WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

Dr. Marty Baker / Luke 19:1-10 / September 27, 2009

Good morning and welcome to The Creek. I want welcome all of those in our Grovetown campus and those that are watching on television and on the Internet. I was at the Grovetown campus a few weeks back and someone told me that it's not Grovetown, but the locals call it Groovytown. If that's the case, in the words of Simon and Garfunkel, we've got a groovy thing going.

Today we are continuing our series called, Incredible, with the message: What are you looking for?

One of your greatest needs in life is to feel that your life matters, that you have significance, that you are valuable, that you’re worthwhile. Because of this you’re constantly looking around and comparing yourself to other people.

In our society we tend to base our self-worth on four things. We judge our worth by our…

1. Appearance: How do I look? If I look good then I think I must be good.
2. Achievement: What have I accomplished? Am I successful?
3. Approval: Do people like me? If a lot of people like me I must be ok.
4. Affluence. What do I own?

The problem with these four standards is that none of them are stable. They can all change. None of these things are good judges of our self worth. Here's why.

Our successes are surpassed by other people, our records are broken, our beauty fades, our possessions wear out and people we think love us, die, leave, abandon us or sometimes even reject us.

So if you build your self-worth on those things, it’s not going to last. You’ve got to build it on something that can’t change. And there’s only one thing that won’t change – what God thinks about you.

Today I want to give you an example of this principle in the story of Zacchaeus. He was a man who lived in the city of Jericho during the time of Jesus. When he encountered Jesus, his life was changed.

Luke 19:1-4

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.

2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.

3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.

4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

As these verses tell us, Zacchaeus had heard that Jesus was coming through town. He went there that day hoping to get a glimpse of Jesus. But, there was a problem. The great crowds were large and he was short and could not see over them.

Tradition tells us that Zacchaeus was the shortest man in the city of Jericho. He may in fact have been a little person. There’s no doubt if he were the shortest man in town, he was probably teased and ridiculed most of his life.

Not only was he ridiculed, but this guy was hated by everyone in the city of Jericho. He was the chief tax collector. Tax collectors are never popular, but in those days it was even worse.

As many of you know, Israel was occupied by the Roman government. Rome wanted as much money as possible out of Israel. They found that they could get more money if they had natives to collect the taxes.

This is the way that the deal worked. The Roman government would let people bid for the right to be a tax collector for a particular region. Whoever had the highest bid would get the job. For instance, someone would say, "I think I could give you $100 million from the Augusta area." They would say, “Okay, you’ve got the job.”

The tax collector would collect as much in taxes as he could get away with. He would give Rome what he had bid and then he would keep the leftover money.

People hated this system and tax collectors were despised. People considered them as traitors who had sold out their brothers, sisters and the people of God. For a Jewish person to become a Roman tax collector was absolutely unthinkable. If you were a tax collector, you could expect three things:

1. Your family would disown you.

2. You would never be allowed to worship in the synagogue, and

3. You would be put in a class of people that were worse than murderers.

Zacchaeus sold out to the Romans. As a result he was hated by everybody. Now Zacchaeus was not only a tax collector, but he was the chief tax collector which meant he was the ring-leader of the entire scam.

Zacchaeus was just as messed up on the inside as he was on the outside. How do I know that? You can’t have a guilty conscious and feel good about yourself at the same time.

He knew that he was ripping people off. He knew that he was taking advantage of other people. He was a deceitful, dishonest, lying scoundrel. He had lost all of his self-respect and his zeal for life. He had a lot of money, but did not have any friends and was generally miserable.

But one day everything changed. That day he had an incredible encounter with Jesus. In that moment, he learned how much he mattered to God and it changed his life forever. We can learn three things from the story of Zacchaeus.

1. No matter how insignificant I feel, Jesus notices me.

It does not matter how low and how lonely and how insignificant I feel, Jesus notices me. Other people may not notice, but He does.

Remember that Zacchaeus was searching. He knew that there had to be more to life than what he was experiencing. He had all the money that a person could want but it did not satisfy the longing deep within. Maybe some of you are like that. You have reached all of your goals. You have a nice comfortable life, but you are not happy. You are here today or maybe you are watching today and you are wondering if there could be more.

Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming to town, but he had a problem. He was too short to see over the crowd. He did two things that no wealthy Middle Eastern man would do. One, he ran through a crowd, and the second thing he climbed a tree hoping that Jesus would pass by.

That was shocking but what Jesus did was even more shocking. Jesus walked straight through the city, past thousands of people and right up to the tree where Zacchaeus had climbed. Look at verse five.

Luke 19:5

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up...

At this moment, I can imagine Zacchaeus’s heart must have been racing. I would imagine that he was thinking: “He’s looking at me! Out of all the people in Jericho, He’s looking at me! Why did He stop here? Why did He look up?

Think about it. Why did Jesus do that? Because He knew that was exactly where Zacchaeus was.

Here’s the point: God knows exactly where you are today. You may be up a tree. You may be out on a limb. You may be in a hole and you may think God has forgotten you. But, He has not.

God knows where you are. There’s never been a moment when God took His eyes off you. He has seen every breath that you have ever taken, every thought you ever had, every word you have ever said, everything you have ever done good or bad.

People may ignore you, God does not. He has seen every hurt. He has seen every tear. He knows it all and He loves you. Look at Luke 12, speaking of the sparrows, he says,

Luke 12:6-7

6 …Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

You are valuable to God. He has never taken His eyes off of you. How many times have we seen little kids riding on tricycles saying to their parents, “Watch me Daddy! Watch me Mommy! Watch me!”

All of us have a deep need to be noticed. You want to be noticed. You have a need to be noticed. So we say, “Watch me Daddy!” Adults do this all the time. They’re constantly saying, “Watch me! Watch me!”

We don’t say it that blatantly. We do it by the kind of clothes we wear, by the kinds of cars we drive. “Watch me!” By the way we fix up our houses. “Watch me!” By the way we manicure our lawns, by the way that we talk, the way we style our hair. “Watch me!”

God is watching you. He is paying attention to you. You may feel insignificant, but Jesus Christ still notices you. That leads us to the second point.

2. No matter what other people say, Jesus affirms me.

No matter what other people say about me or to me, Jesus affirms me. All of his life Zacchaeus had been ridiculed and rejected. First, by his appearance. He was short of stature. Second, by his actions. He was dishonest. He was corrupt. He was the most hated guy in town.

You know it had to affect him. Jesus did something to change all that.

Luke 19:5

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus...”

Jesus looked up and called him by name. Don't you know that Zacchaeus had to be shocked. Can't you hear him say, “How does He know my name?”

God not only knows where you are, He knows who you are. He knows everything about you. He is personally acquainted with every area of your life. He’s not just some impersonal force that sits up in heaven and says, “Yeah, I see all of humanity.”

He cares about you personally. He cares about you as an individual. He knows your name. He knows everything about you.

Not only was Zacchaeus shocked when Jesus called his name, but everyone who heard it was shocked too. They were surprised that Jesus knew the name of the biggest scoundrel in town. But in spite of Zacchaeus’ sin, Jesus affirms him.

Jesus looked beneath all that emotional hurt, all that pain, all what other people have said about Zacchaeus and saw what he could become, not just what he was.

Jesus lifted him up while everyone else in the world was putting him down. Jesus knew that Zacchaeus was created with a purpose.

God has a purpose and a plan for every one of us. You are a unique creation. There is no one like you anywhere. When God made you He broke the mold. God created you for a specific purpose. He not only notices you, He knows your name.

Someone has said that “God has your picture in His wallet. That’s how much God loves you.” I would go one step further. The Bible tells us in...

Isaiah 49:16

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...

Jesus has your name engraved on his hand. When Jesus Christ looks at the scars in His hands where He was nailed to the cross, I believe that He is thinking about you and me. He died for our sins.

God says, “No, I don’t just carry your picture in My wallet. This is how much I love you…I died for you. That’s how much you matter to Me. It really doesn’t matter what other people say. Jesus Christ affirms you. He is here calling you by name.

3. No matter what I've done, Jesus wants me.

God wants a relationship with you. Zacchaeus’ appearance made him feel lonely and insecure. Zacchaeus’s accusers made him feel bitter and resentful. But it was Zacchaeus’ sins, his own lifestyle, his own choices that made him feel guilty and ashamed.

So Jesus Christ did something even more shocking. He didn’t just walk up to the tree and notice him. He didn’t just call him by name and affirm him, but he invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ home for dinner. This is amazing.

Luke 19:5

5 … (Jesus) said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."

It was unthinkable that Jesus Christ talk to Zacchaeus must less say, “I'm going to go to your house. I'm going to be your guest. Out of all these people, I choose you.”

The reaction of the crowd was swift and brutal.

Luke 19:7

All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "

Jesus Christ knew that Zacchaeus was carrying a lot of hidden guilt. Jesus also knew that Zacchaeus did not think that he was good enough to have a relationship with Jesus. Many of you feel the same way. You think, “I'm not good enough.” But you’re wrong. It’s not based on your goodness. It’s based on God’s incredible love for you. Jesus took the initiative and He said, “Zacchaeus, come on down! I'm going to your house today.”

The truth is that all of us have done things that we are ashamed of. Jesus is not here to condemn you; he is here to change you.

He looks at you and He says, “I know you, I love you and I want a relationship with you in spite of all that you’ve done.”

Some of you think, “If I come to Jesus Christ with all the dirt in my life He’s going to reject me.”

You don’t understand God if you think that. You don’t understand how much you matter. He still loves you even though you are covered in dirt.

Here's a $20 dollar bill. “How many of you would like this twenty dollar bill?” Raise your hands. (I crumpled it up and stomped on it and got it all dirty.) “How many of you still want it?” (Hands are raised). You still want it because it has not lost any of its value.

You’ve gotten some dirt on your life but you haven’t lost any of your value to God. And, yes, you have blown it but Jesus Christ still wants you.

John 6:37

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

Jesus will accept you as you are. He’s not going to reject you when you take that step of faith. He’s going to accept you in love. No matter what you’ve done Jesus wants you.

Knowing this – How should you respond to that kind of God? The way Zacchaeus did. The Bible says, “

Luke 19:6

So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

I think Zacchaeus was saved before he hit the ground. Zacchaeus took Jesus up on His offer for a relationship. He was changed instantly. It was immediate.

Luke 19:8-9

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.

Something had happened in his heart because the most selfish man in the city all of a sudden became the most generous man in the city – “I'm going to give half of my possessions and anybody I’ve ripped off I'm going to pay them back four times.”

What happened? Jesus Christ and the love of God changed him. How do you know if you’ve really met Jesus Christ? You are changed. Your attitudes change. You become a more loving person. You become a more generous person. All of a sudden you’re not so stingy, so selfish any more. You start thinking about other people.

Why? Because you realize how much you’ve been given and you want to give back.

Two Responses to this message.

First of all, there are some here today that identify with Zacchaeus. You live your life for yourself. As a result, you have carved out a very nice life, but you are empty inside. Your stuff does not satisfy the longing of your soul. You are ready for a change.

In a few minutes, I am going to ask you to pray and ask God to change your life. Get ready.

Second group of people this morning are those that you know someone like Zacchaeus. They are spiritually blind. They are self-centered, self-focused and generally far, far from God. In fact, you have never thought about them coming to church nor to Christ.

I want you to make a call this week. I want you to invite people who are away from God to come to church next Sunday. Don’t make them have to climb a tree like Zacchaeus and get to Jesus on his own, but invite him, invite her to church next Sunday.

Next Sunday we want our friends to come. Those friends that are hurting, those friends that are lonely, those friends that have bad reputations, those friends that are dishonest, those friends that have broken their wedding vows, those friends that drink too much, cuss too much, sleep with your co-workers…invite them to Stevens Creek.

I want you to realize that there are no perfect people here. We are sinners in need of a savior.

Speaking of the savior, His name is Jesus. He is more than a religious figure, but He is the Son of God who came to this earth to save you and me from our sin. He loves you even though you have not given him the time of day. He knows who you are. You knows your name. He is here to change your life.

Let me ask you a question: What are you looking for? Zacchaeus found what he was looking for… his name is Jesus.

RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU

     Good morning and welcome to The Creek. I am so glad that you are here. I want to take this time to welcome all those in our Grovetown campus and all those watching across the world on the net.

      When I was a kid, I had a real competitive spirit. That nature was more than on the playing field, but it showed itself in every area of my life.  My parents still laugh and talk about my drive to be first. They love to tell the story about me being the first one in line for the school bus.  Every morning long before the bus arrived, I would go put my books in line so that I could be in front.  Patty will tell you that she was the one that the bus driver had to blow the horn in order to get her out of the house. Not me. I wanted to be in front.

      I guess that passion to be in front came from my Dad. We’ve had season tickets at Carolina for over thirty years. I can remember going to our first away game at Clemson in the 70s. My Dad always wanted to make sure that we arrived on time, so we left early that day.. When we pulled into the parking lot, I thought it was sort of strange that we were able to park so close to the stadium. We jumped out of the car and headed into stadium only to discover that the gates were locked. They did not open the gates until three hours before the game. Needlesss to say, we were at the front of the line that day.

      There’s nothing like being in front. When you are in front, you have a clear view of everything, but even then, sometimes you miss something. 

      Have you ever been looking for something that was right in front of you all the time? A few weeks ago, Patty’s mother admitted to us that she was on her cell phone talking with her sister.  They were engrossed in the conversation when she started looking for her essentials.  You know we do that … you start gathering your keys, your wallet and so forth. As she was doing that, she said, “Oh no, where’s my cell phone?” She told her sister and trying to help she got involed in the search and asked her, “When was the last time she had it?” Then, she remembered that she was talking on the cell phone.

      My dad always had a slogan that he used to describe something that was right in front of you, but you couldn’t see it. He would say, “Son, if it were a snake, it would have bite you.”  A similar slogan would be that you cannot see the forest for the trees. Both of these sayings talk about things that obvious to most people but whatever reason you cannot see them.

      So many times in life, the answer to our question is obvious. It’s right there, but you cannot see it. The solution to your problem is right in front of you. You already have what you need, just open your eyes.

      Today I want to talk to you about the time that the twelve disciples of Jesus faced a huge dilemma and the answer to their challenge was right in front of them, but they could not see it.

      This story happened along when the news of Jesus’ miraculous power began to spread through the region.  As a result, crowds of people were flocking to Jesus, so much so that Jesus could not even get a moment alone. 

      The Bible says that Jesus and his twelve closest followers snuck away to a remote location for a little "R & R".  The crowds found out where he was and they came and crashed the party. There were probably five thousand men, five thousand women and possibly five to ten thousand children.  All of these people went to this remote location and found Jesus. 

      Jesus had compassion on them and He began to teach them and heal them all day long until dusk.  Now here’s the problem. 
 
 

Matthew 14:15-16

15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food."

16 Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."

      Now, the disciples knew that this was phycially and finannically impossible and they were quite offended that Jesus would ask them to do it. He knew their budget and feeding this many people simply was not in the budget.

Mark 6:37b

37 ... They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! 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.

      In essence they were saying, “Jesus, this is impossible.” What you need to realize is that Jesus loves impossible situations. He loves a challenge.  He loves it when all of your human options have run out and your back is against the wall.

      Some of you feel like that right now. You are in an impossible situation in your family, in your personal life or maybe in your business.

      Some of you are wrestling with situations that have come your way and you do not have any control over them. This is how the disciples felt.  These people just showed up and now its dinner time and there was no restaurants in site.  Jesus looked at the disciples and said, “Take care of these people.”  These guys were stressed out trying to figure out what to do.

      This was a test for them. Jesus used this situation to test their faith. Jesus wanted them to struggle with what was going to happen before He worked the miracle.

      Has that ever happened to any of you? Or does God always give you the answer right when you ask?  Not here. In my life, it seems that God allows me to struggle. He gives me an opportunity to see how impossible the situation is. 

      Some of you are facing some impossible situations.  I want you to go home this week and think about an impossible situation that you are facing right now.

      Get out two pieces of paper.  On one write down everything that you can do about the situation.  On the other piece of paper, write down everything you cannot do about the situation.

      Most of you are action-oriented people and you can quickly think of things that you can do to change the situation. For a couple of minutes, I want to talk about what you cannot do.  Yes, there are some things that you cannot do and these need to be on your paper.

Things I cannot do

      I cannot force another person to change his or her mind. Even God has chosen not to do that. So you can’t force another person to change their mind.  You can pray that God creates situations that will encourage them to change their mind.  You can be nice to them and love them over with kindness, but you cannot force anyone to change their mind. Here’s another one.

      I cannot re-write the past. What’s done is done. I can regret. I can cry about it. I can learn from it.  The past is the past. It is what it is. Now, the Bible teaches us that Jesus can forgive us of our sins and give us a second chance, but your past is your past. You can’t re-write it.  Here’s another one.

      I cannot always figure out why.

      Yes there are some things that I will never know the reason why. Why did this happen?  Why did that happen? People say that everything has reason.  I don’t know if that’s true.  Here’s what I know:  I can’t always figure out the why, I have to learn to trust in the One who knows more than I do. 

      So, what’s on your page? I want you to write all those things you cannot do on a piece of paper and give it to God.

      Then pray, “God, I need Your strength!”  Maybe you pray a three word prayer, “God, help me.” Sometimes the shortest prayers are the best prayers. Help me!”  I cannot do it on my on, but I need you.

      You will be amazed at the answers that come when you stop trying to figure it out by yourself and you realize that God wants to connect with you. That’s why He allows problems to come our way. He wants us to connect with Him.

      Tom Holladay tells a story about a group of engineering students who were given this problem: “How long should a three pound beef roast stay in a 325 degree oven for the center to reach a Temperature of 150 degrees?”

      These students went to work. One student did this series of experiments. Another kid went out and bought a roast and a thermometer. He put it in the oven and watched the clock. Another one got out a spreadsheet and did all these mathematical calculations on the conductivity of roast and figured it all out. But the kid who got the quickest answer was the kid who picked up the phone and called his mom: “How do you cook a roast?”

      Sometimes, the answers to the most important and biggest questions of your life are not figured out logically. They are discovered relationally. The reason God allows impossible circumstances in our lives is to remind us of the fact that He is there. We can turn to Him.

      “God! How do You cook a roast? God! How do You figure out this problem? God! How can You help me with this situation?” Connect with Him relationally. Talk to God.  Put your trust in Him.

      Back to the story. These disciples had a problem, a big one.  They needed to provide food for 5000 men and their families. The need of this endeavor tripped up the accountants among them.  They did the math: 10,000 adults that's $5.00 each, $2.95 for kids.  We can't do that!  That’s impossible. We don't have that kind of money.  There's no way.

      Jesus said, "Tell me what you do have.  Don't tell me what you don't have.  Tell me what you do have."

John 6:8-9

⁸…Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 

⁹"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

      If Andrew would have stopped once sentence sooner, he would have been the hero of faith in this story. If he would have said, “Look! Five loaves! Two fish! You can do it, Jesus!”  But, instead, he continues, “But how far will that go among so many?”

      So many times we talk ourselves out of the miracle that God wants to do in our lives. Both Philip and Andrew said that it’s impossible. The need is too great; the resources are too small.

      The point of the story is that there is no situation, whether it is a need or a problem that is too great for Jesus Christ.

      The disciples had already decided that this situation was impossible. They knew that there’s was no way to feed this crowd with two fish and five loaves of bread.

      How many times have you done that?  You’ve have looked at the situation and said, “There’s no way. That will never happen.” 

      Let’s take the next step.  How many of you are looking at situations right now and you have already decided that nothing can be done. There are two questions that I want you to consider.

Ask yourself:

1.  What have I decided is too big for God to accomplish?

      Over the last several weeks, I have talked about this. Do you remember me saying, “God is bigger than you think?”  I told you that at times I put God in a box.  I treat him as though he can do miracles, but only the miracles that I can think of.  God is bigger than you think and God is bigger than your box.  What have you decided that is too big for God to accomplish? Second question.

2.  Where have I decided I have too little to make a difference?

      These disciple had a little bit … two fish and five loaves, but that was not enough to make a difference.  How many times do we do the same thing?

      We see the needs, but then we say, “Well, I don’t have enough to do anything. I don’t have enough money.  I don’t have enough time. I don’t have enough energy or whatever.”   We have already decided that what we have is not enough to make a difference.

      What you may not know is that little is much when God is in it.

      Here’s the problem. A lot of us have a fill in the blank sentence in our minds whenever there is a need. We say:

When I get more__________

then I’m going to __________.

      Just fill in the blank. When I get more energy then I’m going to spend time with my kids. When I get more time then I’m going to serve in the ministry here. When I get more experience then I’m going tolead. When I get more money then I’m going to give like I would like to.

      Here’s the truth of the matter:  You’ll never have enough for the great things that God wants to do in your life! The needs are too great. Our resources are too small.

      The reason that you are in this situation is that God wants you to come face-to-face with the fact that your abilities and your resources are not enough to accomplish the task. You cannot do it on your own.  It’s too big.  It’s too hard.

      You need a higher power.  You need a power that is greater than yourself.  You need the power of God in your life. He wants to help you with this problem. He wants to move your this situation. He wants to be a part of the process. He wants to show you His power. 

Mark 6:38

"How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five-- and two fish."

      Jesus said, "Good enough.  Give them to me."  He takes the five loaves and the two fish and he prays and blesses them.  Jesus passes the baskets back to them and he told them to start passing them around.

      They are like skeptical and think, "Why?"  He says, "Just do it."  They start passing them around. Reaching in and taking out.  Reaching in and taking out until all of the crowd was full until they picked up twelve baskets full of leftovers.

      It was a miracle.  Jesus fed thousands of people with two fish and five loaves of bread.  He used what was right in front of them. He used what they had. Jesus looked at his disciples and said, “What do you have?”

      Here’s the point: God wants to get you involved in what He is doing.  God can do it without you, but He often chooses not to. God’s will is to always get you involved in what He is doing in this world. He says, “What’s in front of you?  What do you have?”

      God asks us to do our part.  God wants us to step out and trust Him especially when things seem impossible. God loves to take whatever we have and then multiply it to accomplish His purposes in the world. 

      It doesn't matter how much or how little it is, all He ask is, "So what do have? Are you willing to let me use it to serve others? 

      That's been the story of Stevens Creek since the very beginning.   God took whatever we could offer Him and then multiplied it for his purposes to accomplish his vision.  The first day that we met, we passed the plate and collected $369.00.  What you see today came from original seed that was planted. 

      A few weeks ago, we asked you to give to help us launch our Grovetown campus. We said that it would cost aroudn 130k for that launch and we added maintenance items on this property that we needed to address and we wanted to help a start up church in Texas.

      Well, I know that it is still coming in, but to date we have received $13?,???.  Your investment has already produced a return.  As you have heard, we had over 350 last week in Grovetown. Over 40 brand new families attended that service.

      God asked us to be willing to use what we have been given. Then, he uses that to accomplish his pupose. The great thing is that we get to participate in what He is doing in this world.  

      God loves to take ordinary people and do extraordinary things through them.  You see that story again and again throughout the scriptures. 

• God took DAVID, a little scrawny kid with nothing but a slingshot and drives back an invading army. 
• God took MOSES, an outcast with a criminal record and nothing but a staff and set over a million slaves free. 
• In today’s story, God took a little boy and his "Happy Meal" and he fed upwards to fifteen thousand.

      There’s one more part to this story 

John 6:12-13 

¹²When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 

¹³So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

      Think about this. Jesus took two fish and five loaves of bread and multiplied it to feed 5000 people.  Then, when everyone was full, the disciples collected twelve basket of

leftovers.

Do you think that was a coincidence? Why twelve? Think about it.  Jesus had twelve disciples. Jesus wanted to make sure that everyone of those disciples who were wondering how in the world this was going to happen had a full basket of bread left over.

      When we invite Jesus to lead and guide us, He will meet all of our needs.  In fact, God will do more than we can imagine.

      Today, God wants to show you his incredible power.  Some of you feel as though you have been reduced down to nothing. 

      God is here to take you and restore your life and restore your dreams. He wants to give you a new start.  He wants to take what you have and multiply it.

      It won’t be easy. Everything will not go your way, but in the end, you will prevail.  

Closing Thoughts and Prayer  

After prayer: 

As you leave today, you are going to receive something that will help you remember this message. In fact, you are going to receive a few fish made out of bread. Take it with you and let it be a reminder that God the answer to your problem is right in front of you.