Part 9: When the need you see with your eyes is far bigger than the resources you have in your hands

Reading: Mark 6:35-44 New International Version (NIV)

Yesterday we looked at the importance of spending time to find your five loaves and two fish – basically establishing what you have in relation to the need you have. We also saw the need to match what you have with the need for example – in this case, there was a food problem – so the disciples looked for what they had in bread and fish. Today we look at what Jesus did next in verse 39 /40 – 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

Remember we are looking at various things you need to do when the need you see with your eyes is far bigger than the resources you have in your hands – steps to the miracle of multiplication

After they found what they had, Jesus directed them to organize the people – to sit down and in groups. This brings a very important principle that is key to growth and multiplication – organization and discipline.

Harry Emerson Fosdick – the American Preacher – 1878-1969 said : No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.

It does not matter how much you have, how gifted or resourced you are – without order and discipline – you will struggle to generate a big impact in this world. There are many very gifted people – musicians, poets, preachers etc. but they have not achieved the blessing of multiplication just because they have not been able to organize their lives and apply discipline. In fact many students fail to produce good results not because they are not intelligent, but because of their inability to get organized and disciplined. There is a supernatural grace of multiplication that that God releases to any life that is willing to organize and apply discipline.

Jesus needed order for the miracle of multiplication to be released in this meeting and I believe this is same thing we need.

In my travels around the world I have taken time to look at how life is done in different countries and continents. What always amazes me is the difference between how life is done in what we call the developing nations and the developed world. One very distinct difference is in order or organization. I am not trying to be biased here – but most developing nations are chaotic – from the traffic on the roads, how we plan buildings and even delivery of basic services – we can’t seem to get chaos out for some reason. In some countries, there is even a full economy developed around chaos – it’s chaotic to get basic government services – so some brokers start offering a service to help those who need to escape the chaos. We have chaos in the roads and licensing process, so the police develop a whole life style out of bribe money that is difficult to eliminate because it’s paying school fees, rent, and medical for their families from the seniors officers to the juniors. Just like order and discipline brings the blessings of multiplication, so does the opposite happen when you embrace chaos in your life. We can call it a curse – but disorder, chaos or disorganization is expensive and makes life regressive – we need to fight it everywhere we find it.

Our God is an orderly God – just look at how the universe runs with precision. The sun rises and sets on time. You have never heard of oxygen rationing or shortage and the planet we live on runs well. We are created in God’s image and we now have the Spirit of God in us – so order, discipline and organization needs to be natural.

This should be evident in the way we do life including the way we run our churches or even do ministry. Excellence should be natural in us and for everything we do. If we can get organized and disciplined, God’s grace of multiplication will fall on us. An organized and disciplined life is focused and focus is a key ingredient for a successful life. Possibly we need to change our prayers and not as for blessing for this and that but for God to help us get organized and disciplined for once we have this, we get onto the line for huge blessings.

Let me not overemphasize this point, but I believe it’s important for us – Jesus asked the disciples to organize the people – sit down and in groups of hundreds and fifties.

How did they achieve this – they asked the people to sit down: they calmed the people down and brought some expectation. We don’t have time to cover this in detail, but expectation is important element to the miracle that happened here. Expectation is an attitude of faith and is powerful. What you expect in faith – you receive. Remember as they sat down, all they could see was the five loaves and two fish but they sat down anyway. This is just how God works – He wants you to start with what you have – the multiplication happens as you get in motion with expectation.

The next thing the disciples did – was to divide them to groups of fifties and hundreds and we learn something here – simplify your life – don’t be complicated. Have short term and long term goals and get moving. The number of people was big, but by splitting them into groups, it was easy to manage. This is the same with our lives – take small steps daily and over time, you will have walked many miles. There is a saying that “Rome was not built in one day”. The problem we have is that people want things to happen instantly. We want to grow rich instantly. We want a pastor or a prophet to lay hands on us and after the meeting get the keys to our new car  so that the next Sunday we can come and testify that we are blessed. We don’t see this in the Bible – there is a season for planting and a season for harvesting. A child takes 9-months in the womb and you can’t get 2 children by getting a woman to deliver in 4 months! For what is delivered to be called a child – it has to be 9-months unfortunately. Anyway, I have to stop – organize and discipline your life and simplify things – God’s blessing of multiplication will fall on you and you will not be bound by the resources you see with your own eyes.

We will continue.