Little is much when God is in it .

DAY 1 - The Problem of Miracles We'll start our study from John 6:1-14. Jesus was followed by the crowd because they saw the miraculous signs He had performed on the sick. Yes, people were following him NOT because of "who He is", but because of "what He can do." In John 4:48, Jesus said, "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, then you will never believe." Yes, that is the dilemma of miracles. People come for the miracles and they do not come to know who Jesus is. How does Jesus solve this problem? Jesus performed a miracle because He wants to teach the crowd a GREATER truth. Let us look at John 6:1-14. Jesus asked Phillip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" Jesus asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Yes, Jesus had a plan already about performing the miracle of feeding 5000 men and the purpose of the miracle is to teach the crowd a GREATER truth, that is a truth about "WHO JESUS IS." What is the result of his miracles? After the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." (John 6:14). Now, let us go back to the miracles that we have studied in the past several weeks: a. Turning water into wine in a wedding in Cana. Result of the miracle: (John 2:11) "He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. Jesus teaches a GREATER truth, than the miracle. b. Jesus teaches Nicodemus. Result of miracle: (John 3: 2) "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come form God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." There is a GREATER truth, than the miracle itself. c. Jesus talks with a Samaritan woman. Result of miracle: (John 4:27) "The Samaritan woman said, "He told me everything I ever did." ... The people in the Samaritan village said, "We now know that this man really is the Savior of the world."" Again, there is a GREATER truth that Jesus teaches, than the miracle of knowing everything about the life of this woman. d. Jesus heals the official's son. Result of miracle: (John 4:53) "So he and all his household believed." Again, there is a GREATER truth. The miracle was done with a purpose of making people believe in who Jesus is. e. The healing at the pool. Result of miracle: (John 5:15) "The healed man told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well." f. Jesus feeds the five thousand. Result of miracle: (John 6:14) "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." Each of the miracle that Jesus performed result in one same thing, that is the revelation of a GREATER truth, that is the truth about "Who Jesus is." None of the miracles stayed as just a miracle without the teaching to "Believe in the Son of God." Now, as we are approaching the millenium. We see many preachers are preaching and performing miracles. But if those miracles stay as just miracles, then it looses its very purpose. Each miracle should lead to the TRUTH about who Jesus is. Friends, having seen the miracles that Jesus performed, aren't you convinced that Jesus is the Son of God? John wrote the whole book with one purpose in mind, that is "so that you may believe." It is a call to believe in the One that can give you eternal life, abundant life and purposeful life.

DAY 2 - The Purpose of Trials In John 6:1-14, we saw a trial. There were 5000 men there, they were hungry and there was no food for them. Jesus took five small barley loaves and two small fish and distributed them among the people. He performed a miracle, that even though the food was little, but every person there got enough to eat and there were twelve baskets full of left over. What is the purpose of trials? Let us read from James 1:2-8, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." The Christian life is like a series of tests. After you master first grade, then God raises the bar a little bit more and give you tests of a second grade level. Then after you master the second grade, again, God raises the bar a little bit more and put you to the third grade level. This process continues for God wants us to be mature and complete, not lacking anything. "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:6)." The word "trial" actually comes from a word that is used to describe a purification process for silver. How do silver be purified? First the silver is put in a pot and it is heated. The heat should just be right. It can not be too hot, for it will burn the silver. On the other hand, the heat has to be hot enough to separate the dirt from the silver. The dirt will rise up, leaving the more pure silver down. Then the dirt is scrapped. The process is repeated again and again until the craft-person can see his face on the pot. (i.e., A pure silver works like a mirror. The craft-person shall be able to see a reflection of himself on the silver.) Now, this is the word that is used to describe "trial." God gives us trial by giving us just the right amount of heat. The heat can not be too hot, for it will burn us. On the other hand, the trial can not be too light, for it needs to bring the impure heart and character to the surface. When finally the impure thoughts and actions were brought to the surface, then God, the craft-person will scrap it out. Then, we have a more pure heart and minds. This process is repeated again and again, until our lives is a reflection of Him. Yes, friends, that is the purpose of trial. Don't you think that this is a beautiful study?

DAY 3 - The Principle of Transformation Today we are going to continue our study from John 6:1-14. Anytime, we saw Andrew, we always saw him bringing people to God. First, we saw Andrew bringing his brother, Simon Peter to Jesus to become his disciple. Then today, we saw Andrew brought a little boy to Jesus. This was the boy that has the five small barley loaves and two small fish. What can the boy give to Jesus? Nothing much! Only those loaves and the fish, but we shall see what happen. What we give, He receives What He receives, He blesses What He blesses, He uses That is the principle of transformation. The little that the boy has was made big by the power of God. We give what we can, which is little. God receives, blesses and uses it for His big plan. Let us look at this illustration. There was a piano concert. A mother with his little boy attended the concert. They came early so that they can be seated in the front. One by one the audience entered the room and be seated. The concert will begin shortly. Suddenly, the little boy got up, went up the stage and started to play a "chop stick" method of twinkle-twinkle little start. Obviously the little boy does not know how to play the piano well. He only uses his two index fingers to play the song. That's why it is called the "chop stick" method. (i.e., playing piano with 2 fingers instead of 10 fingers). The mother was so embarrassed and she tried to get the boy to get down. But it was too late! It was time for the concert to begin and the pianist entered the stage. The audience got wild. They yelled to the little boy to get down from the stage. The wise pianist made a motion with his hand to ask the audience to stop the yelling and be quiet. Finally, the audience was quiet and they were anxiously waiting for the reaction of the pianist. The pianist sat down next to the boy and whispered to him to keep playing the song. Then, the great pianist played a beautiful and marvelous accompaniment. The simple song of twinkle-twinkle little star became so beautiful that the whole audience was amazed. After they finished the song, the audience clapped again and again for them. Yes, that's how God uses us. And yes, that's how God transforms us from being insignificant to being significant. The little, imperfect heart, mind and ministry that we offered to Him, He receives, blesses and uses. When God is in it, then "little is much." God said in 2 Cor 12:9, "... for my power is made perfect in weakness." There was only one requirement for us to experience the power of transformation, that is to OBEY. Look at how the disciples and the crowd reacted in John 6:1-14. The disciples were asked by Jesus to be seated in groups. The disciples and the crowd obeyed Him even though they did not know what was going to happen. Andrew brought the little boy to Jesus, even though he knew that the food that he had is nothing (too little) for what they needed. The little boy gave the loaves and fish, even though he did not know what was going to happen. The disciples started to distribute the food, even though they did not know whether there will be enough for every body. The key here is OBEDIENCE. The disciples, the boy and the crowd OBEY God, even when they could not see and understand His plan at that time. How about you? Do you want to experience his power in you? Do you want to be used by God, then there is only one thing you have to do: OBEY and then just watch what God is going to do in your lives.

Disclaimer !!
This material is a summary of the message that was preached by Pastor
Jack Graham at Prestonwood Baptist Church.  The writer of this EBS
(Electronic Bible Study) made some changes and added some personal notes
that is necessary to customize this material into an electronic media, a
daily reading material and to better fit the audience.  The Prestonwood
Baptist Church is not affiliated in anyway with the Indonesian Christian
Fellowship of Fort Worth.