CREM MINISTRY DAY 2 OF 30 DAYS (Season 2 / 2018).
Reading: Mark 6:35-44 New International Version (NIV)
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 that 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 more than half a year’s wages[a]! 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 distribute to 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.
Good morning and welcome to Day 2 of the preparation for dedication series.
Let me start by saying that there are special miracles that God only does to those that are actively involved in mission work. When I think of the big moments in my life where I have come face to face with God’s power, most of them have all happened in the mission field. I have seen God rescue me from the hands of robbers on the road on my way from a mission. I have seen my car fly over a heard of animals on the road touching none – on my way from a mission. I have seen God heal me instantly a few minutes to the start of a service where I needed to preach and wasn’t sure how I was going to do it as the service started. Some of the prayers that I have seen God answer – I can even remember the spot where I stood making them at the mission field. There is something about being involved in advancing God’s kingdom and the miraculous power of God and this comes alive in this scripture above.
It was late in the evening and Jesus and the disciples had been so involved in the mission that possibly they didn’t notice as the time ticked. Now they had people in a remote place and no food. In our desire to walk in obedience to God, we will find ourselves in difficult places where the resources we have available in our hands are not sufficient to meet the needs that we see with our physical eyes. It is in moments like these where God’s power is manifested if we choose to allow God to work in the situation. We lean several things from this passage of scripture:
- This will happen all the time and to everyone – As long as you are living a surrendered life fully committed to doing God’s will be prepared – this will happen many times over your life. You know salvation is a turning point in our lives where we choose not to live for ourselves but for God – so we follow God’s leading and the time table is no longer ours. This means that there are times God will ask us to do things that are way beyond our abilities – because He does not consult our bank account or even capability to decide on what assignment He passes over to us. You can never accomplish anything of greatness if you only undertake assignments that are in line with your resources. It is during such times that you are able to scale new heights and achieve spiritual growth. I still recall very clearly the day a group of us young men went for a mission at Nzoila Market – Machinery Area, Makueni in I believe it was early 1996 and I was asked to be the opening preacher at the open air crusade. I had never preached in a crusade before, let alone in the market place, was poor in local language communication and I frankly didn’t dint know what to do. Out of faith and obedience I just said yes and proceeded to preach that evening. It was miraculous for me – I can still remember the meeting as if it happened yesterday and that is what God used to show me that with Him nothing is impossible. I could have declined and asked the other brethren who were more experienced preachers to handle the meeting and I would have remained the same, but by stepping out – my spiritual world got enlarged. The enemy would like to make you only do things you believe you are capable of but that will keep you small, ineffective and of little influence to the world. Be open to God’s will and challenge yourself to step out of your known comfort zones. You are capable of accomplishing much more than you think – don’t let the enemy keep you small. This is true in ministry and in our personal lives. You can setup a great business – Yes you can build a successful corporate career , you can build a great family and raise wonderful children – just be ready to step in and do things way beyond your current capabilities. As we get ready for the dedication of our CREM Centre grounds, may we embrace this fully.
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