What a beautiful and blessed day
an opportunity to gather together
to lift up our praises unto to the Most High
Our Lord
Let us pray..
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for assembling us today
from nations far and near
for people of all colors and sizes
open our eyes and ears
let us hear Your message for each of us
I pray that You would help me
reach all those joining us for worship
so they have a deeper, more effective understanding of Your Word
that they would desire to grow in their relationship with You
That as Your church, we would understand what true worship means
to worship and praise You, as we ought
lead me Father by the guidance of Your Holy Spirit
and the truth found in Your Word
remind me You are attempting to grow Your vision
even in these troubling times, spreading Your Word, Your hope, Your love
to a world that so desperately needs You right now,
Lord, that means we are going to need Your wisdom,
Your perseverance and strength to accomplish it
It is going to take a spiritual fortitude
that many today do not yet have
if we are going to be able to move as You have called us
we are desperately in need of leaders who do not just dare to dream
but are enabled by You to dare to do
Those who would challenge the very course and direction of this fallen world
that resist against preaching that tickles the ears of the hearer
those would shake the foundations of the churches they stand in
Lord, I pray asking You to raise up the people to help implement Your plans
I know that as Christians, Your people, we are to be the most committed people on earth
Committed and faithful to You
Position the greatest leaders, surrounded by these "excellence seeking people"
Help them to work hand in hand, our hand in Yours
to advance Your kingdom, all for Your glory
In Your name
Amen
"After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."
John 6:1-14
Today's Message: Get Real!
The church is being marginalized, the Bible being marginalized, Christians being persecuted, I find it interesting that it’s become popular among worldly and sinful people who claim to be Christians. It just astonishes me! That some even claim to be evangelicals, athletes, actors, politicians, TV personalities, reality figures. There are all kinds of people that are in public eye, who claim to be Christians, while their lives and conduct they exhibit, bear no real resemblance to what is Christian.
These people seem to have little, if any, regard for God or Christ in terms of a dominating role in their lives, little regard for the Bible in terms of obeying its commands and living under its principles, and yet it’s popular to say you’re a follower of Jesus Christ. Yet they stand on stages, accepting awards, giving God thanks, then immediately returning to the sinful ways that got them there.
And there are many preach blessings from the pulpits, the "Conceive it, Believe it, Achieve it" message.
I'm sure you know the one.. These same people, seem to run from opportunity after opportunity to help others. To make a REAL difference in others lives. They sit comfortably in the Mega Homes, preaching from their Mega churches.. wearing expensive designer clothes.
But what do they give back? Would any one of them be willing to hand it all over to God and say,
"Use me, use what I have"
Anyway, I just wanted to express that thought today..
It’s important to realize something, that this scripture teaches us about Jesus.
"He has already had the answer to the problem."
He just needed someone to trust Him enough, to believe in Him enough
to give Him all that they had
And look what He did with it...
Two thousand years later, people are still talking about the miracle.
But what few are talking about, is the process, what led up to it
I know, some of you say your problems are pretty big?
But I'm here to say, God is Bigger Than Your Problems!
I want to let someone know today, He already has the solution.
But you have got to give it to Him, let Him take it.
You cannot give it to Him, while still clinging onto it for dear life
It’s highly likely, very probable that the situations that some
of you may be facing this week is entirely God’s way
God's way of finding out just how much faith you have
To see if you really believe what you've been telling others
If you're willing to live your faith, not just talk about it
Allow me to encourage you today with 4 little words… "Have Faith In God."
Have faith in God!
Four small words, with GIGANTIC IMPACT
Tremendous POWER
These four words can change your life!
Let me just say this, your problem is not God’s problem.
He already has the answer to your problem.
Your problem is no problem for God.
God’s problem is whether or not you are going to
have the kind of faith He needs you to have so
He can accomplish a miracle in your life
He can help you through it, but He won't do the work for you
You have to have faith in Him
And He won't force you to believe in Him
to place your faith in Him
That's up for you to do
Another thing that I feel is important
Something we all need to realize is that
none of the other three gospel writers mentioned
the fact that a little boy had given them a little food to feed the people with.
In the other three gospels accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke, the fact that a little boy
provided the food for the miracle was omitted.
Is that how we see His miracles in our lives?
We see only what He accomplished
forgetting to notice how He accomplished it
So that maybe, just maybe, we can make a way
for someone else to be blessed
As a matter of fact, it was a little boy who provided the food that Jesus used to preform a miracle.
Apparently, it was not important enough
for Matthew, Mark, or Luke to record this fact, why is that?
but I’m sure glad that John did. I, for one, am grateful that he told the story of the little boy.
Because I see something miraculous in it.
I'm not talking about what everyone else typically sees...
You see, it’s important to me not to just see who performed the miracle
but to know where the miracle started from.
I don’t just want to see a miracle; I want to see the process that led up to the miracle happening.
If we can see and understand the process of the miracle, it’s entirely possible that the next time we find ourselves in a tight spot, we can duplicate the process of the miracle again and possibly get a similar result.
Apparently, all Jesus was looking for was somebody to show some faith for the situation.
Why is it that none of the other Gospel writers mention this little boy?
Did they not also see what happened that day?
The first three gospels didn't mention the little boy, but John who coincidentally is also the disciple who is the closest to Jesus. The one Jesus loved.
John was both a witness and a teacher, "who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord."
John was also the one who was at the feet of Jesus’s cross the day he was crucified.
I believe John understood some things about Jesus that the other Disciples didn’t understand.
John understood the value of mentioning that little boy.
John knew that there is importance in mentioning the source of the smallest offering.
John knew that Jesus would want the little boy mentioned in the telling of the story…
Why?
Because Jesus is looking for commitment!
Jesus is looking for "a little faith" in Him today!
He’s looking for someone who can identify with the little boy enough to say,
"Hey God, I know I’m not much, and I know I don’t have much, but all that I am and all that I have is all yours for the taking if you ever need a source for a miracle."
Someone who says, "God, use me!"
Notice, Jesus didn’t need the C.E.O of Wal Mart to appear on the horizon to feed everybody.
He didn’t need for a Mc Donalds to just appear from out of the ground,
It seems many today, expect such things to happen in their circumstances
Jesus just needed someone, anyone, and in this case, it was a young little boy.
A little boy to show some faith and give Him something to work with
Someone who would risk it all for Jesus
Someone who knew God would take care of the rest..
God’s not looking for some corporation to build him a church.
He’s not looking for some organization to build Him a church in this community or any other.
God doesn't need Mega Churches with Mega Dollars to get the job done.
God is looking for some Real People who want to make a real difference.
God is looking for that believing child within all of us.
I've had some ask, “Is my little contribution to this ministry that important?
Is my offering really all that significant?
Is the giving of my time also substantial?
Is praying for this ministry that big of a deal?
Absolutely! If it is coming from your heart!
It's a huge deal.
See, you can’t be real and not have a genuine love for people.
Genuinely loving people causes you to be real.
When you truly love someone, you stop making excuses and you find a way to help them.
When you truly love someone, you find a way to help them no matter how bad the situation looks.
Being real means being honest.
Being real means going out of your way for someone in need.
Being real means giving when you don’t have much to give.
Being real means being there when no one else is there.
Being real means helping when no one else wants to help.
Being real means being committed.
Being real means making a real difference.
You know, the Bible does not say if the disciples confiscated the boy’s lunch or it he gave it willingly.
But knowing how children are, I tend to believe that the little boy gave it willingly.
I believe he said something like, "Let Jesus know that if he needs my lunch, he can have it."
Beloved, we seriously need to understand, that boy gave his WHOLE lunch to Jesus.
I don’t see where he held back any portion of the bread or fishes, for himself.
He did not give his leftovers.
He gave the whole thing!
That boy said "here I am, use me. Take what I have, all of it"
You see, children give from their heart.
Children only see the need, not the person.
Children don't see someone dirty, homeless..
Children don't see someone's missing teeth
Children only see their smile.
Children give regardless if they are truly in the position to give or not.
And Jesus said in Mark 10:15
"Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."
When I considered what portion of scripture to share today that would exemplify for us "Real People", I could think of no one better than this little boy.
You know how generous children can be.
You know how honest they are.
You know how real they are.
That little boy didn't ask for the leftovers.
He didn’t ask for the credit.
He just wanted to help Jesus out with the problem of feeding the people.
He didn’t have much to give, but all that he had to give belonged to Jesus as long as Jesus wanted to use it.
I’m going to tell you something you may already know;
There is no more real need in this world than feeding hungry people.
The problem that day was not the need for a shelter to be built.
They were not taking up a collection to build some seating into the hillside.
The need that day was hungry people.
The need that day was people fainting on their way back to their homes.
The need was hunger.
Hunger is real today.
Both physical hunger and spiritual hunger
I don’t know about you today, but I have ONE ambition here today.
I’m not really interested in who gets the credit.
I really don’t care who get’s recognized for it.
My one ambition here today is to help someone who’s spiritual hunger is not being met.
As Christians, we like say that church is a place where "Real Needs Are Met."
I want to ask you today:
Do you really think we are qualified to do that?
Are we qualified to meet the real needs of people?
I believe we are, I believe as followers of Jesus Christ, we are..
But it’s going to take a child’s heart that is willing to do what ever and give whatever is needed to meet the need.
When I think of real people making a real difference, I think of people like Mother Teresa.
This woman fed millions of hungry people nearly her entire lifetime even though she herself never had money.
There are no computers.
There is no carpet on the floors.
There is no air conditioner even though it is over 100 degrees much of the year.
I read some time ago, about the story of a woman, who was at a young age, went into India with literally pennies in her pocket, and moved into the slums to care for the people who otherwise would have died.
Her entire life was dedicated to helping people who could not help themselves.
She fed people who had no food.
She sheltered people who had no shelter.
She clothed the naked.
She gave medical care for those who had no physician.
She is, to me, the epitome of a Real person.
Beloved, you can’t be real and pass by a hungry person without feeding them.
Real people meet real needs.
Real people reach out when no one is reaching out.
Real people help when no one is helping.
To be real is to face the severity of the situation with childlike faith that says,
"I will do all I can do, and then we will see what God will do!"
Real People Make A Real Difference!
I’m asking you to be real to someone this week
Real people find a need and fill it.
Real people find someone who needs what you received here today and ask him or her to come with you next week.
Beloved, find a ministry in the community where there's help needed and then get involved.
It doesn't need to be face to face, it can be reading in a Zoom meeting with school children.
Reading the Bible to those who can no longer see to read for themselves.
Maybe you're blessed with finances, while others are blessed with needed skills...
Many people are out of work and need repairs, may be you know how..
If there isn't already in place a program, find a need and create one!
God has given each of us gifts. Unique gifts and talents, that are valuable assets to someone in need.
Be Real and offer real help to someone in real need.
Give God what you have to work with and see what He does!
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Brian Monzon Ministries