Latest / The Daily Word / September 26 – What’s in Your Hands?
Transcript
- Cory Barnes: Hello everyone, happy September 26th. Pastor Jenny here, and we are in Luke chapter 9 as we continue in our life journal reading plan. And man is Luke chapter 9 jam-packed with some phenomenal goodness, 62 verses long. If you haven't read today, I encourage you to pause this podcast and go read the scriptures and then come back to this podcast. But So many different options to choose from today. I would say through the years, the Lord has spoken to me from so many passages in here and continues to speak to me. I really even regularly from multiple scriptures within this chapter. But today I want to lean into with you a passage that's probably quite familiar to you. Quite familiar to many, and that's going to be Luke chapter 9, verses 10 through 17. It's the feeding of the five thousand. And just to give a little context, prior to this, Jesus had actually commissioned the twelve disciples, giving them power, it says in verse one, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to preach the kingdom of God. And to heal the sick. So I want to give you that context because they had gone out and done just that. They had been doing ministry, miracles had been taking place, they were spreading the good news. And now they've returned from doing that ministry. And they find themselves with Jesus in verse ten. It says, And the apostles, when they had returned, told him all that they had done. Then he took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethidia. But when the multitudes knew it, they followed him and he received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who had need of healing. So he was trying to pull his disciples, the apostles aside for some instruction, training, maybe even some time to rejuvenate, kind of have a little retreat, if you will, of like, hey, this is a staff retreat. But the the crowd was like, no, no, no, we want to get in on this, we want to be a part of this. And Jesus saw them. It doesn't say this here, but in many passages the Bible reports that Jesus had compassion on the multitudes, and so he would teach and he would heal those who were sick. And so He he did just that. And verse twelve, when the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country and lodge and get provisions, for we're in a deserted place. Essentially look around, there's there's nothing else here for them. It's we've done everything we can do. It's time for them to to move on. But he said to them, You give them something to eat. And they said, Well, we have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people. For there were about five thousand men. And then he said to his disciples, Make them sit down in groups of fifty. And they did so and made them all sit down. And then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he blessed and broke them, and he gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. So we see this passage, and again I know so many of us are familiar with this miracle, but I highlight this because when I go through this passage, there's a few things that really stick out to me, and I'm always Challenged by and reminded and sharpened when I read through this. And that's that when the disciples come to Jesus and they say, Lord, I think we just need to send them away. Jesus encourages them with this question. He doesn't say, Okay, that's fine. We're done. Send them away. He looks at them and he says, You give them something. And they kind of look at Not what they Really, they don't look at what they have. They look at what they don't have. They say what they have. They're like, Well, we have these five loaves and two fish, but we can't really do anything with that. We would need to go buy food. So really what they're looking at is what they lack, right? Their eyes are on what they don't have. So I can imagine Jesus recognizing. That their eyes aren't on the right place. So he says, All right. So he recognizes it's a teaching moment and he needs to continue his ministry time. And so he instructs. And we don't see it here, but he doesn't, he doesn't chastise them, he doesn't shame them. He just he instructs. And he says, have the people divide them up into groups. and so he divides them, has the disciples do it. Now Notice Jesus doesn't do it. He gives instruction. He's still leading his disciples in a pathway of instruction. So he has them put them in groups of fifty. And then what do we see Jesus do in verse 16? He takes what they do have. He doesn't look at what they don't have. He takes it what they do have, the five loaves and the two fish. And where does he look? He looks up to heaven. He looks up to the Father. And he blesses what they do have. He blesses those five loaves and those two fish, and then he distributes that where he distributes that to his workers, to the disciples, who then distribute it to the groups around them. And not only are those who are with them filled, but they have overflow. They have twelve baskets of leftover fragments that are taken up. And so I'm so encouraged by this passage. I'm encouraged and reminded to not look at what I don't have, but in all circumstances, to look at what God has put in my hands and reminded that even when it seems like this couldn't possibly be enough, Jesus has given me everything I need to complete every work that He has set before me. And that when I keep my eyes fixed on heaven, when I keep my eyes fixed on a That which is above, and I ask God to bless that which He has put in my hands, it will always not only be enough, but it'll be more than enough to do exceedingly abundantly above, more than I could ever think, dream, or imagine. This is what Jesus means when he says, Seek first the kingdom of God, and all that has been given to you. I will I will not only add, but it will be multiplied. When when we look at a a harvest and we talk about planting the seed and reaping that harvest that is thirty, sixty, a hundredfold, this is how it works in the kingdom of God. We want to look at the natural things around us and try and figure out things in our own flesh. And that's what the disciples did. It's completely natural. There's no shame in it. There are practical things in our everyday where we look and we say, Well, we need to Like the disciples said, Well, there's not enough money to go buy food for all these people. But Jesus had given us specific instruction. And so in all things today I am reminded to keep my eyes on the Lord and lean in to heal hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit of Lord, what are you asking me to do today? Would I not miss your voice from the small things to what however great you're asking me? For As I've heard some say, the miracle truly is. It's in our mouth and the words that we speak, and it's what God has put in our hands for us to release and go and do that He wants to be fruitful and do so much more than we could ever think, dream or imagine. So I hope you have been in as encouraged as I have been that whether we're feeding five thousand or we're feeding the five in front of us, God wants to do so much more. Than we could ever think, dream, or imagine. Lord, we thank you for Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for being in our lives. Thank you that you are with us, that you instruct us, that you coach us. But I thank you, Lord, that you don't do everything for us. That you will lead and guide us in such a way that you allow us to co-labor with you, that you will give us specific. Instructions on how to step into all that you've called us to be and all that you've called us to do. And I thank you, Lord, that while one plants and another waters, Lord, it is truly you that will bring the increase in every area of our lives in us, in our lives personally, and in the world around us. Lord, it's our prayer that every person Would come to know you, Jesus. Lord, help us to see and have compassion for those in our world that you've placed around us. Lord, help us to see that which you've placed in our hands, not what we don't have. Help us to keep our eyes on you today, God, to live fully and surrender to you. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.