“In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away. And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.” (Mark 8:1-10)

Once more, the crowds came to hear Christ preach. Once more, the people gathered for a variety of reasons.

Some were impressed with His wisdom. Jesus had a unique ability to make the most complex issues of life seem very simple.

Some were startled at His doctrine. The Lord spoke with authority and not as the other religious leaders who always qualified their thoughts or supported their statements by appealing to leading rabbis.

Many who were with Christ simply wanted to watch the miracles He performed.

But no matter why they came, no matter if their hearts were pure of motive or polluted with mischief, Jesus was moved to have compassion on the multitude. Jesus knew that the people were hungry for they had been with Him for three days. The Lord realized that if He sent everyone away now some would faint from fatigue, especially those who had come from a far distance. There was only one thing to do, Jesus would feed the famished.

When the Lord announced His decision to provide food for the people to the disciples, the Bible reveals that the men were surprised. And once more we are amazed at their astonishment. We ask ourselves quite naturally, “Did the disciples not remember? Had they already forgotten all of the great miracles of the Master? It was but yesterday that He turned water into wine, cured those with leprosy and fed five thousand men besides women and children! “Have the disciples forgotten?” The tragic truth is that all of the previous miracles meant nothing in this new moment, which is why the disciples asked, “Lord, from whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?”

By these words the disciples communicated the hopelessness of the situation because of where the people where geographically. They were in the dessert. Lest we become too harsh with our thoughts against the disciples, shall we not confess that our faith is often just as weak? Shall we not confess that many times we look at natural problems in life from a practical and logical perspective—and despair? Desperation sets in because we forget to rely on Omnipotence.

Before we look at the might of the Majestic, it can be said that sometimes, it is very wise to be coldly realistic about life and the difficulties that accompany living. Far too often idealism replaces reality with tragic consequences.

Many years ago, about 1000 BC, a powerful king of the Middle East, had a son. The boy was the delight of the father’s heart. And as a result the child was spoiled. He lived in the lap of luxury and was denied nothing. An erroneous belief was expressed that gifts generate love and obedience between parent and child. But the son did not appreciate either the gifts nor the giver.

One day, the son, grown into a handsome young man, conceived of a plot to take all of the toys of time. The concept of doing right for righteousness’ sake had been lost, buried beneath the idealism that forgets that what children need is example and not more physical gifts. Going down to the city gate the son of the king stole the hearts of the people. Then, on an appointed day, with widespread popular support Absalom rose up again his father David.

While in his flight, whatever idealism David had about the human heart vanished and he wrote the words of Psalm 58:3. “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” It is not wrong to be realistic about people or situations in life. Certain times may indeed be harsh and desperate. And there may be no sight of an immediate solution. It is then that faith must be called upon.

Perhaps you find yourself in a difficult situation. In fact, you are weary and ready to faint if things continue in a certain direction much longer. There is an element of despair and hopelessness.  Forgotten are the miracles of the past. And if they are not forgotten they are diminished in importance. A miracle is needed.

Some people need a financial miracle.

Others need a miracle of love to be brought back to a loveless relationship.

Still others need a healing miracle of the body.

If any of this describes your present situation then take hope for the Miracle Worker is in the midst of His people. And His name is Jesus. But what will the Lord do? How will He perform His miracle? There are some indications of how the Divine operates in the narrative.

First, Jesus might ask again what resources are at His disposal. In the case of the hungry multitude, it was discovered that there were seven loaves of bread and a few small fish—with the emphasis being on the fact that the fish were small. Peter looked at the fish with his expert seaman’s eye and remembered for the rest of his life how tiny the fish where when he looked up at all the large open hungry mouths that were turned toward him.

Let me suggest that in your present situation, the Lord will begin to work a miracle with whatever resources you have available. And He will do this NOT because he needs what we have but simply as a point of contact between the physical and the spiritual. There is a crossing over into the spiritual through the physical.

In just a moment the faith of the disciples will again be instructed and enlarged and the people will be fed. But a spiritual lesson will be learned because of the physical contact. The lesson of life began with a simple question, How many loaves have ye?

Let the question be asked again this day, “What do you have to offer Christ in the work of the ministry?”

You have a body, give that to His service just the way you are. In Romans 12:1-2 the apostle Paul writes, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

You have a heart, give that to His service. William Merrill exhorts the church with these words.

“Rise up, O men of God! Have done with lesser things
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
To serve the King of kings.”

You have a will, give that to His service, and say with the Savior, “Not my will but thine be done.”

“With eager heart, and will on fire,
I sought to win my great desire.
‘Peace shall be mine,’ I said.
But life grew bitter in the endless strife.

My soul was weary, and my pride
Was wounded deep. To heaven I cried:
‘God give me peace, or I must die.’
The dumb stars glittered no reply.

Broken at last, I bowed my head
Forgetting all myself and said:
‘Whatever comes, His will be done’
And in that moment, peace was won.”

A second indication of how the Divine operates in the performing of a miracle is to be found in Mark 8:6. “And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground:” When the Lord begins to work a miracle He commands and there is a response of gospel obedience. That is important to understand for it is the right of the Sovereign to command His subjects and see that they obey His directives. All through the Gospels, obedience is associated with miracles.

Matthew 8:13 Centurion, go home. Your servant is well! “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Luke 17:12–14, “And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.”

Do you want to see a miracle? Then offer what you have to the Lord and listen for His next command and then, when it comes, obey.

There is a third part in the performance of a miracle and that is prayer. The Bible says that Jesus “gave thanks” (Mark 8:6). In the act of performing a miracle Jesus prayed. I believe there is a principle here, which is that miracles are associated with prayer.

The problem is this, the church does not really believe in the power of prayer though the Bible assures us in James 5:16 that, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Officially the Church believes in miracles. As a doctrine, miracles will be defended vigorously, but practically the Church does not pray well and so by works denies a belief in miracles.

This is tragic for so powerful is prayer that nature itself is touched by it. James 5:17 reminds us that Elijah “was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.”

Jesus has commanded us to pray. Luke 18:1 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” Our weekly prayer meeting is not just a good idea, it is the will of the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says that we are to “Pray without ceasing”. In the act of prayer we find the miracles of the moment we desperately need. In the act of prayer the discovery is made of God’s appointed way for Christians to get things (James 4:2).

The story is told that Sir Walter Raleigh once made a request of the Queen of England who answered rather testily, “Raleigh, when will you leave off begging?” Sir Walter replied, “When your Majesty leaves off giving.” And his request was granted. Now the God of all grace never grows weary of our asking and never rebukes us for coming. In fact we are invited to come boldly to the throne of grace and make our petitions known (Hebrews 4:16).  The Christian can sing,

“My Father is rich in houses and lands
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands!
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full—He has riches untold.”

The conclusion of the matter is that if Jesus prayed before there was the performance of a miracle so must the Church.

Do we wanta miracle in our midst? Then let the Church offer to the Lord what we have individually, listen for the next command with a ready heart to respond, and believe in the power of prayer to bring God’s blessing.

Now notice that there is one more act in the process of a miracle and that is to enjoy the blessings of God. Miracles are meant to be enjoyed.  The Bible says that Jesus gave the food to the disciples who then served the people who were filled. They ate of the divine portion and enjoyed it!

By way of application there are miracles that God wants us to enjoy but first we must receive them personally from Him. The way that this works out practically is that we must draw closer to Christ.

For those struggling with a broken relationship and lost happiness, the way to find the grace to live again is to know the love of God shed abroad in the heart. The same principle applies to every need of one’s life. Draw near to Christ for it from Him that miracles will come. Jesus said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).

What shall be added?

All the things your heart longs for that are within the will of the Father.

In conclusion, the largest question of all arises. Do you believe in miracles today? Do you believe that the Miracle Worker still walks in the midst of His people (Revelation 1:13)? I hope the Church still believes that Christ is with His church for there in is the hope for the miracles we need.

We need miracles of forgiveness, the ability to forgive others from the heart that have wounded us.

We need miracles of salvation for souls are still lost.

We need miracles of sanctification for holiness is being sacrificed upon the altar of personal selfishness.

We need miracles of physical healings for there is still a limitation of medicine.

We need the miracles of the Majestic Master in order to reveal afresh His glory in our lives and in our community to build up the kingdom.

The invitation is extended today to come to a miracle. Had anyone in the crowd that day left in unbelief after being told to sit down for supper, they would not have enjoyed or been part of a divine miracle. In like manner, we want to take advantage of the opportunity to know something about a miracle working Lord today. To that end let us offer to the Lord our meager resources, listen for the next command, pray and enjoy all that the Lord wants to do in our midst.