Matthew 14: 14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." 16 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." 17 And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." 18 He said, "Bring them here to Me." 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.

The disciples weren't very educated.  And they weren't always very spiritual either.  And sometimes, neither are we.  And when I read this, I'm not so sure they were really concerned about the people.  Could be that they were kinda hungry themselves.  I don't know.  At any rate, they complained to Jesus about the time of day.

And we can't really say that they were complaining either.  It could've been a genuine concern for the people.  Because in verse 16, when Jesus said, "YOU feed them", they immediately answered, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."  Which tells me that they had already done an assessment of what food was on hand to feed this crowd.  (Or maybe it was to feed themselves)  But if you know the story, those people had already been with Jesus for quite a while.  And in all honesty, had I been one of the disciples, I probably would have been complaining.  But I don't know if they were concerned or complaining.  I do know that Philippians 2:14-15 says, "14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world . . ."

And I also know that even though we're not supposed to complain about things in life, we still do.  It's our nature.  I do it, you do it, your Pastor does it . . . but it's not the best thing to do.

And here's why: (Read 16-20)

See, we need to know that whatever the problem, Jesus has it covered.  And when we complain, it only proves that we have the same sickness that the disciples had.  Look at verse 17(read).  The disciples had a bad case of the "We-Have-Only".  And sometimes, so do we.  True, not too many reading this is rolling in the lap of luxury.  But what about the little bit that we DO have?  We need to realize that we can give it to Jesus and watch it grow.

I mean, our small churches can't do the ministry that bigger churches can do.  After all, we have only so many members . . .  Oh!  And one Jesus . . . But we don't have the cash flow.  Prayer may move Heaven, but money moves Earth.  And we can't raise that kind of money because we have only so many diligent workers . . .  Oh!  And one Jesus . . .  But how are we gonna keep everything in perspective and in order, because we have only a small governing body of the church . . .  Oh!  And one Jesus . . . But even if He gives us everything, how are we gonna reach everybody?  Never mind . . .  One Jesus.

Oohhh, so now I get it: If I have you, and you have me . . . and we come together with one Jesus . . . and one gift . . . like 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread . . . we can reach 5,000 . . . and more!  Amen?  And the disciples should have known that.  They should never have been stricken with a case of the "We-Have-Only".  After all they had been taught? After all they had seen and heard?  Wasn't it enough to know that Jesus was there? . . . And what about us?  Why do we still complain?  We have all the Scriptures, all the examples.  Isn't it enough for us to know that Jesus died for our sins, and that He rose again for our salvation?  Isn't it enough for us to know that He sits at the Right hand of God?  Isn't it enough for us to know that He sent His Holy Spirit to be a helper for us for when the times got bad?  And if that isn't enough, then isn't it enough for us to know that because of Him, we have access to the Throne?  When you sum it all up, isn't it enough for us to know that the tomb is empty?

So now I ask you. Not as a church, but individually . . . "What is that in your hand?"  That little thing, plus one Jesus, can reach a multitude . . .

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