The Feeding of the 4000 - How Soon We Forget.

 (Matthew 15:32-39)

I.             Three Meals – Three Stages of Ministry.

Before launching out on today’s episode I would just like to mention that many Bible Experts have pointed out that in three successive stages of his ministry, Jesus ended each stage by setting a meal before his people. 

First, there was the feeding of the five thousand; that came at the end of his ministry in Galilee, for Jesus was never to teach and preach and heal in Galilee again.

Second, there was this feeding of the four thousand. This came at the end of his ministry to the Gentiles, one in which he went beyond the bounds of Israel, first in the districts of Tyre and Sidon and then in the Decapolis.

Third and last, there was the Last Supper in Jerusalem, when Jesus came to the final stage of the days of his incarnation, in the flesh, so to speak.

It is a powerful thought to think that Jesus always left his followers  with the strength and the resources to carry on .He always gathered people to himself fed them with the bread, the living word, and then sent them out to continue in the world.  He aways gave them of himself before he moved on, after he had given them what they needed to meet physical sustenance to meet their earthly needs. And still, he comes to us offering us also the same bread which will satisfy the eternal hunger of the human soul, and in the strength in which we shall be able to keep going all the days of our lives.

II.            Why Are There Two Different Types of Basket

You remember I pointed out yesterday in the previous miracle of the feeding of the 5000 there were there were twelve baskets of leftovers, but the word used that time referred to a small hand basket. A small basket that would enable them to carry something with them in order to be fed for the next day or two, as a reminder of what I did this day, so you won’t forget it in the future.  I want to really impress this upon you and remind you that the Greek word that used use in the feeding of the 5000 describes a little bag something like a lunch pack. But in the feeding of the 4000 the word used describes a much larger basket more a modern day hamper. So, what is going on here, what is the difference, what is the message Jesus is trying to send? 

It’s almost as if Jesus is saying, look I gave you a little basket full of food last time so you wouldn’t forget what I had done, but you still forgot what I was trying to teach you. Although he is clearly compassionately meeting the needs of this crowd of 4000 people, he is also at the same time trying to training and encourage his disciples to trust him. He’s demonstrating very importantly that he did it once, and he can do it again, and he could do it again for us also. That’s the point he can repeat the miracle which is exactly what he did. This tells me that for us today when we are faced with a similar situation where you’ve seen the Lord work in the past, don’t focus on your own resources and just remember that the Lord is able to do it again.  Remember that the Lord is able to do it again and that’s the simple point of this repeat miracle.

III.           Try Not To Focus on Your Own Resources.

I’d like to try and draw this chapter to a close by making two final points.

Firstly, one thing the disciples clearly did here was to focus on their own resources which in this case was nothing. There was nothing they could bring to address this problem.  I think that is exactly what we do when we encounter impossible situations. I wonder if you are facing something like that right now. I’m of the opinion that this sort of situation not only happens from time to time but that God designs life like that deliberately to remind us that we can never do it all without him. Often in our attempts to remain independent we want to stay in a position so that we don’t have anybody need to do anything for us. We want to do it for ourselves. But what God sometimes does is he allows situations to happen, ones that you can only get through with his help. That’s the training program, that’s part of the plan of God for us. I’ve said it before, I’m saying it again challenging times are often opportunities for God to train us and teach us something.

He deliberately allows situations to happen that are beyond our ability and what we tend to do is immediately look at our own abilities. But sometimes you think, I can’t do it, or I can’t deal with this, and I am saying when you feel that way you are absolutely right, you’re absolutely can’t do it/ It’s beyond your ability and if all you do is look at your resources it is really hopeless. Because without God it’s impossible. Especially if you’re looking at your spiritual life and it’s something God has asked you to do, and you can’t do it without him. This isn’t a matter of how much you know, it’s a matter of who you know and when we get to the end of our own resources it is only then we realise things just won’t work out without God. As some have often said, the issue is not ability, it’s availability. 

Here, the disciples looked to their own abilities and concluded this was an impossible, a hopeless situation. However, they not only looked at their own resources forgot the had access to God’s resources. They also forgot the power of God available to them. That is what’s also going on here. How soon we forget, in their case less than six months perhaps even a little shorter. Six months, I actually think they didn’t do too bad, I sometimes feel I forget and important spiritual lessons within the week. Hear on Sunday, forget it by next Sunday. Turn with the Psalm 78  for a moment.

How often they provoked Him in the wilderness And grieved Him in the desert!Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power:

(Psalm 70: 40-42a)

IV.           Remember His Power - Remember His Deeds.

The did not remember the resources available to them or his power. It then goes on in this Psalm for the next 20 verses, or so, to list the amazing things God did for his people, yet again and again they forgot. When they tempted God, they limited him, they limited him because they did not remember his power. I submit to you we forget these things to our own spiritual detriment, all the time. In fact, we forget God’s power every time  we look to our resources to face a problem.

We’re all prone to forget what God has done and what God can do again. In this case they forget something that was critical to the situations right in front of them. Recently I’ve discovered I have what are sometimes described as senior moments, apparently, I can look forward to these increasing with age. I wonder if any of you, not just the over 50’s like me have a tendency to forget things. That’s probably just an age thing but let me tell you when it come to the spiritual things, I don’t think it’s an age problem, because I think everybody has a tendency to forget and especially forget spiritual truth. It’s a spiritual maturity problem.

Imagine seeing a miracle of feeding 5000 from nothing, do you think if you witnessed something like that you would ever forget it. Maybe if you were sitting on the side lines watching it, but it was they themselves who gave them the food and they distributed it and saw it multiply out of their hands. They were on the field of play participating in the drama, they were part of this game, and they still forgot. These guys forgot when they looked to their resources, and the thing they forgot was the power of God. Turn and look at Psalm verse 11. 

I will remember the works of the Lord;Surely, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work and talk of Your deeds. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. You have with Your arm redeemed Your people.

(Psalm 77: 11-15a)

I want you to focus on for just a second, verse 11. “I will remember the works of the Lord” The Psalmist then goes on and talks about God redeeming the children of Israel out of Egypt. “I will remember the works of the Lord”, he says. I started out asking, what do we have to do to remember what is important in life? What do we have to do to remember that if God did it once, he can do it again? What do we have to do to remember the abilities and the power of God. I want to finish by make a couple of suggestions. 

V.            Summary.

Firstly, I think this is the greatest argument I know for why you should read the Bible.Just read it, you don’t have to be a theologian, matter of fact that’s probably not an asset, you can easily get bogged down in theology, you just need to read it. Just read it to reminded of what God’s has done in the past. Like it says, “I will remember your works” I think we just need to read the scripture and be reminded that God is a God of power and if he did it once he can do it again. If he rescued you once, he can rescue you again. If he saved you from a devastating situation once, he can save you from a devastating situation again. In order to be reminded of that we must constantly read the Bible because by doing that you will not only learn a whole lot of new stuff about God and His plans, but you will also be reminded of God’s works and his wonders. Not just his words, but also what he did. His works and wonders.

There are plenty of  other verses in the Bible that say we should meditate on his words, but although this verse says that it also says we should meditate on his works. So read the stories of the Bible, just read them and be reminded that God has the power to do it again. He did it them 2000 years ago, and he can do it again for you here today.

Let me make another suggestion in this regard. Listen again to Psalm 77. “I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work and talk of Your deeds”. We need to remember, and we need to meditate. Sometimes, that means once in a while turning off the background music of life and just thinking about what God has done.

Turn off the background noise both physically and spiritually and talk to the Lord and meditate on his words. Maybe one of the reasons we forget so often is because our minds are so cluttered. We get up in the morning and the first thing we do is turn on the TV and we set off in the car and switch on the radio and we are bombarded with messages as we drive down the motorway. There was a day when people worked and if the job was manual of some sort of physical labour, they didn’t have anything else going on in the background They could meditate on things, something in the scripture they read or heard about recently. 

When we choose to recall something to mind and then meditate on it I believe that makes us a lot less likely to forget what we have discovered or had revealed to us. But there’s more, in this passage the Psalmist also says, “I will meditate on your works and talk of your deeds”. So, we need to talk about what the Lord is doing and this is one of the reasons we need to have fellowship with other believers. 

The problem with some fellowship and prayer meetings is they can sometimes degenerate into an endless run of people saying woe is me and I’m going to talk about all our problems. If all you have got to talk about in your life is the truth of the matter you got a bigger problem going on than the problems in your life. If you can’t find the blessings of God in your life, and all you see is the problems, then you really have got a problem.  You’ve got a bigger problem than all those problems you’re talking about, and your problem is God is not working in your life, or you’re not seeing it when he does  and you ought to be asking why. And if he is working in your life then you should be talking about it and sharing it with other and being encouraged and encourage others by doing that. 

That’s what that verse says, and we need to get together in fellowship and talk about what the Lord is doing. Talk about where’s the Lord is in your life and if God’s doing something in your life we all need to hear about it. And we should do that so we can encourage each other and so we can remember his power and his word.

This Psalm is not only a great argument for reading your Bible, but it is also a great argument for going to church. This is a reminder that to grasp the message of Jesus fully, you need to come to hear the word of God, in the sanctuary of God, and thereby be encouraged. Encouraged by hearing about it working out in the lives of your fellow believers. So that you can be reminded of God’s power and to be reminded of the fact that if God can do it once, and he can do it twice. If he did it before he can do it again. And to also remind you that anything he asks you to do he will give you the power to do it.

We all need you need to constantly hear about the word and the works of God, you can’t get enough of it, not on this side of eternity anyway. You need to hear the word of God taught; you need hear the word of God talked. But to talk about the word of God you need to read the word of God and you need to meditate on God’s works so that you remember God’s power. Our problem is we forget, but we just  need to remember.

Let me finish by telling you a story that first appeared in December 1944 issue of Coronet magazine, an article called “Dr. Lifesaver,” by Arthur Gladstone Keeney.

According to Keeney, Churchill was saved from drowning in a Scottish lake by a farmer’s son called Alex. Later Churchill’s parents telephone the farmer in gratitude. Churchill’s parents were so grateful that they said to the farmer what could we possibly do to thank you, and the farmer said, “well my son would like to be a doctor, but we can’t afford to send him to go to medical school”. The Churchill family immediately said they would pay for him to go to medical school.

That young man grew up to be Sir Alexander Fleming the discoverer of Penicillin. Many years later, in 1943 when Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of England, he became ill with Pneumonia while visiting British troops in the Near East, causing penicillin to be flown out specially to effect his cure.  Once again, in a sense, Alexander Fleming saved the life of Winston Churchill, not once but twice. That was the son of a farmer, he did it once and he would indirectly do it again.

If you just remember the one who has saved us from devastating situations before, was God himself, so just remember he can do it again. He saved 5000, and he saved 4000, so never forget to remember his power to always do it again.