Sermon following Hurricane Katrina

Today's Thought of the day is pretty long because it's the sermon I preached yesterday. For those of you who've heard it...sorry...you can delete and go on about your day if you wish. But before you do, please heed my request for your prayers. Michelle and I are heading to Laurel, MS this morning and plan to be back sometime Wednesday. We are part of a team carrying supplies and cleaning up. As there are many reports of dangerous goings on down south (I hope my mom didn't just read that...ha ha) please pray for our safety. I know this is God's will and so I am at peace. But, of course, prayers never hurt.

In the love of Christ,
greg



Jesus Feeds the Thousands
John 6:1-13 (NLT)


I. John 6:1-13

1After this, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2And a huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miracles as he healed the sick. 3Then Jesus went up into the hills and sat down with his disciples around him. 4(It was nearly time for the annual Passover celebration.) 5Jesus soon saw a great crowd of people climbing the hill, looking for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, "Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" 6He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. 7Philip replied, "It would take a small fortune* to feed them!" 8Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. 9"There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?" 10"Tell everyone to sit down," Jesus ordered. So all of them--the men alone numbered five thousand--sat down on the grassy slopes. 11Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and passed them out to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate until they were full. 12"Now gather the leftovers," Jesus told his disciples, "so that nothing is wasted." 13There were only five barley loaves to start with, but twelve baskets were filled with the pieces of bread the people did not eat!

II. “Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?"
Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people, Jesus asked. Did anyone other than Jesus really know?

Where can we buy bread to fee all these people, Lord? They’ve come such a long way, and they’re hungry. They need a place to stay. Jesus, they’re so many…and they need so much. Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?

Some of these folks are ones we know. They’re friends of ours. They’re relatives. Others, we’ve never met before. They’re ordinary people just like us. But what are we to do? How can we care for them all?

Some have children. Others are elderly. Many haven’t heard from they’re families since they left. Where will they stay? What will they eat? Where will they go when it’s all over? And HOW IN THE WORLD can we show love to so many people?

III. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two
fish.”
Andrew says that there’s a young boy here with five loaves of bread and two fish. BUT what is that with this huge crowd?

What in the world can we do Lord? What in the world can we do?

Here’s what we have. But it’s not much when compared with the great need. Can five loaves and two fish really make a difference?

Lord, we’re overwhelmed by the great amount of suffering and our honest desire to care for others as you’ve taught us. We want to help. But who? And every time we do something…we feel like we need to help someone else because we haven’t done enough.

OK Jesus, we’ll have them sit down. We’ll give thanks for what we have…just as you always do. And then we’ll give…we’ll give out of what we have and see what happens.

And Jesus fed the multitudes…just as he’ll feed the multitudes today. But he’ll do it through faithful servants willing to pray, give thanks and bring their two loaves and their five fish.

Jesus used a boy and the little bit he had. And he’ll use you too (if you’ll only let him). What have to give may seem like very little when compared to the thousands of homeless refugees. But no less than a couple loaves and a few fish seemed to the disciples.

The key is that when Jesus is in the mix, miracles can happen. Andrew…Peter…Philip…or none of the rest could have pulled this off without Jesus. And neither can we.

Even if what you have doesn’t feed…or house…or care for five thousand, it looks like a miracle to the one you help. And that’s because it is.

I remember one lady this past week who didn’t know how her family was going to be able to pay for the room they were staying in. Now this person wasn’t a beggar…wasn’t one who came to us for help. She didn’t even want to take the food we brought to her at first…but she knew her family needed it.

But it was when enough money was placed in her hands to pay for 3-5 nights stay that she lost control and began crying.

You see this wasn’t charity. This was another child of God who just needed a little help for a while. And she experienced a miracle all because one or two of you gave a little.

IV. Where is God (Christ) in all this?
One of my top three favorite verses that I hardly ever get exactly right is Romans 8:28. “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

Well, friends…do you love God? Do you feel like you’ve been called according to His purpose?

Then guess what. Good will come from this disaster. You see, the bible doesn’t say that some things work together for good…it says ALL things…even hurricane Katrina.

Don’t listen to these people who’ll try to tell you that God sent her to punish us to test us or anything else like that. What God did was allow something that just naturally occurred to occur. Just like He allowed 9/11 to occur. This is what happens in a sinful world. It’s what’s been happening since the fall of Adam and Eve. And it’s gonna continue to happen until the end of the world.

But even in a tragedy such as Katrina, good can come out of it. Let me share an example of what I mean with you.

I received a call completely out of the blue Friday. A lady from a small rural community in CO with a population of about 2700 said that her community wanted to help. The local bus company had donated their services to come down and pick up all that the bus would hold and take them back to CO.

Now they didn’t want to shelter these refugees. They wanted to open their homes to them and feed them and love them. The schools would be opened up to the kids. Jobs would be found for the adults. And they could stay and find a home if they wished…or be bought a bus ticket any time they wished as well.

One example of God’s goodness that came out of this tragedy was a whole community hearing and heeding the call of God to perform a miracle.

So just where is God found in these times?

1. He’s found in the people who’ve opened up their homes to relatives, friends or even strangers.
2. He’s found in those who are making sandwiches to feed people at the park.
3. He’s found in those who’ve donated money.
4. He’s found in those who’ve visited Roy’s store and cared for the people there.
5. He’s found in those who’ve listened to the stories of the displaced people at the park.
6. He’s found in those who’ve taken anything or volunteered their time at the Greenville Convention Center.
7. He’s found in those who’ve made flood buckets.
8. He’s found in those who’ve shone love to others in any way because they know it’s what Christ did for them and what He’d want them to do for others.

Christ is to be found in us.

And as you bring miracles to others…God will perform miracles in you. You just watch and see.