Welcome to Kendra Graham’s online Bible study. This is a place where we can come together and share in our journey towards Scriptural truths and spiritual maturity. We pray this will be a safe, respectful, resourceful place to come and discuss God’s Word…to discover What it says…What it means…and What it means to you!
Kendra Graham NOTES from Matthew 14:13-21
WHAT DOES IT SAY? THE FACTS ONLY PLEASE.
In this step you need to list the outstanding facts of the passage. DON’T get caught up in the details, just list the facts. Do not paraphrase. Use the actual words of the passage. This is God’s Word, a lot of times this step seems tedious to some, but I urge you, as we read, and say and write God’s Word, it begins to sink deep into our hearts. If you just pick one fact out of the verse, write it down and meditate on it.
FACTS:
Verse 13: When Jesus heard it, He withdrew to a lonely place.
Verse 14: When He went ashore, He saw a GREAT multitude, felt compassion, healed their sick.
Verse 15: Evening, the disciples came to Him. “This place is desolate, send the multitude away that they may go and buy food for themselves.”
Verse 16: They do not need to go away, you give them something.
Verse 17: They said, “we have only….”
Verse 18: He said, “Bring to me”
Verse 19: He took 5 loaves & 2 fish; Looking to heaven, He blessed the food, breaking the loaves, gave to disciples, and disciples gave to multitude.
Verse 20: They ate and were satisfied; they picked up left-over pieces, 12 baskets full.
Verse 21: There were 5000 men who ate aside women & children.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN? THE LESSONS.
Look for a lesson to learn from each fact. What are the people doing that they should be doing? What are the people doing that they shouldn’t be doing?
Is there a command to follow? A promise to claim? A warning to heed? An example to follow?
LESSONS:
Verse 13: Jesus hears of the death of His first cousin, John, and He is broken over it and wants to get away. Issues and situations in your life are real, your pain is real, your brokenness is real… none of that is theoretical, it’s raw, it’s life. Jesus understands the pain that life deals us. God, with skin on, felt the searing pain of loss.
Verse 14: (Jesus’s actions) These hurting people had no idea of the current pain and brokenness of the One they sought out. Jesus’ heart was heavy with sorrow, depression and pain, YET GOD….was compelled for HIS HANDMADE CREATION. GOD does NOT hide His face from the very people He came to save!!!! AMEN AMEN AMEN. Jesus, still is compelled to fight for, seek after and plead for you!!!!
(The multitude’s actions) IN the middle of THEIR hurt condition, in the middle of THEIR pain, in the middle of their own brokenness… THEY went couch to 5K to seek the presence of Jesus. THEY went to that desolate place too! If that is where Jesus is… then boy howdy, we need to be there too! Perhaps Jesus is just trying to get you alone without distraction to a lonely place which is not so lonely if He is there…..
Verse 15: Often we like to inform and remind God that where we are is just really not meeting our needs in the way we think we deserve or need at the moment. We never like to stay in the wilderness… it’s uncomfortable physically, emotionally and mentally. Cool thing here, though: don’t miss the fact that we can bring our questions, hopes and desires to Jesus. He totally gets us…. be driven by grace… just let your heart show… these are moments that God can really begin to mold that God-shaped soul into His image. Don’t pretend you are all down with and happy that you are in the middle of nowhere and starving to death. Be willing to stay in that desolate place as long as Jesus is there, and speak up… let Him know you are hungry, then see what He does FOR YOU! He won’t be shocked. He knows you need food…. FYI.
Verse 16: When you bring your honest questions to Jesus like He pleads for us to do, listen and wait for His response to the problem… not what you think His response should be.
Verse 17: #Blessedarethepoorinspirit It is OK to remind Jesus of your poverty. This is more for the disciples here than Jesus. It is ok to state the facts the way you see them. Be confident of this very thing… we will always see our lack and need, this is why we must stay close to Jesus, He has a different perspective. He is Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace… HE HAS GOT this! He’s got you, in those same hands that hand crafted you!
Verse 18: What I have is NOTHING (call it what it is!) and severely deficient, but in the hands of Jesus, that changes drastically! We don’t like to show our emptiness… we fight against it.
Verse 19: The #blessed by Jesus are the #broken.
Verse 20: The world will break you… broken and repurposed though… now that is HOPE my friend!!! Just think! It was the pieces that fed the crowd. The bread could not stay in “loaf” form and satisfy such a crowd. Jesus’s body was broken for us so that we could come into His presence in our brokenness, in our desolate place, and we can be satisfied. Oh that we would be willing to be broken. We need to change our lens… we have been looking at it wrong all this time! #broken&blessed #satisfactioninChrist #BlessedAreThoseWhoHunger&Thirst #relentless&compelled
Verse 21: Perhaps that testimony of brokenness that you have worked so hard to hide, in God’s hands would bring multitudes to Him, if the pieces were just allowed to be in His hands, instead of yours. Think of how many more were fed from those leftovers (if you think about it… we are still feeding on those leftovers from that day!) Oh! That your testimony of emptiness and brokenness will feed generations to come! You have NO IDEA what God will do. What do you have? A handful of brokenness can go an awfully long way. #broken&blessed
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ME NOW? APPLY IT…. TODAY.
Take the lessons you learned and put them into the form of a personal question that you would ask your spouse, or a friend or your son or daughter.
As you write the questions, listen for God to communicate to you through His Word.
*Do not rush. Do not write things down just to have something on paper, this step takes more time that you may think. This is where Scripture meditation becomes real, this is where you begin to hear that still small voice speak to you, and place His finger in your life and begin to direct your paths…. this day, and the next, and the next. Do you trust Him enough to put into place that which He is moving you to?
Verse 13: Do you realize that you can pour out the hurt of life to Jesus and He understands not because He is God, but because He walked it and lived it out? Do you see how you were created to need Him? Who better to be driven with to a lonely place than Jesus?
Verse 14: Where or to whom do you take your brokenness first? Church? Pastor? Spouse? Friend? Counselor? Or the Savior who died for it to redeem it? Do you fight against going to “that” desolate place with Jesus?
Verse 15: Are you willing to stay in that desolate place until Jesus either moves Himself or moves you personally?
Verse 16: Do you badger and question Jesus almost daily with the same thing, refusing to let it go until He answers it in the way you think He should? Perhaps Jesus has answered your prayer and questions, but the answer makes no sense, so you have disregarded it.
Verse 17: Are you ok with telling Jesus, “I don’t get it”? Or do you think you always have to pretend you completely understand and know everything?
Verse 18: Are you willing to let go of what you do have and place it in the hands of Jesus, or do you give what you have with rules and regulations on what can be used and what cannot? Often it’s the “stuff” on the “cannot” list that feeds the multitudes… Are you really wanting to see Jesus work, or would you rather see you work?
Verse 19: Why do you fight against your brokenness all the time? Why do you try to look so “together” constantly when it is really the brokenness that ministers and shows the compassion of God on such a greater scale than you could ever imagine?
Verse 20: Are you willing to be broken and repurposed in the hands of God? Or are you going to hold on to those pieces, continuing to break them off into tinier shards that hurt instead of heal?
Verse 21: What do you have? Do you realize in the hands of God, satisfaction and contentment is continuous, overwhelming, and fulfilling? Are you missing everything you were created for (Created to walk with God, know God because you are created to need God) because you hold the pieces of your life?
LIVE IT OUT!
Hold yourself accountable to LIVE OUT in your daily life that which God impresses upon your heart. Write it out, sign it, date it and claim the transforming power of God’s Word and His presence in your life.
Little is much in the hands of God. What you have is SAFE in the hands of God. Give him what he wants in your life today…. then tomorrow….
Homework: John 18:1-12
Get stuck? www.annegrahamlotz.com and Anne will walk through the Three Questions with you and help you along!