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KwaSizabantu
Ministers’ Conference 2001 Rev
Bill Bathman “Come
Ye Apart” Mark 6:30-44
How often we are in a desert place, because we have not rested. Consider
their call: (Mat 9:35-10:1) verse 36: “He saw the multitudes... “ others had
seen them. -
How did He see them? From the original text: He saw them as being: “distressed, flayed, rent, mangled as by wild beasts” – this is what He saw – demons having torn and disfigured – tormented and disgraced. -
What did He say? “Pray
ye...” – this is the beginning of our involvement Quite
often the Lord calls those who have been praying -
This is the ONLY miracle recorded in ALL 4 Gospels Mark
mentions 3 IMPERATIVE STATEMENTS, Matthew and John (one each) Mk 6:31, 37, 38; John 6:10;
Matthew 14:18 Let
us consider 5 IMPERATIVES: - You would think they were well-equipped: · they
had Knowledge (were taught by greatest Teacher) · Special
Power and Authority · were
Called individually by the Lord -
But
they lacked Maturity. Power doesn’t mean maturity. Their faith was in a formative
stage NOTICE
how the Lord prepared His witnesses. 1. “COME
APART INTO A DESERT PLACE”
(lonely place) ..
from the glamour, or the crowd – to the loneliness of the desert Examples: · Philip
went from glamour of Samaria to Gaza · Joseph
(Saviour
of his brethren) He was plunged into a well, sold into slavery, thrown into a dungeon, forgotten only to emerge a royal highness · Moses
(
drawn-out one – characteristic of his life) He was drawn from his mother – drawn
from the Nile – drawn from Pharaoh’s court, drawn from comfortable isolation in
the desert to face the wrath of Pharaoh. We
are to be used of God – we need more than education & inspiration... more than
good programmes and organisation – We need to be broken and pliable in the Hands of
God. 2. “GIVE YE THEM TO EAT” – The
difficulty in their new environment. “Send them away” – was the disciples’
solution. This command reveals a further reason for putting the disciples into an
impossible situation and test of faith. Faith
is made strong not by wishing, but by putting it into action. Faith will grow when you act in the faith you have now in the place
where you are now. 3. “GO
AND SEE” (Proceeded
by a “How many loaves have you?”) We
must `Go and See’ :
how great the need is
how limited our resources are Some of us have never faced the fact of our own Poverty & Bankruptcy (5 bread, 2 fishes!) The Lord could do nothing until they confessed their Poverty. Examples: – Remember Moses: What was he doing in the wilderness? He was discovering he had only 5 loaves and 2 fishes. No
doubt Moses felt the call of God when one day he decided to “Go out unto his brethren
and see how they fared”. But Moses had to discover that this was the land of Egypt
– the way of the flesh – but not the way of faith. He
killed the Egyptian, it was hard work – but later he would simply stretch out his rod
and the whole Egyptian army would perish in the sea. -
Jacob:
Had to go to the slave camp of his mean father in law for 14 years before he was ready to
confess who he was: usurper, liar, cheat –
that’s who he was. But God broke him, “I will not let you go except you bless
me!” Every blessing must have a foundation and that foundation is the confession that
comes from true self-discovery! 4. MAKE THE MEN SIT DOWN (“Stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord”) -
a
test of faith. The disciples’ solution was “send them away!” But Jesus said: “Make them sit down” Make
the move of faith. Proverbs 4:12 – eg. of airport door, when you walk towards it, it
opens automatically -
Commit
your way to Him. 5.”BRING THEM HITHER TO ME” –
Bring WHAT!! -
Those
fragments that you can’t piece together -
The
little that you have. “But
Lord, what are these among so many?” His
answer “Bring them to Me!” You
put your savings into the hands of a virtual stranger and he can invest in a portfolio of
stocks and bonds and help you keep ahead of inflation. How much better to put it into His
nail-pierced hands! He
wants us as we are. It is His touch that will make all the difference. God
loves to take the small and insignificant things to show His power. Note:
The steps that lead to His supply: a) He takes. Yes, he takes all we give Him. At first it’s our sin and care and unbelief... & failures, frustrations & defeats. Our lives may be shattered... but bring the pieces to Him. Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah all complained that they lacked the ability to convey God’s message... Yet when He touched their lips they thundered the Word of God so that the echoes reverberate until this day! b) Jesus
looked up.
Not much to look to from this world. STOP looking at yourself and your limitations and
LOOK UP! c) He
blessed.
He takes that He might bless.
But is this all? To be
blessed... to sing, and shout and have success... the blessing is but the means = Don’t
be overcome by the blessing! Happy contented
Christians don’t fast and pray. We can only be happy when we... close our eye to the
truth. Yes! He takes; He looked up; He blessed... d) and
Breaks
– the loaves. In God’s economy, the blessing
is in the breaking. This was a picture of His
own breaking (Last supper “Do this in remembrance of me”) Christ knew no failure, sin, unbelief... yet He
was broken. We are not saved by His sinless life, but by His breaking – His
death. The Greeks said (to Philip) “We
would see Jesus”. They were about to see Him BROKEN... His reply “The hour is
come” – “Except a corn of wheat fall...” Listen:
“He that loveth His life shall loose it”. “He that hateth His life in this world shall keep it”. Caution:
Let Him do it! You
give... He takes, blesses & breaks... that He might
multiply and bring forth MUCH FRUIT. |
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Last edited on: Tuesday April 03, 2007 E-mail us at: mail@ksb.org.za Return to KSB Home page |
