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THE ABUNDANCE OF JESUS

( A sermon by brother Tarran Dookie)

THE MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS

Ex.16:16-24 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. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 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. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 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. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. 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. And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.

When the children of Israel gathered the manna that God provided, he that gathered much had nothing over and he that gathered little had no lack. What the Lord gives us is always sufficient. We need not worry for He will provide according to our needs. Moses told the people that they should eat the manna and not leave of it till the morning. But some of them did leave of it and it bred worms and stank. They were worried about the next day. They felt they should keep some just in case there was no manna on the morrow. Are we trusting God to meet our needs or are we always perturbed about tomorrow? If we trust in ourselves our provision will fail, our plans will be futile. The sufficiency is of God and not of ourselves.

On the sixth day what they gathered was enough for two days. The seventh day was the sabbath of rest and God did not want them gathering manna on that day. They were surprised that on this occasion what was left over did not stink nor breed worms. When God gives us rest we no longer have to work. His grace is sufficient. The children of Israel did not have to gather on the seventh day. When we rest in God we shall cease from our labours.

THE FEEDING OF THE MULTITUDE

Mk.8:17-20 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.

Jn.6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 

When the Lord Jesus fed the 5000 there were twelve baskets full of fragments left and when He fed the 4000 there were seven baskets full of fragments left. The Lord gives us exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. With the Lord there is always something left over. There may seem to be no hope and no way in your circumstances. But God is able, for He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. God wants to fill us with all His fullness. Let us partake of the true bread of life that we may be more than satisfied.

The Lord asked the disciples to gather the fragments that remained so that nothing was lost. The blessings of the Lord are not to be squandered. We must be good stewards of the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus. There must be a reserve in us so that when the enemy attacks we have the spiritual resources to respond. What the Lord gives in excess is not to be scattered and wasted. It must be stored up in the depths of our heart. So shall we be strong and do exploits in His name. May nothing be lost of the abundance of Jesus in our lives.

AND THEIR NET BRAKE

Lk.5:4-11 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Simon Peter was new in the Lord. There was hesitation on his part to let down the net. Is there doubt when the Lord promises His blessing? We ought not to hesitate or doubt for He will give us his best. But although Peter hesitated, he still carried out the word of the Lord. A great multitude of fishes were caught.

And their net brake. The net could not contain this multitude of fishes. The abundance of Jesus may sometimes overwhelm us. Sometimes we cannot contain the manifold blessings of the Lord. We become astonished and perhaps we are unable to appreciate such an outpouring of blessings. The anointing of the Lord may slay us and our nets may break.

So large was the draught of fishes that the ships began to sink. Peter knew that this was the finger of God. He had to bow down. He recognised the power of Jesus. He told the Lord, 'Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' When we see how much God gives us we shall be humbled and we shall worship.

This was a learning experience for Simon Peter. He would grow in the Lord and experience the fullness of God.  Jesus tells him, 'Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.' Jesus was going to grant him a greater blessing. Instead of fishes he would be catching men. Peter and his partners, James and John, then forsook all, and followed Jesus. The abundance of Jesus broke their nets but they wanted more.

YET WAS NOT THE NET BROKEN

Jn.21:3-12 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

This account comes after the resurrection of Jesus, after He showed Himself to His disciples. They had walked with the Lord and had partaken of His life. There was rejoicing in their spirits. John recognised that it was the Lord because of the multitude of fishes they had now caught. There was excitement and joy upon the recognition that it was Jesus.

They drew to land the net full of one hundred and fifty-three great fishes. 'And for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.' This represents maturity in the Lord. Simon had denied the Lord but he wept bitterly over it. Though Satan sifted him like wheat the Lord had prayed that his faith would not fail. Henceforth Simon goes forth in the power of the Lord. On the day of Pentecost he preaches and 3000 souls are converted, fulfilling the promise of the Lord that he would catch men. As we grow in the Lord we would enter into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. As we enter into deep fellowship with the Lord His blessings will bring us great joy but our nets will not break.

The Lord has a table spread and a feast ready. He wants to give us life and that more abundantly. Jesus is calling you and me to come and dine.

Believers in Christ Jesus may freely copy, use and distribute this sermon. Under no circumstances must it be sold. Freely ye have received, freely give.

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