6 1-14 Does God Still Perform Miracles
liberty bible church 4/27/08 a.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“Does God STill Perform Miracles?”
John 6:1-14
introduction
Illus. of Barna stats on miracles. What do you think? Does God still perform miracles? If so, what do they look like? And how can I put myself in a position to see one or perhaps be the beneficiary of His gracious, miraculous provision?
OPEN to the passage.
Prop. In this passage, we see how the common man can see God work a miracle.
Open in PRAYER.
PREVIEW the passage. The feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle, besides the resurrection, that is recorded in all 4 Gospels, which points to its significance. Still, Jesus speaks of it throughout the rest of this lengthy chapter. No doubt, it was a spectacular event for all involved. So, how did this miracle happen? Does God still do miracles like this or similar? How can I be part of one? What can we learn from these 5,000 men? First, if we want to see a miracle, we must…
i. walk with jesus 1-4
Illus. of I heard someone say once that winning the lottery was a miracle. The odds were so great that it had to be a miracle. NO! A miracle would have been had they not played and won. (with no one else playing for them, either) It’s no miracle to win a game of chance. If you want to win, you have to play. I don’t recommend this. I recommend hard work and savings and trusting God. Walk with Jesus and that puts you in a position to experience miracles. One warning…
a. Trust his power
V 1 1. Examining all the other Gospel records and the chronology involved, it can be concluded that about six months have passed since the end of John 5. This is about one year prior to the crucifixion. John the Baptist had been killed, the disciples had gone throughout Galilee doing their preaching, and Jesus had developed quite a following. Jesus is seen crossing the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias, after a city on the west side of the sea.
V 2 2. Jesus is found by the crowds, looking for a miracle. They had exhausted the treatments of man and had no other hope. If they were to get a miracle, they had to go to Jesus. They had seen what He could do and wanted Him to work on their behalf as well. Trust His power and…
b. go where he is (we may have to go out of our way)
Illus. of people that will travel the globe to find doctors and specialists that will treat their ailments. They go it of their way looking for help. We may have to go out of our way to follow Jesus.
V 3 1. He crosses the sea and goes up a mountain, and still the people find Him. The people continue to pursue Him. They will cross seas and climb mountains to find Him, even if it…
V 4 2. They should have been thinking about Moses’ deliverance from the Egyptian bondage, the miracle of the Red Sea crossing, the manna in the wilderness, and the miracle of the water from a rock. But, they weren’t thinking about the past. They needed something now. They needed a new deliverer from the bondage of Rome, the bondage sin, the bondage of sickness. They hoped it would be Jesus.
Side note: This is the second of three Passovers mentioned by John. This makes it apparent that Jesus’ ministry lasted about three years and had about one year to go.
Trans. If we want a miracle, we must WALK WITH JESUS. We must go where He leads, whenever He leads, and trust His power to sustain us. Second, we must…
ii. willingly use our available resources vs. 5-9
Illus. of many argue that we wouldn’t have the gas prices that we have if we would develop some of our own resources. Hence, we shouldn’t be surprised that we are running short on oil and paying huge prices in the world market. I’m not an economic expert, but I do know that God wants us to use our resources before He can work a miracle. We saw that in His daily provision of manna in the wilderness and we see that in our account here. Two questions need to be answered here. First…
a. What is the need?
V 5a 1. This was a large group of people. Thousands and thousands were approaching the Lord and His disciples. Jesus is thinking ahead of what was going to be needed.
V 5b-6 2. He did not ask this for information, but to begin His lesson for the disciples. Jesus had a plan, but the disciples had to be prepared for future ministry and we had to be taught how God can miraculously provide. Philip, you’ll recall was from Bethsaida, the closest town. He would have known where bread could be bought in this town.
V 7 3. There were two problems, really three. The number of people, the lack of money, and the time of the day. Bread was not readily available for purchase late in the day. Illus. of not being able to get it at Pocoti in the late afternoon. They sell out. Besides the fact, there are thousands of people and not that much is ever available. If it were, we don’t have the money. This would have been about 8 months worth of wages. Philip spelled out the problems. There are always those that will tell you that it can’t be done when you are striving to do something great for God. Philip and the others had a lesson to learn about faith and the power of God.
b. What do we have at our disposal?
V 8-9 1. Andrew, following a request from the Lord, Cf. Mk. 6:38 came back with a report similar to that of the twelve spies. It’s not nearly enough. He can’t be faulted. He was looking at from a merely human position.
2. What we have may not appear to be too much, but with God it can be a great deal. That’s what the disciples and we are about to learn.
Trans. If we want a miracle, we must WALK WITH JESUS and we must WILLINGLY USE OUR AVAILABLE RESOURCES. Be willing to let God have all you have and watch Him provide. Hold nothing back. Finally, if we want a miracle, we must…
iii. work the plan vs. 10-14
Illus. of Dan taking the group to California back in ?. Tim was going ahead and Dan was responsible to get everyone out there. Tim had the details mapped out and what did he tell you Dan? “Work the plan.” Do what God asks us in His Word and we can expect great things.
a. Get organized
V 10 1. If there were 5,000 men, not counting women and children, with the women and children counted it could be between 10 and 20 thousand. A huge undertaking to feed them all, even if you had all the food. It would actually be easier without all the food.
2. Mark tells us that they seated them in groups of 50 and 100. It appears that the people were very compliant. Like Moses, Jesus is about to feed a multitude in the wilderness with a miracle.
b. be thankful for what you have
V 11a 1. This would have been a normal practice for a Jew at this time. It’s important to be thankful in any situation.
2. What if it is God’s will that you are in this trial. Perhaps, He isn’t planning a miracle, no matter how much you believe. It’s important that we maintain a thankful heart. Illus. of I wonder if some of the people complained about the bones in the fish. It is our nature to be discontent.
c. Get help from the people around you
V 11b 1. Jesus gave a little of the loaves and fish to each disciple and the disciples moved among the people. Exactly what God did and how we are not told. We don’t have to know. It was a miracle. Everyone eats to the full and a lesson is given to each disciple in the baskets they hold.
V 12- 2. Jesus told them to gather the leftovers. Once again they move among the people and are able to gather enough
13 to fill the 12 baskets. They have more when they are finished than when they began. This sends a message to these men who will have to depend upon God so much in their ministries.
V 14 3. They were taken back to Moses and his prophecy about a coming prophet. Cf. Deut. 18:15 Moses miraculously fed the people. Jesus also did. Moses led the people out of bondage. Would Jesus? They could only hope. That question was yet to be answered for them. They wanted to be set free from Roman bondage. But Jesus came to set them free from the bondage of sin.
conclusion
If we want a miracle, we must WALK WITH JESUS. We must go where He leads, whenever He leads, and trust His power to sustain us. Second, we must WILLINGLY USE OUR AVAILABLE RESOURCES. Be willing to let God have all you have and watch Him provide. Finally, if we want a miracle, we must WORK THE PLAN. Follow God’s will through His Word and watch what He can do. How can we be part of a miracle?
1. Every true believer has already experienced a miracle, the new birth. GOSPEL
2. Don’t follow God simply because you want or need a miracle. He may want you where you are.
3. Make sure there is no disconnect between your professed faith and practice. Practice what you say you preach.
4. Use your resources wisely; time, intellect, finances, wisdom, etc. Be thankful for what you have, not complaining about what you don’t have.
5. Be part of the local church. God has given us many miracle through God’s people. Let them be your miracle.
Illus. of the many miracles we saw going through Bible college. God taught us to trust Him and He would provide. Most are explainable to the ones God used; but to us, they were miracles nonetheless.
God can still raise the dead; I’m one of those. He can make the lame walk. He can cause the blind to see. He can make the mute speak. As we follow Jesus closely, we will see all sorts of miracles and maybe even be a miracle to someone else. Whatever the case, we serve a great God. A God of miracles.
pRAY
“Does God STill Perform Miracles?”
John 6:1-14
introduction
What do you think? Does God still perform miracles?
i. with jesus 1-4
a. _______________________ his power
b. __________________________ he is
ii. use our available resources vs. 5-9
a. What is the need?
b. What do we have at our disposal?
Cf. Mk. 6:38
iii. the plan vs. 10-14
a. Get organized
b. be thankful for…
c. Get help from…
Cf. Deut. 18:15
conclusion
How can we be part of a miracle?
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