Dedicate
KINGDOM LIVING
Part 8: Dedicate
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
John 6:1–14
After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”
8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So, they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.
14 When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”
The Widow at Zarephath
1 Kings 17:7-16
7 But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.
8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”
12 But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”
13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
What did the widow, and the little boy have in common? They dedicated what they had to the Lord.
Dedicate: to devote to the worship of God, to set apart to a definite use, to commit to a goal or way of life, as in donate, set aside for special use
THREE TRUTHS OF DEDECATTION:
1. Dedicate starts with “decide.”
Dedication starts with a personal choice, a decision to trust God and give Him what we have.
Joshua 24:15 (NIV) – “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Dedication begins with a conscious decision to serve God.
Romans 12:1 (NIV)
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true and proper worship.”
Dedication is a deliberate act of offering ourselves to God.
Proverbs 16:3 (NLT)
“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”
Commitment (dedication) starts when
we decide to give our actions and plans to God.
2. A dedicated life is always multiplied.
When we dedicate what we have, even if it’s small, God multiplies it for His glory and for the good of others.
Luke 6:38 (NIV)
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.”
God multiplies what we release to Him.
2 Corinthians 9:10 (NIV)
“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”
The principle of multiplication follows faithful dedication.
Malachi 3:10 (NLT)
“‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in!’”
When we dedicate our resources to God, He responds with abundance.
3. Dedication is an ongoing process.
Dedication isn’t a one-time act; it’s a continual commitment to trust and serve God daily.
Luke 9:23 (NIV)
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
Daily dedication is part of discipleship.
Philippians 3:13–14 (NIV)
“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Dedication requires persistence and continual focus on God’s purpose.
Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Dedication is sustained faithfulness that leads to blessing.
DEDICATE - STAY DEDICATED - REDEDICATE