The Invested Life: EVEN ME?

 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?”  He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So, they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 

- John 6:5-13 NLT

 A.     GOD WORKS THROUGH PEOPLE.

B.     GOD WORKS THROUGH PEOPLE OF ALL AGES!

 

BELIEVE GOD CAN WORK MIRACLES – THROUGH EVEN YOU AND ME

“Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people looking for Him. Turning to Philip, He asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” - John 6:5 NLT

 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” - John 6:7 NLT

 “Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” - John 6:8 NLT

 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” - Matthew 14:16 NKJV

 Just because we feel small, we can still do something big for God

Lindsay Peterson, “I keep hearing: ‘we sacrifice our own comfort for the love of others.’”

 

BRING WHAT WE HAVE TO JESUS

And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” - Matthew 14:17 NKJV

 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” - Matthew 14:18 NKJV

 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. - Matthew 14:19 NKJV

 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. - Ephesians 1:3 NLT

 Lindsay Peterson, “I keep hearing: ‘we sacrifice our own comfort for the love of others.’”

 Pouring our lives into others doesn’t mean we pour everything we know, it’s more about serving/loving/caring for them with all we have. 

• Not about knowing everything, but about being willing to serve with everything.

 

BE A CONNECTER

And the disciples gave to the multitudes. - Matthew 14:19b (NKJV)

 Helping people connect with the Lord and grow one step closer to the Lord.

 How do we do this?

a.      Choose to love people. Jesus was moved with compassion. Matthew 14:14 NLT

 b.     Ask Questions.  Jesus asked Philip a question. John 6:5 NLT

-          “How are you holding up?”

-        “What do you feel like God is teaching you right now?”

-        “How can I be praying for you?”

 c.      Listen to understand  

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. - James 1:19 NLT

 Look for facial expressions and body language.

 

SPEAK ENCOURAGEMENT

 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. - Acts 11:23 NIV  

 The best-performing teams used about six times as many positive comments for every negative one.

 They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. - Psalm 112:7 NLT