Aug. 1, 1999................ Y - 2 - J ..................Mat. 14

By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Sand Fork Baptist Church

Yield 2 Jesus. In our daily travels we regularly pass road signs. One of these is the yield sign. It means to give the right or way of passage to the other. How many times do we ignore the signs and continue to travel on our way? Y2K is here. We can't ignore the signs of the times any longer. We must realize that time is running short. We don’t have much time left to serve Jesus before he comes. As believers we all must yield our lives daily to Him. Those who aren't seeking to follow the King of Kings (Jesus) must decide to yield their lives to Him before time runs out. Who Needs to Yield to Jesus? What should we yield to Him? Will you yield to Him? In our story today we read of a crowd of people who yielded to Him and were filled with His blessings. Are you hungry and thirsty, but just can't seem to find satisfaction? Read how Jesus can fill you up, if you will yield to Him.

Scripture Text: Mat. 14:13 "When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. 14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. 15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. 16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. 17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. 19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. 21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children."

1. The Crowds needed to yield to Jesus. They gave him their impossible problems. They brought him their sick and he had compassion on them and healed them. He will heal us according to his perfect plan and design for our lives. Jesus loves us and wants to serve and minister to us. If we believe and come to him. We all need Jesus. Have you yielded to him?
2. The Disciples needed to yield to Jesus. They came to him like we do many times today with our difficult situations. We come to him and try to get Jesus to yield to us. We tell him what we want to do or what we would like to have done. We try to get Jesus to yield to us.

1. They had to yield their will to Jesus. They had to do what he wanted to care for the people. They had to feed the people. Jesus still wants us today to care for the crowds of people in our world that need Him. They need hope in this world to give them a reason to live. Jesus is our only hope in a hopeless world.
2. They had to yield their possessions to Jesus. (five loaves and two fish) He wants our five fingers, toes, senses, two eyes, ears, hands, and feet, so that he may bless them and make them useful to needs of others. Without his blessing our meager five loaves and two fish will never be sufficient to meet the needs of the crowds. We can't do it without Him.
3. They had to yield their life to Jesus. They had to be willing to go and feed the people. The disciples had to follow His direction for their lives. All but one of the twelve would become a martyr for Him. They joined with Jesus in service to others. He chooses you. Will you yield to Him?

3. The Boy yielded his lunch to Jesus. The gospel of John tells us that a little boy in the crowd owned the five loaves and two fish that day. The Lord only wants us to give to him what we have. We couldn't give something we don't have, and all that we have is exactly what he needs and wants us to yield to him. Out of the entire crowd they could only find one boy who had some lunch to give them. It was all that he needed to feed the thousands of hungry people.

1. The Lord took the boy's lunch from the disciples.
2. The Lord blessed it and broke it.
3. The Lord multiplied it and used it to help others.

4. The Crowds yielded themselves to Jesus. They sat down as he commanded and were filled with the food that Jesus gave through the disciples. Jesus is the bread of life. He will fill you and satisfy your life. They could have gone their way, but they decided to be filled with the bread Jesus could give them. He is the way the truth and the life no man can come to the Father any other way. There is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. He can fill your unsatisfied life so much that there can be 12 baskets full of leftovers. Have you tried it all and still find that something is missing from your life? Are you still hungry for more? Do you have hope and a reason to live? He is the answer.

J 2 Y Jesus 2 You. Jesus yielded himself to us/you. Jesus said yes to the Father and then he said yes to you and me. He gave himself that we may have him and his food for all eternity. What are a few days in this world compared to eternity with him? Have you yielded yourself to him? Will you yield yourself to Him?