“I came with 5 loaves and 2 fishes”
34 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it's already getting late.
36 Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.”
37 But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We'd have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”
38 “How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.” They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass.
40 So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred.
41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share.
42 They all ate as much as they wanted,This morning I would like to speak a message that I believe the Lord has placed upon my heart.
I came with 5 loaves and 2 fish.
Here in this passage of scripture, we see Jesus had a large crowd following Him. The crowd was following Him whole day and eventually they got hungry.
Now Jesus wanted to give them something to eat, so He asked the disciples where we can buy bread for these people to have something to eat?
One disciple said that would take more than a half years wages to feed everyone.
Then Jesus asked, “How many loaves do you have?”
They came back and said we have 5 loaves and 2 fish.
There are a few things that I would like to point out from this passage of scripture.
The crowd was hungry.
The crowd in the bible was hungry for food, but how many know there are people in our world today that are hungry for an answer.
The world is hungry. They are not necessarily hungry for chicken or a lekker meal, but they are hungry for an answer.
They are hungry for hope.
They are searching for an answer.
They are looking for a way out.
Whether it be the university student who feels like they have no hope. People are looking for an answer.
Whether it be the Mommy who has a son bound by drug addiction, people are looking for hope.
Whether it be the Daddy who has a daughter caught in the street life, people are looking for hope.
Whether it be the wife who has a husband bound by alcohol, people are looking for hope.
See back in the day before the internet, as a preacher you would have to get stats of needs like this from a stats book or a research study, but now a days you can get the needs right to your email.
Let me give you some messages that come into our website.
Good day i am making an enquiry for my sister, shes in serious need for help, her addition is alcohol. shes 36 years of age.
Good evening I heard about Victory Outreach on Ccfm once as one of your members gave a testimony how God set them free from drugs. I would like to know if the church maybe have rehabilitation program or maybe someone that can assist us as a family. My brother his 22 and he opened up with us today his been doing drugs since July. The first time was March and we thought it was just a once off but he has been continuing. He is also a 3rd year student at UWC. Drugs is something new for us and we don't know what's the next step with helping him. Please do help us or if there is someone we can speak to I will really appreciate it.
Good day, I would like to know what the requirements are for booking my brother into Victory Outreach, he has been on drugs for as long as I can remember and he finally agreed he needs help, how can I go about it, please advise and thank you in advance.
Good day, I'm just enquiring on your services, especially drug related issues, my wife and I want to send our daughter 40 years of age, she has been living on the streets for a long time, we are looking for a way to help her, and we heard about Victory outreach, on the radio as well and how God delivered and healed so many people through their stories they told, that’s why I'm contacting you , We realize we are not equipped to deal with these kind of matters, because every time we would take her in ,she would run away or leave shortly after, she today contacted her mother that she want to come home and this now opens another emotional Rollercoaster, so we are reaching out to you, if you will be able to help .
People are searching for answers.
Drug Treatment center – 826 times a month.
Free Drug Rehabilitation center – over 200 times a month.
Jesus used what they had.
Did you know that God wants to use you and I to meet the needs of hurting people?
Yes, God wants to use you and I to bring good news to a hurting family.
God wants to use you and I to bring hope to a hurting family.
God wants to use what you and I have to bring good news to a world that is hungry for hope, truth and an answer.
Sometimes what can stop you and I from being used of God is that we feel like we don’t have enough for God to use.
- Kidz G.A.N.G. – Who knows but the kidz you are teaching in the children’s ministry might be the next pastor, missionary or president. They may even go home and tell their unsaved family about Jesus.
- Music Ministry – Who knows but the song you sing might usher in the Presence of God for someone to get a breakthrough, a healing or even salvation.
- Prison Ministry – Who knows that testimony you give at the prison might reach the young man or woman whose Mommy or Daddy has been praying for them.
- Usher – Who knows the person you usher into the service might give their life to the Lord that day and go home and reach the rest of their family.
- Graphic – That flyer you make might be the one that reaches many souls for Jesus.
- Administration – That follow up letter you write might be the one that brings the backslider back into the house of the Lord.
Many times, you and I may not get involved because we may feel we don’t have enough to meet the needs of the people or to get the job done.
All the disciples had was 5 loaves and 2 fish, but it was enough.
This morning I want to encourage the one that has been coming for a while and you are not involved yet. You are not connected to the life of the church.
If you want to make an impact, it is good to be connected.
Iron: Illustration. Needs to be plugged in.
You are not using your giftings for the Lord.
This morning I encourage you to get involved and let God use what you have to bring hope to the hopeless and an answer to a world that is hurting.
You may feel like you don’t have much but if we put what we have in God’s Hands, God can use what we have.
When I first came to the Lord, I didn’t have much to offer.
As a matter of fact, all I had was 5 loaves and 2 fish, but God sees fit to use my life.
All I had was 5 loaves and 2 fish – I couldn’t even carry a conversation but now I am the host of a radio show.
All I had was 5 loaves and 2 fish – I couldn’t even hear music. I was tone deaf, but now I have the privilege to oversee the music ministry.
All I had was 5 loaves and 2 fish – I was too shy to raise my hand in class, but now I have preached to hundreds even thousands.
My first sermon didn’t even make sense, but I was willing to put what I had in the Hands of God.
I came for that one person who feels like what you have is not enough.
I came for the one person who is not using what God has given you because you feel like it is not enough.
Let me encourage you, put what you have in God’s Hands, and it will become more than enough.
Not only did the 5 loaves and 2 fish feed the 5 thousand, but there was enough leftovers for a Pad Kos.
God can take our little and make it more than enough.
It is time to get involved and let God use what you have to meet the needs of those who are hungry.
- If you like to serve, start serving.
- If you do sound, join the sound.
- If you an instrument, join the music ministry.
- If you like graphics, join the media.
- If you like cooking, join hospitality.
- If you like studying the bible, join a life group.
- If you want to grow in your walk with God, join V.E.T.I. bible school
- If you feel called to be leader, go to the U.T.C.
- If you like meeting new people, join the newcomers.
It is time to get off the bench and get in the game.
It is time to get plugged in and allow God to use what we have to make a difference.
The needs of the people were met.
The cool thing is when the disciples put what they had in the Hands of God the needs of the people were met.
The same thing with you and I. When we put what we have in the Hands of God, God can use it to meet the needs of those who are looking for an answer.
I guess my question to us today is, “Is there a lad in the House?”
Cheers
Thank you. God Bless you.