian captivity. I can imagine how he must have felt when a supply of wagons and Egyptians arrived at his home to take him to
Application:
We can very easily be like Philip or Andrew, when we face extreme needs for our life situations, wondering what we should do as well as how will our needs ever be met. Our point of application is to realize that we will never be able to meet the needs that will come into our lives. We must realize that our first and foremost need to be met is to establish a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. Without this need being met, all of our efforts to meet our needs are futile and will ultimately end in destruction. What we need to do is place our trust in Christ for our every need, trusting in what He tells us to do through His Word, and then obey. Let’s look at how the disciples responded to Jesus. This leads us to our second point. Not only must we realize that the need to be met cannot be achieved by you or me, we must also recognize the provider for that need.
RECOGNIZE THE PROVIDER OF THE NEED (VV 10-13)
Explanation:
With the disciples well aware that they had a need before them that could not be humanly met, thereby, placing dependence upon Jesus, Jesus begins to provide direction and meets the need of the hour, not for just 5000 people, but up to as many as 20,000 (Verses 10 and 12). The number reflected in the text is believed to be reflecting only the men. Add women and children and the number dramatically increases. Not only did Jesus provide enough for the people to eat a little, according to the text, Jesus provided all that the people wanted (Verses 11 and 12). In other words, everyone had eaten until they were full. That wasn’t enough. The disciples then proceeded to collect up the leftovers, reaping 12 full baskets (Verse 13). There are some significant points to be made.
First of all, Jesus took that which was little and made much. Demonstrating His continual reliance upon and honoring of God the Father, Jesus gave thanks for the food before giving it out.
Secondly, Jesus took that which would meet the need and entrusted it to His disciples for management. They distributed the food and then retrieved the leftovers for additional ministry.
Illustration:
Such is the provision for the person who places their faith and trust in Christ for salvation. The greatest need in every person’s life that cannot be humanly met is the need for salvation. There’s not enough money, human possessions, or works that can meet the need for one to be made right with God. Only Christ can meet that need.
Application:
Maybe you’re here today thinking that all is well in your life. Many say that I’ll come to Christ when I can’t handle the needs in my life. Based upon what we have studied up to this point today, the need for these people at the time was physical. Scripture teaches us that God through Christ created everything as you and I know or see it. That means that everything we need for life really comes from God. I believe the essence of this message today is to recognize that you and I don’t have the ability to meet the needs we discover in our daily lives. We must do as the disciples. We must acknowledge our inability to meet needs and trust and obey the direction of Christ give to us in God’s Word. If you don’t know Christ as savior, you must acknowledge you will never meet the need to be made right with God. Only Christ can do it. So how did the people respond to the miracle Jesus performed? We can see two different ways the people responded. Let’s consider how we should properly relate to the met needs in our daily lives.
RELATE PROPERLY TO THE PROVISION (VS 14-15)
Explanation:
Verse fourteen relates that the people who had been fed took on an attitude of control. Their physical needs were being met. With an improper interpretation of the scripture, they figured that Jesus must be this prophet that Moses spoke of, and sought to take Jesus and make Him their King. In doing so, Jesus would be contributing to their physical desires at the time, to be set free from Roman rule. Their desires, to say the least, were selfish-driven motives.
We don’t see this with the disciples. They did not join with the crowd. In other words, the disciples had a greater understanding of Christ’s purpose. According to the gospels of Matthew and Mark, the disciples, unlike the people who wanted to control Jesus, sought to follow His lead.
Illustration:
I can remember playing in a childhood game called “follow the leader.” As long as I did whatever the leader did, I remained a player in the game. However, if I chose to abandon the leader and do my own thing, I was disqualified and removed from the line. Thankfully, the disciples did not abandon Jesus during the effort by others to violate God’s will. Their response to the miracle Jesus performed, as the context reveals, was to follow His lead.
Application:
Unlike the Jews who sought to make Jesus King out of selfish motives, you and I need to allow Him to be King of our Spiritual lives, allowing Jesus to accomplish His Father’s will through us in ministering to those of our brothers and sisters in need, as well as to those who don’t know Christ. As we choose to submit to God’s leading, the needs (physical and spiritual) of others as well as our own can and will be met.
Conclusion:
What about you? Have you realized needs in your life that you are unable to meet? It is my hope that, as you have heard and read in scripture today, you will entrust your every need to God. The proper way of responding to God’s provision of your needs is to worship Him and serve His people, to include inviting others to become members of His kingdom.
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