Gather the Fragments, Make Sure Nothing is Lost

   Gather the Fragments, Make Sure Nothing is Lost

John 6:10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

           My Pastor was reading this passage aloud. It was verse 12 that stood out to me. The Lord wastes nothing. Nor does He expect us to. Before I get into the meat of this discussion, let’s look at verse 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. Here is an example of why I say you should read the bible from front to back. The old testament is a type and shadow of the new testament. The new testament is the fulfillment of all the laws and prophecies, or prophets in the old testament. Go to Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. In chapter 6 of John the people were getting hungry. They had been there with Jesus all day long being  spiritually fed.The 5 thousand were just the men. That count didn’t include the women and the children. Everyone was getting hungry. The disciples went to Jesus. They explained that everyone was hungry. But how would they finance feeding everyone? A young boy shows up and says, “Hey, I have 5 loaves and 2 fish.” I’m sure the disciples wanted to dismiss him. “Get out of here! That isn’t enough.” What did Jesus do. Make everyone sit down. Then, He gave thanks to the Father. His Father. Hen looked at what was an impossible situation. Then, gave thanks to the one in whom all things were possible.And, then something miraculous happened. They pass out the food. And, not just a crumb. As much as each man could eat until they were satisfied. And, if that weren’t enough. What does Jesus do next? He says gather the fragments. Make sure there is nothing lost. Do What!? Pick up crumbs?! What do you mean pick up the crumbs? We started out with not enough to feed anyone. Then, we feed everyone. And, now you are saying there are crumbs left?  I could imagine at least one of the disciples had to be like me. “O.K. Lord. If you say so. I’ll look. But, I don’t think there’ll be any crumbs left.” And, after they had finished gathering the crumbs, they filled 12 baskets.

        

           Do you remember my last lesson It’s All About the Name? The 12 governmental names of the Lord? LORD, God, merciful, gracious, long-suffering,  abundant in goodness, abundant in truth, preserver of bountifulness, forgiver of iniquity, forgiver of transgression, forgiver of sin, just judge. Twelve in scripture speaks of government. His government. It was His government that fed everyone. 12 disciples. 12 baskets. Over 5,000 people. Everyone fed. Wow. Make sure nothing is lost.

              Remember earlier, I talked about the old testament and the new. Let’s look at  Exodus 16:1-2716 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.4 Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:7 And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings against the Lord: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?8 And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord: for he hath heard your murmurings.10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.16 This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.23 And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field.26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 

        I kept thinking about the manna the Lord gave the Isrealites. Look at verses 16-19. Do you see the similarity  between Jesus with the 5 loaves and two fishes and the Isrealites with the bread from heaven, manna, angels food? The same direction was given. Gather the fragments. Make sure nothing is lost. In one of Jesus’ parables, Luke 15:3-10 Barley loaves in Jesus’ day were the poorest food.  It was reserved for the poor. The Lord wastes nothing. Not even people. He created you. He is the author of life. Five loaves, five-thousand. The number five in scripture means grace. It was the Lord’s grace that fed the Isrealites. It was the Lord’s grace that fed the 5,000 men, not counting women and children. It is His grace meeting you here today. Are you lost today? Why don’t you come and be found today? Don’t waste another second of your life. You're not a mistake. You have a lot to offer. The Lord has placed many gifts and talents in you. He doesn’t want you lost any longer. Let’s pray.

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