“FINDING YOUR DESTINY AT CHRISTMAS” #2
Is. 7:14
-The beauty of the Christmas Season is how we give to others as Christ gave to us.
-There are moments when God will place us in situations to help others that will be beyond our ability. The disciples experienced one of these DESTINY MOMENTS, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY WERE GOING TO FEED 15,000 – 20,000 people.
-At the time of Matthew’s account. Jesus had just heard that his 1st cousin, John the Baptist, was beheaded. No doubt Jesus was mourning. Jesus gets in a boat and goes to the Northern grassy slopes of the Sea of Galilee. It was a deserted place. Word got out; not sure how. There was no location 360 or MapQuest.
-There are 5,000 men, women, and children bringing the crowd to 15-20K easily. Matthew 14:15-16=
-What are we going to do? People are hungry, and the day is late.
-The Church leaders said, “Send them away to the stores.” Surely McDonald’s is open late. It is too hard to feed all these people. It is too much. We didn’t plan for this.
-Jesus plainly says: “You give them something to eat.” This is a DESTINY-DEFINING MOMENT.
-Keep the Lord before us. Hearing His voice.
Our part is strategy, and God’s part is sovereignty.
-Our relationship with God will cause us to tap into His resources.
-How will we feed these people? “God will make a way.” “God is able.”
POINT: We must go deeper before we go wider. 3 miles wide and 2 inches deep is a weak life.
God will take care of the breath of your life if you take care of the depth of your life.
WHAT YOU DO EVERY DAY EVENTUALLY SHOWS UP.
The habits of discipleship will create the personality of the Savior.
God said: I want you to develop a desire as necessary for living.
It must become so important that nothing else matters- until you’re able to pull the blinds, shut the Tv off, and say, God, I need a desire, God, I need direction.
We desire it, we pray it, heaven will back it, and God will bring it to pass.
REPEAT: DESIRE makes you powerful-Business, athletics. My father coached football for 15-20 years: “STAY HUNGRY.”
- Business owners know whether the employee has a desire to grow, and
- We must resist the temptation of going through the motions in our service to God.
- Small desire, ½ hearted emotions, and the devil will run over us.
*We can all have the spiritual mechanics, but if you are not set ablaze with the spirit of God, – We are powerless.
GROW IN THE ANONYMITY OF YOUR SEASON.
Worry about getting better, getting spiritually healthy. Let God take you higher and farther.
- It is our responsibility to go deeper.
- It is God’s responsibility to take us wide.
MANY BLAME THEIR SHALLOWNESS ON THE ACTIONS AND EMOTIONS OF OTHERS. NO ONE STOPS YOU FROM GOD’S DESTINY EXCEPT YOU.
ILLUS.I got my feelings hurt, so I am not going to the family reunion or church.
- Life is about others. The kingdom is about others.
- Learn that God elevates. It is God who blesses.
- Keep your desire. When the desire consumes us. It is hard to even put it into words. You have the engrafted word within you.
You may be walking through the PIT, through the dungeon, through the valley, so you can go to your desired destination.
HEAR ME-Some of you are driving the devil crazy. Let’s make hell nervous. You are headed to your destiny by the divine plan of God! Why is the devil always picking on me? -He is supposed to.
ILLUS.: The devil desires you because of where you are going and who you will become. When you get knocked down, you’ll get up after a while. What doesn’t kill you will make you better.
Satan wants to disconnect you, discourage you. Distracts you.
DESTINY AT XMAS SAYS—BEHOLD A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE.
A MIRACLE WILL TAKE PLACE. HISTORY WILL CHANGE.
JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES: “I have prayed for you, that your faith would fail not.”
He didn’t pray they wouldn’t fall. He prophesied that Peter would fall.
He said before the roster crew, you will deny me 3 times before a 12-year-old girl.
This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. When you get defeated, when you fail. You remember: JESUS SAID: “I have prayed for you, that your faith fails not.”
“Nay in all these things I am more than a conqueror.”
JESUS SAID: “I will not leave you comforterless. You are not alone. He’s with you.
If he’s with me. My faith won’t fail in the furnace, my faith won’t fail in the fire
Jesus is at the right hand of the Father.
He is praying that your faith will sustain you from midnight until morning.
Jesus is praying that when you are in prison, when you are discouraged. When you feel like you have fallen….
God is saying that when you are on the mat, the count is coming down; you get up because he is praying for you.
You remember that when you are converted, we get up and share what He has done.
You share how He has taken you through for everyone else, because many others are going through the same thing. YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE IT!
LEARN TO TRUST GOD.
It is all about the sovereignty of God! Can I say, “Get out of self -pity, self-deprecation;
THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUMILITY AND SELF-PITY.
Humility puts God at the center – Self-pity puts you at the center.
Self-Pity is an act of unbelief.
“I resign from significance for myself.” Get over ourselves.
THE DESTINY OF GOD REQUIRES BREAKING. It is part of the process.
When you run away from everything that is hard, heavy, and intense, you will get to experience it again.
The synoptic Gospels are Matthew, Mark, and Luke -BUT THIS MIRACLE IS FOUND IN ALL 4 GOSPELS.
-Jesus and the disciples had pulled away to a secluded place to rest.
They had boarded a boat and were traveling across the lake toward the secluded place. People saw them, and word quickly spread to the cities, and people ran ahead of them.
-When Jesus and the disciples arrived at their Sabbatical place, the crowd had swelled, and Jesus was moved with compassion on the people.
“HE BEGAN TO TEACH THEM MANY THINGS-BEFORE YOU KNOW IT-THE DAY WAS FAR SPENT.”
- The people ran to where Jesus was.
- It is notable in this chapter that they move from feeding the 5,000 to another test of their faith.
- Life is full of tests and challenges. Many seek a stress-free, worry-free life. Life is built so that there are new challenges every day.
- 5,000 men, plus women and children, gathered in a deserted place.
Matthew 4:4
-The people were hearing the word of God. They are hungry for the Word and would rather have the Word than bread. They were sitting and receiving the word all day long.
- The understanding in this chapter is that if you have a hunger for the word of God, God will supply your needs.
Disciples said: “The people have been here all day, they are weak, and hungry.” Jesus said, “Don’t send them away.” Then he asks them, “You give them something to eat, what is it that you have?”
1. GOD’S DESTINY BEGINS WITH WHAT YOU HAVE.
When you recognize what you have, then God can multiply it. Most look at what they don’t have. Most look at what others have.
JESUS GIVES US A PRINCIPLE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE PROVISION OF GOD.
- The 1st principle, when you are going through a TEST, is to recognize what you already have.
- It is ironic that they didn’t recognize or count the women and children present. The one that they didn’t count was the one God used to bring the miracle.
- GOD USES PEOPLE THAT DON’T COUNT –GOD USES PEOPLE THAT OTHERS DISCOUNT.
- God uses the available.
- The young boy with five loaves and two fish was dismissed. He’s just a kid. He’s just a little lad. (This is why we count the children in Children’s Church-They are part of the church).
-God counts people that others discount.
-People may look at you as unimportant.
-People may write you off –God says, I count people that others don’t count.
When you recognize what you have, then God will multiply it. God counts people that no one counts.
Jesus gives a strange command: “Have them sit down in ranks of 100’s and 50’s.
- The people are already hungry. They have been there all day long. The sun is setting.
We observe a management principle here: Jesus is reducing the crowd to ensure that everyone receives something to eat. God’s miracles take organization.
POINT: Jesus gives us a principle of organization and structure. To minister effectively to people, it takes order and structure. If you don’t have structure, you have a Holy Mess.
MANY WOULD SAY: “You don’t need to worry about that.” When you take care of people, you worry about the details.
You worry about the little things. You worry about the stuff.
- Jesus was consistently organized and patient in His trust in the Father.
- Sometimes the best miracles require JUST WAITING ON GOD.
Hebrews 6:15; James 1:3. One of the fruits of the Spirit is patience.
POINT: DESTINY never came to anyone in the Bible who did not seek it. You’ll never find anyone in the Bible who received a breakthrough who never sought God.” Psalm 34:4; Psalm 77:2; Matthew 7:7
PRINCIPLE: God doesn’t give you more than what you ask for. He gives you according to your ability to manage.
-He can do exceedingly more, but if you are worn out by the little, you don’t need anything else.
- If you can’t manage what you have, why would God give you more?
- FAITHFULNESS = DILIGENCE.
- God wants you and me to have a structure to sustain the magnitude of the blessing that will be poured into your life.
JESUS IS A BLESSING, WHAT IS NOT ENOUGH. HE IS BLESSING 5 LOAVES OF BREAD AND 2 FISH.
- It is clear to the reader that it is insufficient.
- When you and I are thankful for what is not enough, God can multiply NOT ENOUGH INTO MORE THAN ENOUGH.
- Until you are thankful for something that is not enough, you will never have provision for what is more than enough.
- YOU MAY NOT HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED, BUT BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE. THAT’S WHEN THE MIRACLE STARTS.
- IF YOU ARE WAITING FOR THE PERFECT MINISTRY…KEEP WAITING….Col. 3:15
Jesus does inventory: 5 loaves, two fish, 5,000 men, plus women and children. Check…..the miracle never occurred. Nothing happened.
Vs. 41-He looked to heaven, and He blessed the bread…and then He broke it…”
2. GOD’S DESTINY IS FOUND IN THE BREAKING.
- When it was broken, it multiplied. They lost count of the bread and fish.
- THAT WHICH REFUSES TO BE BROKEN, REFUSES TO BE BLESSED.
- It is in the breakings of life that you receive the blessings of life.
IF GOD ALLOWS YOU TO GO THROUGH A BREAKING, IT IS TO BLESS YOU.
- When our wills are stiffened to the Lord, when our hearts are hardened to God’s ways.
- When you are too high and need to be brought low.
- When you are overly rough and need to be refined.
- When you are too crooked and need straightening –His breakings!
WHEN YOU GO THROUGH A SEASON OF BROKENNESS, IT ISN’T TO HURT YOU-IT IS TO BLESS YOU. THANKGOD FOR BROKENESS
EVERY TIME you were rejected.
EVERY TIME you were alienated.
EVERY TIME you were disappointed.
EVERY TIME your heart was broken.
EVERY TIME someone called you names.
EVERY TIME someone rejected you.
EVERY TIME -Your friend ghosted you.
The greatest blessings arise from the hardest breakings.
- We understand that if God is allowing me to go through a breaking process, even though I thought it would be a straight shot to success.
- I am walking through a season where the blessings will eventually come.
IN THE STABLES OF LIFE – YOU WILL FIND THE BREAKTHROUGH.
Follow the star, and you will find the Savior. Look for the blessing, look for the silver lining, don’t get discouraged, keep your faith in the one who split the sea.
Keep your TRUST IN THE ONE who can turn your BREAKING INTO BLESSING.
ILLUS.: Shout if you are going to be blessed. Clap your hands. It didn’t multiply till the breaking. It didn’t increase until the tearing. He knows how to bless you.
POINT: The very thing you are cursing is the very thing that God is going to use
to bring an increase in your life.
- He fed the multitude through the BREAKING OF THE BREAD.
- Jesus broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and they gave it to the people.
-THE BLESSING OF GOD PASSES THROUGH YOUR HANDS, NOT FROM YOUR HANDS.
-Many of you have been blessed, and don’t forget that the blessings don’t come from your hands- they come through your hands. Don’t get it mixed up.
-Be careful to give God the praise and glory. It came from the Hand of Jesus, and it is flowing through your hand.
-God will even bless you through others; He may even bless you through people who don’t like you. “He will prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
ILLUS.: God is a good chef, and God is a God of numbers. We have a book called Numbers. God knew how many men, women, and children there were.
JESUS purposefully planned for leftovers.
- Jesus chose to give them overflow. Don’t you ever let people tell you that God will give you just enough.
- If God can get it through you, then He will get it through you. Bless others.
- God’s name is ‘EL SHADDAI,” not EL CHEAPO.
- El SHADDAI means more than enough.
- A God whose name is more than enough will not stop at ENOUGH.
DAVID SAID: “MY CUP RUNS OVER.”
He is the God of overflow. He doesn’t just want to give you enough. God’s blessing is most generally limited to “My capacity to maintain it.”
God says, “You won’t have room enough to receive it.” “My blessing shall be pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
- Widow at Zarephath.
- God is not limited to the size of your container. It will overflow to your children, and to your children’s children.
HE IS THE GOD OF STRENGTH, POWER AND MIGHT.
3. GOD’S DESTINY IS TIED TO THE PROCESS OF BREAKING.
After gathering the crumbs and sending 12 basketfuls home with the lad, the Bible states that Jesus constrained them to enter the boat and go to the other side.
- The disciples entered the storm after following God’s direction.
- The devil will tell you that any storm is not of God.
- People will tell you that your storm is God’s way of getting you back for your past and mistakes. I do believe in the law of reciprocity. What you sow is what you reap.
Jesus (KJV) constrained them. (NKJV) made them. Jesus was God and knew the storm was coming. He sent His disciples to Bethsaida. God put them right in the path of the storm.
- There are storms of life designed by God to test your faith and test your ability to depend on God and show you something you have never seen before.
- Jesus sent the people away; they were burping on fish and chips.
- God was about to reveal a measure of His power to the disciples-show them something that no one else on the land was going to see.
When God allows you to go through a storm- It is to show you, reveal God to you on another dimension and level that you have never seen before. They were about to see yet another miracle.
- The water walker was about to show them something from the Loaves and Fishes.
Matthew 14:49-52
-Jesus wanted them to see the power of faith and trust. (crumbs)
- Most of us didn’t have anything until we met God, and we must learn to serve God in thick and thin. Praise God when it is inconvenient.
LIFE CHANGE POINT: YOUR POWER IS NOT WHERE YOU ARE AT –YOUR POWER IS WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN.
Jesus didn’t want them to forget about the miracle of the fish and loaves. He gave them leftovers- so they would remember where they came from.
If you will survive the storms of life, you must remember where you came from.
THE LEFT-OVERS –THE PAST BREADCRUMBS –THE PREVIOUS MIRACLES – YOU DIDN’T GET IN THE STORM WITHOUT A TESTIMONY.
*Don’t look at where you are now – look at where He is taking you.
*Don’t look at what is going on –Look at what God has for you.
JESUS IS A WONDERFUL COUNSELOR. Is. 9:6
I am a believer that Jesus has the solution to every problem.
He has an answer for every question.
When He walked this earth 2000 years ago, multitudes followed after Him. The Bible says that Jesus gave hope to the HOPELESS, HE GAVE STRENGTH TO THE WEAK.
Today, I know that only Jesus satisfies. He still confounds the wise, yet He has grace for the simple-minded. His principles are still righteous.
They are YEA AND AMEN. We are connected to the eternal purpose of God!
The devil and hell aren’t in charge of anything. His Kingdom is coming!
IF YOU ARE WEARY IN YOUR MIND. Matt. 11:28
In God’s presence, burdens are laid down. In God’s presence, there is peace, contentment, help, and comfort. If you are WEARY. Christ is the wonderful counselor.
IF YOU NEED BASIC THINGS IN THIS LIFE.
-God has infinite resources, and He said that those who are faithful would never be without. “Everyone who seeks shall find…”
-In this world of necessity…my God can supply your needs!
IF YOU NEED DIRECTION
God can turn dead-end streets into 4 lane highways. Jesus is that way-maker. He makes a way where there is no way. Jesus is the one who can remove THE MOUNTAIN, He can CALM THE STORM, HE CAN PUT A LIGHT at the end of the TUNNEL.
IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT LIFE.
Most people fret and worry about life. The Bible gives us good counsel:
-God knows your tomorrows. He has spent more time planning your life than you and I will ever spend living it.
IF YOU WANT TO BE A WITNESS FOR CHRIST.
-If you feel powerless. You are without Him, but if you allow Him to anoint you, then you will become a vessel in the hand of the potter!
(Matt. 8-says, when you speak for Him, He will put words in your mouth and allow your words to be His words. If you want your life to count for Christ, He can give you power that you have never had.
IF YOU ARE WEAK IN BODY! Is. 53:5
Like Blind Bartimaeus. Jesus was coming down the road. He begins to cry out, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!
Jesus is that wonderful counselor! He has counsel for every crisis! A plan for every problem! A direction for every dilemma! A prescription for every pain! A message for every man! To the Christian, the Lord’s counsel is like