5000

I'm preparing a message on one of the most passages of scripture: "The Feeding of the 5000" in John 6:1-15. When preparing a message from a famous passage such as this is sometimes difficult because I begin to remember all the sermons, lessons, and illustration I've heard in time past. However, this particular study is becoming very enriching for me and I wanted to share some of my observations on the text thus far. Most of this information may never reach the sermon this week but it will soon or later.

• While a lot of attention is placed on the lad with a small lunch. The focused attention is not on the lad and his lunch but on what the disciple saw Jesus do with the lunch.
• The disciples learned from the miracle that God can be trusted with every care of the world, even hunger.
• The disciples learned that God cares about every detail of our lives: sickness, pain, and need
• The bread in Jesus' day was cheap food but for the people it was a gourmet meal. Don't complain about what God provides it may short circuit an even greater blessing. There was sufficient leftovers at the end of the miracle.
• This miracles teaches that a true is not an event but continuance. Jesus fed the 5000 and then sent them home satisfied and not empty handed
• "after these things ..." - this is the 4th miracle performed by Jesus. The disciples saw Him turn water to wine, raise a dead son, and heal a man at the pool of Bethseda who laid there for 38 years. Why is this significant? If we, Christians don't believe God's ability to do the impossible, who will.
• In Matthew, Mark, and Luke in their account of the miracle they mention "a lonely place". Why is it a lonely place with so many people there?
• The miracle is in the leftovers
• When following Jesus, He never sends you away empty handed
• "200 denarii isn't enough to feed so many people" is this a statement of good stewardship, being cheap or frugal, or recognizing reality?
• Lesson to learn: the reality of a situation can cloud your faith of the situation. When reality meets faith, faith will always when.
• God demands active participation when meeting the needs of others.
• Short on money, short on food, trust God He can still make it happen for you.
• Here's a biblical account of a 3 dimensional recession: physical - sick people in the crowd, spiritual - lack of faith, resources - not enough food or money.
• Life has many lessons and the best time to learn is when you're short on everything.
• Many people follow Jesus for all the wrong reasons but still get blessed. The text says "many followed Jesus because of the signs and wonders He performed"
• Was there anything significant about the ppl in the crowd of 5000? Yes, they were hungry.
• What dies the txt mean that Jesus had compassion?
• The difference between Jesus and the disciples in this story is that Jesus cared about the needs of others while the disciples wanted to send them away hungry.
• This story is truly a miracle but what can we learn practically from the miracle?
• This text also teaches us that the needs of people a great and too great for one person to handle.
• Spiritual bean counters are necessary in the work of the Lord. We should count the cost before moving ahead. There's really nothing wrong with bean counting.
• This text is also a lesson on vision. Vision will always exceed budget. However, God will make up the difference when the vision is in line with His will.
• "there's a lad here..." - a lad oftentimes refers to the age of person or even the maturity of person. The lesson to learn is God can use an immature person to be a blessing to the God's people.
• Jesus thought a plan through before asking how much money was in the account. True leadership thinks before it acts.
• This miracle has so many lessons to be learned:
  1. There's a lesson to be learned on faith2. There's a lesson to be learned on leadership3. There's a lesson to be learned on servanthood, sacrifice, stewardship4. There's a lesson on leadership and lay people relations5. There's a lesson on vision and church work6. There's a lesson on ministry and people relations
• The lad in his young age understood the significance of being actively involved in the ministry of meeting peoples needs. Don't count out what our young people understand about the ministry. Take what they have to offer no matter how small or large their contribution maybe. It's worth it!

This study was birth out of my message from last week on "Can We Live Again" from Ezekiel 37 the story of the valley of dry bones. Our church is faced with a huge monthly bill with few people resources resulting in few financial resources and all that goes along with it.

The feeding of the 5000 helps me as I remind myself of an observation in this passage:

Jesus teaches us a good lesson on leadership do not panik in what may seem as a stressful situation. Huge need to be met with little resources. God is able to make up the difference! And I believe it!