In Abundance

John 6:^11-12 “…And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” (emphasis added).

Every time Jesus provided, He always provided more than enough. They had more than enough. We need to shred the scarcity mentality, even in our homes. There are homes where it is ‘Daddy’ that rations what everybody eats. Something is wrong with that. Let people eat freely. I am not saying they should be obese or overeat. When we have events in church, we plan with the more than enough mindset. The key thing is, delete the idea that God wants you to manage. Delete the idea that you should have just barely enough. What is that and where is that coming from? Definitely not from God and not from Jesus, from traditions and doctrines maybe. Jesus says, “I have come so that they may have life and have it more abundantly.’ That is God’s heart for us.

John 6:^12-13 “After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.” (emphasis added). Two lessons here;

Lesson #1: Servant Leadership: In Judaism, the leftover is called peah and was gathered and given to the slaves and served at the banquet. Who were the slaves and servants that served the people? The disciple [the twelve]. Jesus was teaching a huge servant leadership lesson; you are the servants and you do not get until everybody has eaten and is full. Not that the leaders eat first then everybody else eats what is left. When everybody has eaten and are full, then the leaders get what is left. I see that happening in Nigeria and in every nation of the world, in the Name of Jesus. I see that happening in the Church, in the Name of Jesus (say Amen). 

Lesson #2: God Is A God Of Perfect Provision: Cofinus is Hebrew for basket, They were a special kind of basket. They were like buckets. Twelve baskets were the exact number of disciples. Not only did Jesus provide for everybody, He provided for the disciples also. Problems come when the people God has given things to break so that it can multiply for God’s people to eat, begin to break, and eat first. Imagine Peter breaks the bread and says, ‘let me eat first so that I will have enough energy to walk around, distributing this bread.’ If Peter does that, he would be short-circuiting the process for abundance. But if Peter obeys, breaks the bread, and blesses the people, by the time he is done, he will have an abundance waiting for him. That is how God works.

John 6:¹⁴ “When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” (emphasis added). When Jesus healed the man crippled for thirty-eight years and all kinds of diseases, they did not say He was a prophet. They just found Him intriguing, they wanted to see miracles. But when He gave them bread, ministering to their stomachs, they said, “Surely, you are the prophet, the one we have been waiting for!”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for  Your abundant provision for me and more than enough left over to share with others. I will give and not hoard, in Jesus Name. Amen!