Perseverance: YOU Be that One in a Million!: The Multitudes

FIRST ONLINE BIBLE STUDY FOR THE DISABLED

“THE MULTITUDES”

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015

JUST COME AS YOU ARE. STAY AS YOU ARE.

Find your Bible and keep it near to your side.

We also hold Sunday Services at 1:00 pm, rain or shine.

WELCOME! WE ARE HERE TOGETHER TO GATHER OURSELVES, AS CHRIST SAID, “DO NOT FORSAKE THE GATHERING OF YOURSELVES TOGETHER.” WE ARE IN THE USA, THE UK, AUSTRALIA, CHILE, THE UKRAINE, AND ALL OVER THE WORLD, GATHERED IN HIS NAME, TO HEAR HIS WORD, AND TO LEARN MORE OF HIM! AMEN AND AMEN!

PRAYER REQUEST: You may enter a Prayer Request any time during the entire Service, except during Holy Communion.

PRAYER REQUEST: That we continue to grow, multiply, love, spread peace, clothe the poor, care for orphans and widows, and serve you, Lord, much as Your hands multiplied the bread and fish for the multitudes. That God be exalted as we lift our voices to give Him our lives and our souls. Amen.

PRAYER REQUEST: That a quick recovery occurs for Bob Coleman-Long, so he is out of the hospital and home again soon. May your healing power, dear Lord, continue to do a work in him. We also pray for all others who are hospitalized.

PRAYER REQUEST: That the congregation continues to save money, the tithes, in their jars and shoeboxes, to send to support the starving, shoeless orphans housed by Pastor Steven Mwesigwa. To donate, contact him directly by FB. Praise you, Jesus, for letting us help the children. Amen.

PRAYER REQUEST: Sylivano Kaheru is also asking for donations for the 20 orphans children he has, so they may have clothing and food. One child has a fever and we fear malaria or typhoid fever. Some of you remember dozens of children dying in the last outbreak, and we lost Fiona, the cheerful one who I grew to love. They also live in Kampala, Uganda. Please contact him directly through FB Private Message to give In Jesus’ name.

He also asks we agree with him for protection against a “BISAKA OWOBUSOBOZI” who calls himself God and “channels people to his evil work.” It sounds like all fear this man, and Christ has already conquered the evil one! So when you pray morning and night, agree with us together that Sylivano and his orphans have Angels protecting them always. Amen.

PRAISE AND WORSHIP:

Lord God, let us realize how Mary, the mother of Jesus, bore Him, not realizing all that she would go through with Him. Let us cherish our children, especially the Mother:child bond. We pray for all mothers and their children, that they remain united until Your time is set, dear Lord. We pray for all who struggle with pain and suffering, Lord. Let us keep You as our hiding place. Amen.

MOTHER:CHILD BOND: HOW COULD SHE HAVE KNOWN WHAT SHE WAS IN FOR? AND HOW HARD WAS IT FOR HER TO SEPARATE HERSELF FROM HIM AS CHRIST LEFT HER? HE LEFT HER IN THE TEMPLE. HE LEFT HER AS HE DIED, GIVING JOHN TO HER AS HER SON.

“Mary, Did you Know?”

By Los Cantantes Catolicos

https://youtu.be/JPsgIhlYQmM

CHILD DEVELOPMENT: AS WE GROW UP IN CHRIST, LET US TEACH OUR CHILDREN THAT THEY ALWAYS HAVE HIM AS THEIR STRENGTH; THEY CAN FIND DELIVERANCE IN HIM WHEN THEY ARE AFRAID, AND HE IS TRUSTWORTHY:

“You are My Hiding Place”

By Selah

https://youtu.be/ElVC6rfX3Z8

WHAT ABOUT OUR “STORMS” OF LIFE? EVEN IF WE SEE CHRIST WALKING ACROSS THE WATER TO US, LET US NOT BE AFRAID. IN EVERY STORM, LET US SAY “AMEN” AND LET US KNOW HE IS WITH US. WE RAISE OUR HANDS & PRAISE GOD IN ALL SITUATIONS.

“Praise You in This Storm”

By Casting Crowns

https://youtu.be/MUWbmtbzDno

SCRIPTURE: John Chapter 6:1-25

1 After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).

2 A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.

3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.

4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.

5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”

6 This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.

7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,

9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.

12 When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”

13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

15 So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,

17 and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

18 The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.

19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.

20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

21 So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

22 The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone.

23 There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

DISCUSSION:

I’d like to pause a moment and think of the first song we sang, the one, “Mary, Did You Know?” Imagine the birth and beauty of the baby Jesus, and watching Him, as His mother, growing up as a toddler and then a child. His voice would have changed around age 14 or so, as He turned into a man and learned carpentry.

Later, His parents lost Him and then went looking for Him, finally finding Him in the Temple. He virtually disowned them then, questioning, asking, “Where else would I be but in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2: 41-52) Here, he seems to ‘disown’ both parents, particularly Joseph, as a Father.

Then, he was off on His own, a wanderer, stirring up crowds and eventually causing controversy that led to His death by popular demand.

Why was Jesus attracting such big crowds that followed Him (verses 1-3)? Because he performed many miracles. He healed the sick. Why is that such an “eye-catcher” in our society, even today? Because it reminds us of our own mortality? Because we are trained to think that we have to live as long as we can?

Did Jesus get tired of this routine? Yes! The people were “unbelievers” unless they saw signs...and THEN...boy...did they EVER believe. They went to get their grandmas and cousins and brought even MORE sick to Christ. So Christ, as we see here in verse 3, had to separate Himself from the crowd so they could hear Him (with no sound system, no microphone). Huge multitudes were following Him. There was no rest for Him, no escape, no privacy.

Why did Christ serve the people food as a miracle of multiplying the barley bread and the fish (verses 4-13)? Could it just be that “hungry stomachs have no ears?” That is what missionary after missionary says. That is why we are feeding orphans in Kampala, Uganda. $30/mo will feed one child. If they are not fed literal food to their stomachs, then they will not be able to listen to spiritual food delivered to their ears. Christ knew that, and he performed a miracle to feed 5,000 men. And that doesn’t count the women and children. And there were 12 baskets of bread left over. God can easily give us more than what we ask or imagine to pray for, and notice that Christ did give thanks for the food as he broke the bread. Do you pray before eating at a restaurant? Do you pray before home meals? Do your children know how to pray?

Christ retreated to the mountain by Himself, and the disciples ALL left him in a boat to cross the water (verses 14-21). What were they thinking? It was already getting dark.

So a storm of life, a literal storm, arises. Their boat is rocked to and fro. Out in the distance, over the water, comes a shape, headed right for them! They are frightened! Christ tells them not to be afraid, so they “accept” Him into the boat, which then immediately lands on the other side.

Is this walking on water, calming the storm, trusting in Jesus, and teleporting like Star Trek’s “Beam Me Up, Scottie!” ~ and they are on dry land. That’s what it says.

The crowd tracks Christ’s movements (verses 22-25). They saw the disciples get in the boat, they saw only one boat there, they remembered Christ was still on the mountain where He had broken bread (“AND given thanks” is repeated again, for emphasis), and it didn’t make sense. How did Christ get there without a boat? So they, in their persistence and really, getting to be ANNOYING, asked Christ not “HOW did you get here?”, but “WHEN did you get here?” Calling Him “Rabbi” to sweeten the question. Give me a break. They were beginning to be obnoxious, to want control over Him, to track His movements, and to make Him answer to them!

We will see what happens after this, during next weeks’ Bible Study! Personally, I would not want to be one of those people right there at that time. No, I just wouldn’t.

PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION: Please gather your bread and wine.

DONATIONS: Who is a cheerful giver today? Who easily can tithe to God His 10% “off the top” of the best of their earnings? Otherwise, Will you Rob God (Malachi 3:8-10)?

Some can only save a few dollars or change. Go now, and take it to your jar or shoebox. Others can plan to get cash to send a MoneyGram (MG). Tear out a withdrawal slip, or write out a check to cash. Do some “action” that you will follow up on, to get cash and send it. Amen, and God Bless You. I ask for nothing for myself. I only ask to feed the orphans. It would be nice if we could organize who will go to Pastor Steven and who will go to Pastor Sylivano, so please work it out. We could use an Organizer for this.

As you get your donation ready, just relax and listen to the song:

“All That I Have”

By Esther Mui

https://youtu.be/WfhTl154R3U

HOLY COMMUNION: “God, forgive me of all my sins, both known and unknown. I forgive _____ person who has not been nice to me, and pray that you give this person a softened heart. Cleanse my mind, body, and soul, and make me more suitable to be Your servant, dear God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Breaking of the Bread: “Lord, I break this bread, Your body, in Remembrance of your Death, just as you asked us to do so at The Last Supper.” (Break bread and eat it)

Drinking of the Wine: “Lord, I drink this wine, Your blood, that was given as a living sacrifice for all of mankind to be forgiven by grace.” (Take sip of wine)

2. Break bread, dip it into the wine, & eat of it. “Lord, I eat this bread & drink of its wine, in Remembrance of Your death, just as you asked us to do at the Last Supper.”

INVITATION AND RENEWAL PRAYER: “Lord, I have not accepted You fully into my heart, or I did once long ago, and have strayed. I ask that you forgive my sins, enter my heart, and stay with me forevermore. I thank you that by grace alone, and your death on the cross, I can enter Heaven to be together with you.”

If you have said this prayer in earnest, please stay after the service for Counsel and make sure we get a Mentor for you, so that we can disciple you from a ‘baby’ Christian to a ‘fully-grown’ Christian who is then able to lead. We then go out to all ends of the earth, spreading the Gospel or supporting those that do so. Amen!

CLOSING PRAYER: Thank you for each day, Lord. Make each day anew, and let me Praise Your Name in the sunshine and in the storms. For You are with me always, and You know my Plans for my love. Thank You for Your richness in love, and Your slowness to anger. Let me be more like you each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

CLOSING SONGS:

“Bless the Lord, Oh My Soul”

By Matt Redman

https://youtu.be/vSxocnIaN0A

“Soul on Fire”

By Third Day

https://youtu.be/3KihE0j5qe8

DISMISSAL: Go in peace to change this world, and make it a better place. Do one good deed every day. Watch every word that comes out of your mouth. Praise God in the pit of the fire, and on the ice of the lake! Care for the orphans and the widows, for Christ told us to do so. See you on Sunday, at 1:00 pm Los Angeles time.

If you want a nice, quiet little church that does things the ‘old’ way and never changes, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you love God in song and praise, night and day, and you want to CHANGE THIS WORLD, and MAKE YOUR LIFE COUNT, then stay here! For we have only just begun! In the Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen! Go now, and spread the Gospel!