Something Big for God

Something Big for God
Words of Faith 12-18-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 6
[35] By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. [36] Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
[37] But he answered, "You give them something to eat."
They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?"
[38] "How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see."
When they found out, they said, "Five‑‑and two fish."
[39] Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. [40] So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. [41] Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. [42] They all ate and were satisfied, [43] and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. [44] The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

How do you feed five thousand? The recipe is not really all that difficult. First of all, it won't be your idea. It will be the Lord's idea. Secondly, it will be done THROUGH your offering, but not BY your offering. Third, it will be done in an orderly manner with an abundance of supply.
Some people have mistaken the life of faith as dreaming up things that would be great to do for God. In fact, the life of faith is mostly about listening and then responding to something that God is already doing.
If the disciples had tried to dream up something great for God, they would have fallen far short. They would have fed fifty or a hundred people. They probably would have needed a fundraising campaign to do that. They would have congratulated themselves for having accomplished such a significant goal. What Jesus had in mind on this day was far beyond their dreams.
There was not even enough food for the Twelve. In fact, they might have laughed at Jesus' suggestion or retreated in disbelief, but instead, they were obedient to offer what they had, which was a bit of food given to them by a little boy. Now, be sure of this. Without this offering in faith, it is unlikely that any miracle would have occurred. Jesus started with what they had.
That is the way that the Lord works. He calls us to offer what we have, although inadequate, so that we may see the work of His hand, which is always adequate. But the miracle of feeding five thousand was not done BY this offering of the disciples. It was not a miracle of "sharing," as some have suggested. You can share all you want, but five loaves and two fish are still five loaves and two fish. This was a real miracle of nature that was done THROUGH the offering of bread and fish. The miracle was done by the Lord, but not BY the offering.
The miracle also called for some order and organization as the Lord called them to break the job down into smaller groups. Even with a nature miracle there is work. Some administration is needed. The sheer work of distributing food to five thousand people was enormous. Mark records that five thousand men were fed. According to the traditional way of counting in the ancient world, this means that as many as twelve thousand were fed when you include the men, women, and children. It was a big deal, and there was an abundance left over.
Would you like to do something big for God? Well, the starting point is not to dream something up. We start by listening to God. When you hear from Him the plan He has in mind, it will very likely take your breath away. Offer the gifts and materials you have, and be obedient to His plan and organization. That is when the fun begins.

Lord, give me ears to hear Your voice and call. Give me eyes to see where you are at work around me. Give me faith to join you even in things that seem too big. Give me courage to trust and obey. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.