LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH
SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER 2023
JOHN 6 VERSES 1 – 14
One of the most outstanding features of the
Saviour’s public ministry was his ability to connect with multitudes of
people. This is what happened here. We see the Son of God being followed by a great
multitude. They saw the mighty miracles he
performed and were attracted to him.
These people in our story were hungry and had no food. 5000 people had nothing to eat. The situation was desperate. It was a great opportunity for Jesus to shine
forth. He could have solved the food problem
by creating food for the occasion. He is
after all the creator of the universe.
He had no problem in creating food to feed 5000 people. This miracle is recorded in each of the 4 gospels
and I want to use all 4 recordings to bring out a number of truths.
The supplies.
God’s Son took the supplies that were available and created what was
needed to feed a great number of people.
The source of the supplies was a lad.
Each of the gospels record 5 loaves and 2 fishes but John is only one
who informs us where they came from. A
small boy, obscure, unnoticed in the vast crowd of 5000 people yet he was
noted. Andrew said “there is a lad here”. You may feel obscure, insignificant, someone
never noticed but the fact is this – the Lord knows all about you, where you
live, your qualifications, your occupation.
You are his property therefore he can take you places and put you in
mighty positions. The lad was small
and so were the supplies – verse 9. 5
barley loaves and 2 small fishes.
Compared to this crowd of people this lunch was small as far as the
disciples and multitude were concerned.
It was no good, not adequate to meet the need. The lad’s lunch was despised because of its
size. As you will see at the end of
verse 9 “but what are they among so many?”
Are we living in an age that is overtaken by the large and super things? People want the big jobs – the best pay, the
largest house, the greatest car, the small will not do. Yet we are told in God’s word to not despise
the day of small things – Zechariah 4 verse 10.
The Lord is not interested in quantity but quality. It is not about bigness or fame, rather it is
about quality and character. Things may be
small but we are not to despise them.
The Sunday School may be small.
Church attendance may be small, meetings may be badly attended. Insignificant. We are to cherish them all. Little is much when God is in it. The supplies from the lad were not only small
but they were surrendered. He
didn't have very much but he was willing to give whatever he had for the Lord
and he made it count. Matthew 14 verse
18 – “bring them hither to me.” Before
the Lord could work the miracle of the 5 loaves and 2 fish they had to be
completely surrendered to him. If we
want to have the Lord perform miracles in our lives we must surrender all to
him. Have you surrendered all to the
Lord? Have you surrendered to the
Lord? The Lord has asked you to
surrender. Have you given your heart and
life to him? Are you saved tonight? The giving was small. Surrendered but it was sacrificial. He gave everything he had. He didn’t withhold anything the Lord asked
him to give.
The steps. The
master took a number of significant steps.
Luke could say in chapter 9 verse 16 “looking up to heaven he blessed them
and brake” before he multiplied the food.
He thanked his father in heaven. Matthew
and Mark both record that Jesus blessed the food. John gave thanks. All the gospels clearly tell us to give
thanks for the food before it is eaten. It
is good to give thanks to God before we eat.
We need to honour the Lord by acknowledging him as the source of all our
blessings. Ephesians 5 verse 20 “giving
thanks for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He did it in public. When he received the 5 loaves and 2 fishes he
didn’t depart into the mountain alone to pray.
No, the master stayed with the disciples and multitude of people. He gave thanks for the food in public. It is good to give thanks in private but also
in public. Do we pause for a moment, bow
our heads and give thanks for what is set before us? Child of God we should never cower in public
eating places when it comes to giving thanks to God. If God has blessed us in public it is our duty
to give blessing in public. We see also
the breaking. In Luke 9 verse 16
we read “then he took the 5 loaves and 2 fishes and looking up to heaven he
blessed them and brake.” They had to be
broken before the blessing. Breaking can
be a painful process but necessary as far as the Lord is concerned. There must be breaking before there can be
making. How true for the child of
God. Their breaking can be their making. Christian friends you would be of no use to
the Lord if never broken before him. We
must allow the Lord to break us and shape us into his glory. We will be of no use before God if not broken. The roof had to be broken before the man was
lowered. The alabaster oil had to be broken
before Jesus was anointed. The Lord must
first of all break us before he can work in our lives. The supplies, the steps.
Thirdly, we see the service. After multiplying the food he gave it to the
disciples with the purpose of distributing it to the people. The breaking of the food gave them an
opportunity for them to be blessed by the master. In essence the Saviour did not need the
disciples. If he had the power to multiply
the food then he had power to distribute the food. He called on the disciples to help. An opportunity to put their talents to good
use by serving. God doesn’t need us but
he grants us, each of us, a wonderful privilege of being involved in his work. If you refuse to be part of God’s work you
are missing out on blessing the Almighty gives us. An opportunity to serve in order that we
might experience blessing. The disciples
had to receive from the Saviour before they could give food to the multitudes. Before we can serve and give to others we
must receive from the Lord. The
disciples knew what it was to be followers of Jesus and serve him. Do you?
They received from him and that enabled them to serve him. Have you received from the Lord? Have you obtained his so great
salvation? Salvation comes before
service and commitment to the truth. It
comes before commitment to the task.
Jesus says “come unto me” before he says “go into all the world”. We must receive from the Lord first. That is the requirement of true service. The responsibility for service is to
give. Their responsibility was to give
to the people what Jesus gave them to share. The same applies to us. We are to share. We receive in order to give to others. Child of God has the Lord given you many
talents and gifts? Don’t cleave to them
for your own enjoyment. Share them. They have been given with the purpose of being
a blessing to others. The disciples had
to share and they also had to be steadfast to give. It multiplied exceedingly what the Lord gave
to them. Under no circumstances were
they to substitute or keep some back for themselves. There is a challenge here for the
preacher. He is to preach the full
counsel of God. Everything that he
receives from the Lord and from his word must be preached. He is not to hold back. When writing in Acts 20 verse 27 Paul said “For I have not shunned to declare unto you
all the counsel of God.”
Fourthly, the satisfaction. John 6 verse 12 “when they were filled”. Matthew 14 verse 20 “they did all eat and
were filled.” From these verses the food
supply was sufficient. It fed the
great multitude. It satisfied their
hunger. Sufficient in all that the
people had. They were satisfied and
filled. Not one among them who refused
to take the master’s adequate supply was left unsatisfied. They all had enough. Every single one of them
reached out and were blessed in abundance.
What a great picture of the gospel.
The finished work of Jesus bought at Calvary is sufficient for all. No-one was excluded. Everyone is welcomed to reach out for
sufficient salvation. Have you reached
out and received so great a salvation?
The redemption that Jesus offers you tonight is sufficient to satisfy
spiritual hunger and all your sin. Are you
refusing to partake of the sufficient sacrifice Jesus offers? If someone had left the hillside that day
hungry and not satisfied it would have been their own fault. Unsaved friend if you leave this meeting
unsaved and not satisfied it is not the Saviour’s fault. It is not my fault. It is not the church’s fault. It is your own. Jesus has provided and distributed but it is
up to you to receive it. The man Christ
Jesus is the answer. He was the answer
to the food problem and he is the answer to the sin problem in our land
tonight. Are you going to reach out
tonight and touch the Lord as he goes by?
The master’s great ability to connect to this
great company of people. They were
attracted to him and received compassion from him. They were satisfied because of him. Have you been drawn towards the Saviour? Have you received from him? Are you satisfied? Jesus said “I am the bread of life, he that
cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
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