POWER over Matter

The other day I was sitting over at the Preschool eating some peanuts.
 
A young friend happened to pass by. She entered the room and asked, “Whatcha eatin’?”
“Peanuts,” I said.
She said, “May I have one?”
“Sure.”
 
There were only a few peanuts left. I gave her some and I popped the others into my mouth.
As I was lowering my hand from this delicious bite, I noticed another young friend at the door.
She came up to me.
Held out her hand and said, “Peanuts?”
 
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any left.
Even after five minutes of tears and loud screams, I’m not sure that I was able to explain it to her.
 
I was out of food – and there’s nothing I could do about it.
 
We’ve been going through the MIRACLES of Jesus and we have seen his power over INDIVIDUAL health challenges and over NATURE itself. But what happens when a bunch of individuals need help at the same time?
 
Does Jesus have enough power?
 
Before we get into a miracle with that exact challenge, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen.
 
I. The God of YOU
 
The miracle is written about in Matthew 15. It starts at verse 29:
Jesus moved on from there and went along the Sea of Galilee. He went up onto the mountain and sat there. (Matthew 15:29-31)
Jesus again stays near the Sea of Galilee. This has been one of his favorite places. It isn’t because the Sea of Galilee is such a “spiritual” place. There isn’t a temple there or quiet retreat center. Jesus went there because the people were there.
 
There’s a lesson for us. God wants us as his church to not just bring his message to this building, but to bring this message where the people are.
 
If Jesus were around today, he’d frequent a Starbucks.
He’d love the local library.
He’d be a big fan of Crabtree Valley Mall.
 
He’d be where people are – and we, as his people, need to be where the people are.
 
And the people, large crowds of people came to him. They brought the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to speak and many others. They put them down at Jesus’ feet and he healed them.
 
Granted – there aren’t any details in that sentence.
Maybe he grabbed the lame by the hand and pulled them to their feet or simply spoke, “Get up.”
Maybe he put his hands directly over a mute’s mouth or divinely patted them on the back to loosen their vocal cords.
Maybe he threw water on those with leprosy or maybe he had them dive into the Sea of Galilee.
 
Or maybe he just looked at the crowd and said, “All y’all are healed.”
 
I don’t know.
 
The point is that it happened. Jesus healed a crowd of people who came to him.
 
That’s important. Because look at the next sentence:
As a result, the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
 
The Bible had mentioned the mountains earlier. More than likely, this is a reference to a group of hills down to the south east of the Sea of Galilee. That’s important because this was an area that wasn’t inhabited by the Israelites alone. It was filled with Gentiles (that is, non-Israelites). Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, North Africans, and West Asians.
 
This explains the exclamation! They call Jesus “The God of Israel.”
 
“He’s the God that dwells in Israel.”
“He’s a real powerful God, too. He healed my cousin. The ‘gods’ of my country couldn’t do that.”
“And apparently, he cares about me, too. Even though I’m not Jewish and I don’t dwell anywhere near Jerusalem.”
 
TRUTH:
Jesus is the God of ALL PEOPLE.
 
Sometimes it’s easy to picture Jesus like the Genie from Aladdin. If you remember the plot, the Genie is only able to grant wishes and help the last person to rub the lamp. It’s the reason that near the end of the movie, Aladdin tries to get him to save his life, but the Genie can’t, because Jafar was the last person to rub the lamp and the Genie must listen to him.
 
You might think Jesus can’t help you.
 
As if Jesus only helps those people of one particular race.
Or Jesus only helps those “churchy” looking people over there.
Or Jesus only listens to people who have a middle-class salary or above.
 
Wrong.
 
Jesus is the God of all people.
He helps all people.
He died, rose, and proclaims the kingdom of heaven for all people.
 
TRUTH:
Jesus is the God of YOU.
You don’t have to look any farther.
 
It’s not like looking for a Valentine.
 
You don’t have to create a dating app profile.
You don’t have to worry about God swiping left.
You don’t have to get yourself hyped up to go to a bar late at night hoping to bump into the “right god,” at least for a night.
 
Jesus is the God of YOU.
 
He came to earth for YOU.
He lived perfectly for YOU.
He died innocently for YOU.
He rose triumphantly for YOU.
He brings forgiveness for YOU.
He gives the promise of heaven for YOU.
He proclaims peace with the Father for YOU.
 
Talk about a Valentine?
This is more than just a picture of a Thomas the tank engine that says, “I chooo-chooo—choose you.”
This is Jesus, your God, giving his blood, to be with you now – and in eternity.
 
II. The Miracle
 
But we haven’t even gotten to the BIG miracle yet. Look at the next verse:
 
Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with me already three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they might faint on the way.” (v.34)
 
Jesus was preaching out on the mountain and some people had been sitting there, staying there, and listening to him there for three days. (Like some kind of Christian overnight camp…
…just without the egg & spoon races.)
 
Apparently, on the third day, the camp food that people had packed had run out. They didn’t have any bread. They didn’t have any meat. They didn’t have a Fruit Roll up, a Twizzler or even a marshmallow for a s’more.”
 
Jesus recognizes that.
And he cares about that.
And he speaks to the disciples about this.
 
The disciples respond, “Where can we get so many loaves in the wilderness to satisfy such a large crowd?” (v.33)
 
They were in the middle of the wilderness.
There wasn’t any civilization around.
It’s not like right here at church where there’s bound to be food in the Fellowship Hall. But…if we did run out we could head over to Chick-fil-A, Moe’s, Tropical Smoothie, Smashburger, the Mediterranean place, or even the gas station down the block (They’ve got a great deal of two hot dogs for $3).
 
“Jesus,” they said, “we can’t get food from anywhere close.”
 
“Emphasis on we.”
 
But, Jesus...
You on the other hand…
 
Jesus asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” (v.34)
 
Understand: a normal loaf of bread in Ancient Israelite culture would be about the size of a pita bread with a bit thicker substance to it. That’s not bad for one person to eat.
But seven of them?
 
That could maybe feed seven.
Or fourteen, but it wouldn’t fill them.
 
Plus, they have a few small fish. Currently, there is a list of 27 different types of fish that dwell in the Sea of Galilee. Some of the most commonly referenced in antiquity writing include are salmon and red-bellied tilapia.
 
The tilapia is the smaller. It’s about 12 inches in length.
 
A few of those? Feed a small family.
Add that to the bread? Maybe 15. But those 15 are all still hungry.
 
Look what Jesus does.
 
He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.
He took the seven loaves and the fish.
He gave thanks.
He broke them.
He gave them to the disciples.
The disciples gave them to the people.
 
And…
 
They all ate and were filled. They picked up seven basketfuls of the broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. (v.35-37)
 
Dissect those words.
 
(1) All Ate
 
Not some. Not a few. Not half. Not even most. ALL ate.
 
It wasn’t as if one little kid missed out because his brother ate his portion.
It wasn’t as if dad had to forego food so his wife could eat.
It wasn’t as if there was some guy who stepped out to use the restroom and by the time he came back there wasn’t any.
 
All ate.
Jesus cared for all of them.
He used his power to provide for ALL of them.
 
(2) Filled
 
The word implies that food was completed in their tummies. There wasn’t any space left for anything else.
We’re talking full—full.
Thanksgiving full.
Golden Corral full.
Three bags of Family Sized Doritos full.
 
Jesus provided enough that ALL were FULL.
 
(3) 4,000 Plus
 
Back in the day, a group of people was counted by the able-bodied men. Men were the ones who joined the army. It made sense to have an accurate account of people that you could use as makeshift soldiers.
 
Scripture tells us that there were about 4,000 men who ate.
But there were also women and children.
If half of the guys had wives present…
And half those wives had one child present.
 
7,000 people isn’t hard to get to.
 
And yet all 7,000 some were fed by 7 loaves of bread.
 
(Can you imagine finding a loaf of bread in the grocer’s aisle that said that? Feeds 1,000).
 
(4) Seven Baskets Full of Leftovers
 
When Jesus is done, he has the disciples collect all of the leftovers. Remember – they only had one basket to begin with. After feeding 4,000 plus people, I would imagine there to be ZERO basketfuls left.
 
But the disciples…
Bring back seven.
FULL.
 
This is a miracle.
It’s an amazing miracle!
It was witnessed by thousands!
 
And just like any miracle.
The miracle is a sign of Jesus’ power.
 
Here’s the TRUTH:
Jesus has power over the TINIEST MOLECULES of MATTER
 
He had power to create bread out of no more bread.
He created flour – without having to thresh the wheat.
He created salt – without having to mine the Galilean Sea.
He created yeast – without having to get yeast from wherever yeast comes from.
 
He created matter out of thin air because he has power over even the tiniest of molecules.
 
He has power over making sure you’re getting enough oxygen.
He has power to make sure that the hairs on your head remain on your head.
He has power to ensure that the raindrops don’t make the ground so wet that your car slides off course.
He has power to create a one celled little human life without the womb of a mother.
 
And…
Since Jesus has power over the tiniest molecules…
And Jesus is the God of you…
 
TRUTH:
Jesus has power in the TINIEST MOMENTS of YOUR LIFE.
 
That’s important.
 
Because sometimes there are moments in our lives that seem TOO small for Jesus.
Too unimportant.
Too unworthy of being cared about.
 
But…
Jesus does.
 
When you’re feeling a little blue, because your friends didn’t invite you to the movies, Jesus cares and has power to heal.
When you’re feeling a little guilty about those words you said, Jesus cares and has power to forgive.
When you’re feeling a little bit sick with a tiny headache coming, Jesus cares and has power to make you feel better.
When you’re feeling a bit nervous, because you’re the new kid at school, Jesus cares and has power to remain beside you always.
When you’re feeling a little intimidated at the work you have to do, Jesus cares and says, “I am with you.”
 
III. Enough!
 
Look again at how well Jesus cares during those moments. During this miracle, he provided for the hunger of the crowd.
But he didn’t just dissipate it.
He didn’t just tide the people over.
He gave them food until they had ENOUGH.
 
TRUTH:
Jesus changes the “I’m hungry” to “enough!”
 
He did that for the people physically. He literally created matter where there wasn’t any in order to make that happen.
 
Yes, I suppose he could do the same thing for us.
But normally Jesus provides for us in different ways.
 
He provides through…
 
…giving you strength to work and make some money.
…a Valentine’s Day gift card from a loved one.
…a night out with friend who pays for the appetizers.
…an awesome fellowship snack table after worship.
…a financial gift of a caring church member.
 
God provides so that we have enough physically.
 
But he also provides….spiritually. Because though the focus of this miracle is the bread that satisfies their bodies, but we can’t forget about what Jesus did the three days before this. He spoke to them the Gospel message.
 
In fact, that’s the reason that the people stayed listening to Jesus!
They were so enthralled by his three-day sermon.
Can you imagine a sermon that good? (Don’t answer that question).
 
Jesus provides spiritually even today.
He provides a plate full of forgiveness.
He provides a smorgasbord of salvation.
He provides an “eating out of your ears” amount of eternal life.
 
He provides for all your spiritual needs.
 
IV. What Now?
 
(1) Give Thanks
 
Did you see that in the story? Jesus, who is God, before he goes about created matter out of nothing, he takes a moment and gives thanks.
That moment focused everyone’s hearts on what God was about to do.
 
Do the same thing.
 
This isn’t just an encouragement to say your table prayers. You should.
But…
 
Have you ever thought about the common table prayer?
The one from the Psalms?
 
“Oh, give thanks unto the Lord…”
 
That before a meal.
But also before.
Also after being able to buy a new pair of socks at Target.
Also after ordering a new DVD on Amazon.
Also after getting a stick of gum from your grandpa.
Also after receiving a 10th Starbucks drink free because of the Starbucks app.
 
All of these gifts are from God.
May we take a moment to GIVE THANKS.
 
(2) Find Satisfaction in Jesus
 
Because we are a nation of unsatisfied people.
The world knows that, and it tells you that it will offer you satisfaction….
 
…in THIS BEER.
…in this plate of NACHOS BELLGRANDE.
…in this CUP OF COFFEE.
 
…In this LEWD INTERNET PHOTO.
…In this RAUNCHY COMEDY clip.
…In this ANGRY Facebook rant.
 
…In this approval from other church members.
…in this approval from other family members.
…in this approval from a significant other.
 
But all those things?
Won’t fully satisfy.
 
All those things?
Will expire.
Will go away.
Will end.
 
But Jesus?
 
“I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to me will NEVER be hungry.” (John 6:35)
 
Did you hear that?
Never.
 
In Jesus you are…
 
NEVER alone.
NEVER unloved.
NEVER unforgiven.
Jesus satisfies.
Amen.