Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

John 6:1-15

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. ² And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. ³ Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. ⁵ Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" ⁶ This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. ⁷ Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." ⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, ⁹ "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?" ¹⁰ Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost." ¹³ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!"

Summation and Purpose

Summation: Everyone needs a sense of significance in his/her life. We must know that we are making a positive impact on society and contributing something significant to the lives of others. This gives our lives meaning.

We sometimes mistake significance with popularity. The more famous we are, the more significant we become. We think, "Billy Graham or Mother Teresa has significance in their lives. How could we ever be as significant as them?" The truth is, significance has nothing to do with popularity. As long as we seek to follow Christ in our everyday lives, we all can have significance. God can use us to do extraordinary things. We don't have to be rich, famous, or highly educated to have a significant life. God can use whatever we have available to spread His kingdom throughout the earth. Our tiny efforts can turn into momentous events.

Moses had a simple wooden staff, but God used it to turn the Nile into blood and part the red sea. The Apostles only had five loaves of bread and two fish but Jesus used that to feed 5,000 people! Let's seek to follow Jesus and allow Him to multiply whatever we have to do great and wonderful things in his name! God has blessed us with a wonderful piece of property on Pottsburg Creek. We also have a big field that could be used for concerts or sporting events. If God could use 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread to feed five thousand, imagine what he could do with the church property. Imagine what he could do with our time, money, talents and resources!! Let's trust God with our property, talents, money and resources and see what happens!!! Our significance would explode!!!!

Purpose: To help the congregation to realize how significant they are when they follow Christ.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: In order for us to have a meaningful and fulfilling life, we must have

significance

A. We have significance by becoming useful in some way and making a positive contribution to society.

B. The moment we lose significance, we begin to deteriorate

· Some people retire but don't spend their extra time doing something that contributes to the good of society. They simply 'relax'. After a while, they begin to feel less useful and begin to lose their significance. As they become less significant they become more depressed and lose their zest for life.

· The effects of losing one's significance becomes quite evident in a nursing home. Residents in a nursing home tend to believe they are not as significant as they use to be. Once this happens, their health tends to deteriorate. (This is why we must visit nursing homes and remind the residents that God can still use them.)

C. So, how do we go about having significance in our lives? Before we answer this question, we must first address two fallacies.

II. The two fallacies concerning our significance.

A. First fallacy: The more prestige we have, the more significant we will be. As Christians, we tend to think of people like John Wesley and Billy Graham as having significance.

· John Wesley

- Led the Methodist revival in England. Through this revival tens of thousands of people came to know Christ as Savior and Lord. Many historians credit John Wesley and the Methodist revival with saving England from a bloody revolution.

- However, his mother, Susana Wesley, had a profound theological impact on John Wesley. Even as an adult, John went to his mother for guidance. Without her influence, John would not have been as well equipped to lead the Methodist movement.

- Susana Wesley may not be as famous but she is just as significant as John Wesley.

· Billy Graham

- Through his crusades, millions have come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord

- However, when Billy Graham was 16 he got saved at a revival led by the evangelist Mordecai Ham. An employee on his parent's dairy farm persuaded him to attend the revival. If it weren't for the lesser known evangelist and the un-named employee, Billy Graham might not have become the evangelist he is today.

- Mordecai Ham and the un-named employee may not be as famous as Billy Graham but they are just as significant.

B. Second fallacy: The more wealth or possessions we have, the more significant we will be.

· We don't need wealth or a lot of stuff to be significant because God can multiply whatever you have and make it enough to accomplish his will.

· The 12 Apostles had tremendous significance and yet...

- None of them were rich or influential. They were formerly fishermen, zealots and one was a tax collector.

- When they became followers of Jesus, they left their jobs and became poor. They had to depend on a group of rich women for sustenance.

- These 12 people were willing to use what little they had to do God's work and God multiplied what they had to accomplish his will.

· This is clearly demonstrated in the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with only 2 fish and 5 loaves.

- The 12 Apostles didn't believe they could feed the 5,000. Philip stated that it would take 6 months wages to buy enough food and Andrew pointed out that they only had 2 fish and five loaves.

- Of course, the 12 Apostles didn't feed the 5,000 with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. Jesus did. Jesus multiplied what little they had to do his will.

- When the 12 Apostles observed this miracle, they learned a valuable lesson.

· The valuable lesson: The 12 Apostles didn't have a whole lot of wealth or material possessions but they were still significant because they daily followed Jesus. THIS IS THE BOTTOM LINE

III. The bottom line: In order to be significant, all you have to do is daily follow Jesus.

A. You don't need a lot of wealth or prestige: God will magnify whatever you have and use it for his glory

· We have a tradition of leaving money on the communion rail during Holy Communion. This money is used to help those in need. Sometimes your finances may enable you to leave only a dollar. You get up from the communion rail thinking you didn't contribute much. God, however, can multiply that dollar and use it in wonderful ways.

B. You don't need a lot of skills, experience or education: God will provide us with what we need and magnify our small efforts

·A homeless person comes up to you and begs for money. You have lunch with him, pray with him and refer him to various resources. This doesn't seem like much but it could be enough to give him hope and seek more permanent help.

·You're walking down the street and you see a woman on a bench crying. You stop to offer to pray for her. She then unloads all her problems. You're overwhelmed and have no definite answers for her. You think you were not much help. However, by listening to and praying for her, you provided her with enough hope to keep her from committing suicide.

C. This bottom line also applies to us as a congregation

·As a congregation we don't have a whole lot of money. God, however, can multiply what we do have if we seek to do his will.

·We also have a great piece of property with a good building, a great big grassy clearing and a little bit of river front property. If we seek to use this property to expand God's kingdom, God can magnify our efforts and enable us to have incredible ministries that bring hundreds if not thousands of people to Christ.

IV. Conclusion

A. We all need significance in our lives

B. Significance comes from daily following Jesus as Savior and Lord

C. If you want significance but have not yet accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, you can do so now. Simply decide that you no longer want to live a sinful lifestyle and trust that Jesus paid the penalty for your sins. When you do this, you'll receive God's forgiveness and the Holy Spirit will begin to change your heart. You will find yourself sinning less and loving more.