Miracle in Galilee (John 6:1-13 )

Miracle in Galilee (John 6:1-13 )

6 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.

² And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

³ And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

⁴ And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

⁵ When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

⁶ And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

⁷ Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,

⁹ There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

¹⁰ And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

¹¹ And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

¹² When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

¹³ Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

Intro) 
1. In medieval times, people thought that Portugal was at the end of the earth. There is a port named Lisbon in Portugal. There is also a large rock on the coast line. on that big rock there are words carved saying, “This is the end of the world; there is nothing after this.”
But in 1492 a man jumped on a boat and said “This is not the end of the world; there is a wonderland on the other side.” This man was Christopher Columbus; he was able to find new lands because he had hope. 

2. This Can Apply to Our Religious Life

We always face deadly moments that make us feel like this is the end. However we shouldn’t be discouraged but always have hope. It is then when you will find new land. 

Who can find the new land of hope? Those who believe God in any circumstance and never abandon faith will find the new land of hope.

3. Abraham Lincoln is among the most respected presidents in history and known as a good politician, his movement for human rights, and excellence as a speaker. on the other hand there are very few who remember that even Lincoln failed many times in his life. His life was full of failure yet he did not give up.

One day a journalist asked Lincoln, “Why do you think you have become such a successful and respected man?” Lincoln replied, “It is because I failed many times before. I have learned the meanings of God each time and I used them as the cornerstone for my success. Whenever I fail, God told me to challenge bigger things. So, I listened to Him.”

Failure and unhappiness are the appropriate words to describe Lincoln’s life. He lost seven campaigns and failed two times in business, bringing him debt which took him 17 years to repay.

He also lost many people around him. His mother passed away when he was 10, and at the age of 20 he lost his sister. At 27 he lost a woman he loved, Ann, and at age 42 and 53 he lost his second then third son. And yet, he still never lost hope.

Whenever he failed, he regained his strength from Roman 8:28 “²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

At the end, he became the most respected president in United States’ history.

Proverbs 24:16 says. 

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”

Brothers and Sisters, never give up, even seemingly unbearable hardship comes to you.

Body)

A) Obstacles of the Miracle of Galilee Hill.

In today’s text, Jesus asks Philip if there is any way to feed the thousands of people who came to listen to him. Philip answered, “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.”

Philip’s answer was reasonable, and reasonably calculated, for any ordinary person. What he missed was that he didn’t place Jesus in his calculation but only saw the crowds and obstacles.

He knew how to calculate physically, but did not know to calculate spiritually. We also may face hardships where it seems there is no way to survive. At that moment, we need to see Jesus, who holds rudder of our life and the key to every problem.

An acrobat who performs tightrope walking should focus only on the destination. He/she will fall if he/she loses focus and gets distracted by things around him.

Like this, we must only focus on Jesus, our destination, when we walk the unstable tightrope of our lives. If we lose focus and get distracted by the problems and hardship, and turn our focus away from Jesus, we will fall.

The Christian faith is not a faith that only sees the dark side of world and hopelessness. It is a faith that only sees the infinite power of Jesus and hope. It is then when we will see miracles even in emptiness and deserts.

 
B) The Secret to Miracles in the Empty Field

Through today’s text we can see 3 factors that contributed to the miracle that allowed 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed 5000 people.

1. First, the Devotion and Sacrifice of the Young Boy

A meal of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish is a meal meant for the poor and/or young children. But it was through this meal, a meal that is traditionally deemed pathetic, a miracle was created.

This miracle occurred through the pure devotion and sacrifice of the young boy. The Lord always looks and asks for seeds of miracles. Don’t you believe that we too possess this seed, a seed that crate miracles like the one that happened on the hilltop with merely 5 loaves and 2 fish? We do. The only problem is whether or not we can let that seed go.

Let us firmly believe that whenever we give our health, wealth, knowledge, time, or anything we possess wholeheartedly up to Jesus, it will be used to create amazing miracles.

 2. Second, the Thankfulness in the Empty Field that created the Miracle

Verse 11 says, “Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks” This prayer is a natural yet earnest prayer of thanks.

Let’s look at this realistically. How could someone take 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and give a serious prayer of thanks in front of thousands of people who need to be fed? only a person who has gone out of their mind would do this with confidence. Yet, Jesus gave thanks.

If a poor homeless man needed tens of thousands of dollars right away for a deposit on the lease of a house, do you think he’d be able to look at the few measly dollars he has in his pockets and truly thank God? Would you be able to do it?

However, under similar circumstances, Jesus sincerely gave thanks for the few morsels of food he had, and then proceeded to feed the thousands of people before him and even have 12 baskets of food left over.

There is a testimony given by a man, A.A. Hardy, who gave the largest amount in tithes in the history of American churches.

When this man was well off and had plenty of money and food, he said that he had no thoughts of tithing. But, when he had lost everything and was millions of dollars in debt, he went to church and cried in the pews. It was then when the pastor approached him and told him to give thanks, no matter what.

Hardy thought about what he could be thankful for. But after pondering for the longest time, he concluded that there was nothing for him to truly give thanks for. So instead, he prayed and merely repeated “Thank you” over and over again.

It was at that moment that the Holy Spirit took over and touched him. He began to cry tears of true thankfulness.

“Thank you Lord for keeping my family and business in your hands all this time. Thank you Lord for giving the health to stand back up even during this time of failure. Thank you Lord for my wife and children who are still beside me even during this time of failure.” His prayer went on and on. After an hour of praying, just giving thanks, he decided to tithe whatever he had from then on.

According to the management principles of businesses, one first pays off his/her debt, then does charity work, and then tithes what they have. But Hardy began his tithing when he still had had mountain of debt.

At this, his employees all ridiculed him and told him that this was unethical and immoral. A man with so much debt should be placing paying off that debt as a priority, not tithing. Is it not hypocritical for a man to place tithing above his own debts?

But Hardy simply replied, “Right now, the code of spirituality is much more important to me than a code of ethics. Right now, repaying my spiritual debt is far more important to me than repaying my worldly debts.”

He gave thanks during seemingly impossible circumstances. The miracle that occurred on hill of Galilee was due to thankfulness.

 

 3. What Man Cannot Do, Jesus Can

Beside each and every one of us is Jesus, the man of miracles. He tells us through John 14:12, “¹² Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

Let us all repeat this out loud: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do”

When we give our lives to Jesus in faith, when we come before God in thankfulness, when we depend on this holy name of the Lord, we will see with our own eyes miracles that we could not have even dreamed of. Our families and businesses will be blessed in every way and we will see miracles spread from nation to nation.

Conclusion)

If your situation looks like the empty field on top of the hill, hopeless and desperate; if your situation looks like it had no answer no matter how to calculate or what angle you look at it; if everything looks like it is at an end, what can you do? Even in such dark circumstances, have faith. There is no reason to give up yet.

It is during these times we should look towards Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior who created miracles in the empty fields. Give up to Him even the smallest gift and sacrifice even the tiniest possessions. Give them up to Him in thankfulness and gratitude. This is the will of God and hope He has given us today in this place.