Life Ministries

“God’s Recipe For Leftovers”

 John 6:1-12 and Genesis 13:1-18

    How many here this morning had at least one meal of “leftovers” this past week? For some people leftovers is their least favorite meal. Erma Bombeck once said that her mother “fed them nothing but leftovers for thirty years!”…Evidently, the original meal was never found.  Now, I am not a cook by any means, but a good rule of thumb is this: “When you look in the refrigerator,  if you can’t remember within 15 seconds what day you had it, throw it out!”  Again, I have a hard time boiling an egg….my wife on the other hand, is a very good cook…She just can’t help it!… She inherited her cooking talents from her mother. I believe my Mother-in-Law could go to the refrigerator, take out seven bowls of - God knows what - a tomato, an onion, a pickle, some Hershey’s syrup, and make the most delicious meal…and, my wife can do the same thing!

    Have you ever felt like your life was a bunch of leftovers? I mean, situations that are less than ideal; You always seem to settle for second best; nearly every-thing you own came from “Yard Sale Mart!; You never seem to get the opportunities that others get?… You find yourself day-dreaming about what you would do with a million dollars! Were you paying attention enough in this scripture to hear Jesus say; “Pick up all the leftovers, let nothing be wasted?”
    We are going to look at the fact that God will take whatever is in our “refrigerator of life” - and bless it - and use it for His glory!  This is kind of a follow-up to my last blog about “knowing that God is in control”… From Romans 8:28 - “And we KNOW, that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him”. So, when we do and give and yield everything to Him, we can be happy and content rather than living with envy, pride, and covetousness… Let’s call this 1^st. recipe in the 13^th. Chapter of Genesis “Second Choice Casserole”.
    First of all, I want you to notice that it is not Abraham and Lot who can’t get along…it’s their herdsmen. So, rather than live with strife, Abraham says; “I’ll give you first choice of the land, and I’ll take what’s leftover”. This was a little unusual because Abraham was the Elder and had the right to first choice…But, maybe he knew that God would bless what was leftover…What would normally be destined for the trash can, would be salvaged by God, and after he adds His special touch, scraps become sacred; trash turns into treasure; and burdens become blessings.
    Lot sees the green, fertile valley of Sodom and Gomorrah and thinks; “This is certainly the best! I’ll take it!  It would seem as though Lot had made the best choice, but best is not always blessed.
    Lot was not thinking about what was best for his family, nor was he concerned about Abraham, he only saw what would be best for HIM!  Now, if you have read the rest of the story, you know that not long after, Lot was captured by the armies of the king of Elam and his allies…Abraham and 318 men, with God on their side, defeat the armies of these four kings and rescue Lot and all their possessions …But, alas again, it’s not long thereafter that God ends up destroying Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness, and Lot loses his wife….and his dream of having the best became a nightmare!
    Now, if you  look at verse 14-  The leftovers turned out to be the promised land of Caanan. God had a special plan for the leftovers.
    Before we look at the second recipe for leftovers, which I call - “Canaanite Crumb Cake” I have to give you a little background; There were two specific things that God told the Israelites when they were about to enter the promised land…once with Moses, and again with Joshua - He said, #1. Don’t intermarry with any foreigners…And #2. - In the land of Canaan, there were of course Canaanites. The Canaanites were among several other “ites” that God told Israel to completely exterminate…They disobeyed on both counts! This information will help us to understand the “attitude” if you will, of Jesus in this next story;
    Matthew 15:21-28 - (read)…Verse 23 says “Jesus did not answer a word” which to me means that he sort of ignored her. In verse 24 he says; “I was sent only for the lost sheep of Israel”… Then in verse 26 he says; “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs”!…. Now, that seems down right rude!… Unless you understand the background. Jesus could have a little resentment toward the Canaanites, or he could be testing her faith to see if it was genuine, or both. She shows several other character traits such as wisdom, humility, meekness, patience, and perseverance, but these were the product of her faith…for which she is commended. It is only by faith we are accepted.  Jesus wasn’t trying to discourage her faith by his answers, he was trying to develop it…and she passed the test when she asked for a piece of Canaanite Crumb Cake.
    Finally, let’s re-visit the scripture from John chapter 6 - God’s recipe for “Fish and Chips”… A great multitude followed Jesus, and he knew they were all hungry. He first wants to show his disciples of their inadequacy without him, so he says; “How are we going to feed all these people?” … Philip replies; “Don’t look at us, eight months wages wouldn’t be enough to buy everyone a hamburger at McDonald’s!”… “Here is a boy with some fish and chips from Captain Jack’s…but, how far will that go?”
    This is a good example of how we most often can only see what we see with visible, physical, ordinary faith… When God is desiring for us to see beyond this and see His extraordinary power to do more than we can ever think!
    Then, of course, Jesus takes the fish and the bread, blessed them, and had the disciples “distribute to those who were seated AS MUCH AS THEY WANTED”! Then it says “When they had enough to eat, he tells his disciples to “gather the pieces that were left over, let nothing be wasted.” He had plans for the leftovers, and they gathered (12) baskets full…How many disciples were there? (12)…Do you think they learned anything?
    There was a senior at Wheaton College named Ken. He and several of his friends took an aptitude test for medical school. All of his friends passed  but Ken failed. He was devastated by this closed door in his life. Compared to medical school, anything else would be “leftovers”. However, Ken was pointed to an open door of Christian ministry and went on to paraphrase what is known as the “Living Bible” and start Tyndale House Publishers. Ken had great plans for his first choice in life…but God had a better recipe for the leftovers!
    Here’s a little something you can chew on from this message; It does not matter how the leftovers became leftovers. Whether we are victims of circumstances or whether we have made a mess out of our own lives… What does matter is our attitude. Attitude is everything. Instead of complaining about where we are, what we are doing, what we have or don’t have, we need to commit all things to God and ask him to bless whatever we have…even if we think it’s just the leftovers.
    Proverbs 3:6 says; “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight”…..Psalm 37:5 says this; “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and he will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noon-day sun”. And we can’t forget Colossians 3:17 - “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” We can rejoice in the knowledge that though we may feel like we didn’t get a fair shake; even though we didn’t accomplish our dreams for our lives; God has a great recipe for leftovers!