Far More
July 27, 2003
Ephesians 3:20-21 & John 6:1-14
7th Sunday after Pentecost
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
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Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
God is able
to accomplish
FAR MORE
than all we can ask or imagine.
That’s what he did when he fed the 5,000.
Jesus went up on a mountain
and sat down with his disciples.
In those days,
Jewish rabbis sat down to teach.
When the Bible says that Jesus “sat down” “with his disciples”
it means that he was
teaching them,
helping them to learn more about the Kingdom of God.
In John 6:5 the Bible says,
Jesus looked up.
Looked up from what?
He looked up from his teaching.
He was spending quality time
with his followers.
Jesus was being a mentor, he was teaching,
he was tutoring,
he was instructing.
Isn’t that wonderful?
Jesus took time to teach his disciples.
Does he take time to teach us?
YES
The verse continues by saying:
When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him,
Jesus said to Philip,
“Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”
He said this to test him,
for he himself knew what he was going to do.
This is wonderful.
It means that the time of teaching wasn’t over.
The feeding of the 5,000 was part of the lesson!
Jesus knew what he was going to do.
He was going to show his followers
that God is generous, and kind.
He is able to do FAR MORE than we expect.
Philip didn’t know this yet.
In verse 7 Philip said,
"Eight months' wages
would not buy enough bread
for each one to have a bite!"
That was true!
A crowd of 5,000 people could eat a tremendous amount.
Philip was only stating the obvious.
Then, somebody made a faith statement.
Listen to verse 8,
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother,
spoke up,
"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far
will they go among so many?"
Notice something here.
Andrew wasn’t a spiritual giant.
He was just a regular person, like you or me.
He made a faith statement,
and pointed to what they did have.
That was fantastic. That was something God would honor.
God always takes that which is small
and weak
and counted as inadequate
and uses that to pour out a blessing.
In 1 Corinthians 1:27 the Bible says:
God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;
God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world
and the despised things --
and the things that are not --
to nullify the things that are,
so that no one may boast before him.
Don’t forget, this was a lesson.
Jesus was teaching through his miracles.
And Jesus can do miracles through his teaching.
The works of Jesus complement and reinforce his words.
The words of Jesus complement and reinforce his actions.
Verse 10
Jesus said, "Have the people sit down."
There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down,
about five thousand of them.
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.
When they had all had enough to eat,
he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over.
Let nothing be wasted."
So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets
with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
Why did Jesus
give them FAR MORE than they needed?
To teach them that God is able!
Practical application
Here are three steps
you can take to help you
realize God amazing generosity.
1) Repent
If there are any unconfessed sins in your life,
tell God what he already knows
and ask him to forgive.
This is the first thing you did to become a Christian
and this the first thing to do
before asking God for a blessing.
In 1 John 1:9 the Bible says,
If we confess our sins,
he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
It might be a sinful attitude
like a grudge, or lack of love.
God can change that.
It might be a sinful practice
like cheating.
God can change that.
Sin is deceitful.
When you lie, you are the one being deceived.
When you steal, you are the one losing value.
When you hold a grudge, you are the one who is hurt.
It isn’t worth it.
God’s way is better. God’s way is FAR MORE profitable.
Before we can tap into
God’s amazing generosity
we need to repent and be forgiven and cleansed.
2) ASK
Matthew 7:7 says
Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
The first letter to each line is A-S-K Ask Seek Knock.
James 4:2 says
You do not have, because you do not ask God.
This may seem just too simple.
Sorry about that. Some things are very simple.
Do you want something from God?
Ask him.
Every time we ask God for something
it is an exercise in faith.
Remember Andrew’s faith statement?
Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will
they go among so many?
God loves that kind of statement.
God loves it when we have faith in him.
You can make a faith statement, just like Andrew did.
You can say,
God, I am asking for ________________.
I don’t know how you are going to answer this prayer,
but I am trusting in your wisdom and power.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
ASK
Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
2) GIVE
God is generous. Follow his example.
Have you ever visited a commercial warehouse?
They are big buildings, and they hold a lot.
Workers wear hard hats and they drive fork lifts
and they are constantly
taking huge boxes of product
off the shelf and putting that on trucks for transport.
That’s where you want to work:
God’s warehouse of Grace.
Look around. You are in the warehouse right now.
There are people all around you
that have so many needs,
and all you need to do
is strap on your hard hat,
step on the pedal of the fork lift,
and just give it to them.
Your hard hat isn’t plastic.
It’s the Helmet of Salvation.
(Isaiah 59:17, Ephesians 6:17, 1 Thessalonians 5:8)
Your fork lift isn’t made of steel.
It is your ability to pray.
If you want a blessing,
ask God for what you want.
That really only takes a couple of seconds.
Then, with all your spare time,
you can be generous
and help God’s people
with the huge warehouse at your fingertips.
God is able
to accomplish
FAR MORE
than all we can ask or imagine.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
PRAYER
Thank you, dear Lord,
for your plan, that is always better than our plan,
for your agenda, which never fails to amaze and delight us,
for your provision, that abundantly meets all of our needs,
for your forgiveness, that completely covers all our sin,
for your Spirit, that empowers us to succeed,
for your generosity, that cannot be stopped,
for your friendship, that heals our hearts,
for your glory, which is revealed in humble, unexpected places.
All praise belongs to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
because you accomplish far more
than we can ask or imagine! Amen.