Date of message: 21 July 2002
Subject: The Joy of Service

Shalom, Boker-tov ( good morning ),

I started three weeks ago, on the first anniversary of this ministry, by sharing how we need to serve the Lord from the heart. Unless we have the right footing and we are not serving in any ministry or group in church from compulsion or under peer pressure, the ministry will not last. We might start off with all good intentions but unless the Lord blesses the work, all will be in vain (Psalms 127: 1(a)). In whatever we do, whether it is in our home, our workplace or in church, we need the Lord to guide us and bless our efforts. Otherwise we will run out of steam after a while and we will experience "burnt-out" symptoms.

In all that we do we only make use of whatever we have received and what is placed into our hands. I am not a musician and not musically inclined. Therefore I will not be able to serve in the music ministry. But I may be comfortable in meeting people and therefore I can be an encouragement in a small group setting. Whatever we feel comfortable in doing, let us do because of the love we experienced in Jesus our Lord. It is not to please others that we do it but we love because Jesus first loves us. That is our motivation to love and to serve.
But what about the rewards? Are there any rewards given to those who serve the Lord? Let us look at an account recorded for us in all the four books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. This is the account of how our Lord Jesus fed the five thousand men with their families with five loaves and two small fish. Let me relate the incident in a story and you can read all about it in John 6: 1 - 14.

That sunny morning Shmuel was dashing out the door in his hurry to join the crowd who were making their way up the mountain when his mother stopped him to give him his lunch. His mother had also heard that a certain miracle-healer named Jesus was passing by their village and that almost everyone in the village had decided to check out the Teacher. Anna reminded Shmuel, "Now Shmuel, don't forget to eat your lunch. I have placed in the basket five barley loaves and two of your favorite small fish. Be careful of the bones when you eat the fish with the loaves. And please try and be home early. Passover is approaching and we will have dinner together."

"OK mum, I will be home before sunset," Shmuel replied his mother as he ran out the front door to join his friends who were passing by his house. Soon the boys were immersed in the crowd and they had to jostle their way to get to the front of the group. After a while, they gave up and decided to drift along and hoped to be able to catch a glimpse of the Teacher.
Jesus sat down on the side of the mountain and from there He began to teach the people. Now Shmuel had heard other teachers before and some of his teachers were so boring that he slept through most of the classes. Yet this Teacher was different. He taught with a voice of authority and there is so much love flowing from His teachings that Shmuel decided that he would not sleep this time but enjoy every moment.

The time passed very quickly and soon it was lunchtime and everyone was getting hungry. Stomachs were growling and some of the younger children began to pester their parents. Soon cries of "I am hungry" could be heard all over the mountainside.

Jesus heard their cries and turned to Philip, one of His disciples, "where could we buy enough food to feed the people?" "Lord, two hundred denarii could not even get us enough to feed some of them, leave alone all the people," he replied, "what could we do?"
Shmuel, hearing the cries of the young boy now sitting down on the grass next to him and clutching his mother's dress, wanted to open up his basket and share his lunch with him. But realizing that there are many more children who were like this boy and very soon he would be swamped with many hungry mouths, Shmuel decided that he would let Jesus decide who would get to share his lunch. Making his way through the crowd, Shmuel managed to approach Andrew, another of Jesus' disciples. "Sir, I do not know who I should share my lunch with. I only have five barley loaves and two small fish."

Delighted to hear that Shmuel was eager to share his lunch and overhearing what Jesus had just asked Philip, Andrew took Shmuel by the hand and walked up to Jesus, "Lord, here is a boy who has five loaves and two fish. He wants to share his lunch but this will not be enough to feed everyone."

"Tell everyone to sit down in groups of fifty men with their families," Jesus told His disciples. "And can I have the basket please?" Shmuel handed the basket to Jesus. He then did five amazing things - He took the five loaves and the two fish in His hands, looked up to Heaven, gave thanks to God for the food, broke the loaves and the fish and gave them to His disciples to be distributed to everyone for them to eat.

Soon the whole mountainside was abuzz with activity as everyone took their share of the bread and the fish which, to everyone's amazement, simply multiplied. Everyone had their fill and none were hungry after that sumptuous meal. "Make sure you collect back all the leftovers from the loaves so that nothing is lost," Jesus reminded His twelve disciples. And His disciples collected twelve baskets full of the leftovers.

It is amazing that the Holy Spirit recorded for us that twelve baskets of leftovers were collected. I am sure that had there been twenty disciples, then twenty baskets would probably have been filled with the leftovers. The number was constrained by the number of disciples and not by the power of Jesus. His blessings for us are often constrained by how much we allow Him to bless us with.

It is also interesting to note that the people, numbering more than five thousand (only the number of men were recorded for us, the number of women and children were not told), were able to eat as much as they wanted and yet there were leftovers. What a generous Lord we have! There is no limit to His power.

The disciples were excited as they saw what happened. As they distributed the food, they were amazed that it never ran out. No matter how much they hungry people asked for, as they broke the pieces of bread and the pieces of fish, there seemed to be enough and new supply just popped up. Everyone had food and was satisfied. No one was left out of the distribution. What a miracle it must have been to the disciples and all because Jesus wanted them to be involved. In John 6: 6, it was recorded that Jesus already knew what He intended to do but that He wanted His disciples' involvement in the miracle. What an opportunity for them, to be able to share in the joy of being a part of the miracle making. This is just some of the perks of service.

I am sure Shamble went home that evening with plenty to share with his father and mother over the Passover meal that evening. He would have told and re-told his parents how his lunch that day fed more than five thousand people, much to the disbelief of his parents. But who can deny the joy of Shamble as it was his lunch that became a miracle. No matter how much people try to deny the authenticity of his story, no one can rob Shamble of the joy.
When we give up our time and our resources to the Lord for His use, be assured that there will be a return waiting. It may not be physical return always but it will, more often than not, be emotions of joy knowing that the Lord has use of whatever we have brought to Him. When we offer our time, our talents and our resources in worship to Him for Who He is, there will be a multiplication in blessings.

Try it today and see the Lord's multiplication for yourself. You will not regret it. I have experienced it many times over and am still experiencing His bountiful blessings in my life and in the lives of my family.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace. Numbers 6: 24 - 26

Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,

Andrew L W Lee