So What Are We Here For

How many of you knew that song?

That was good, wasn't it?

Little is much when God is in it.

And how many of you know that we make a conscious and deliberate effort

subplot on that is that we're always safe singing about Jesus, right?

We got that one too, don't we?

It's like, you know, we're always safe singing about Jesus.

But I remember earlier in the week as I was studying and praying,

and that little chorus came back to me as I was working on the passage in John 6.

And I remember reaching out to John Kroll.

That's not John the Apostle, but John Kroll.

And saying, hey, John, what about this?

And I don't think we have sung that here for a long time.

And yeah, we got it.

We're good.

And then one of the things that I love doing is just listening to you all sing.

And I was listening to you, and I thought, wow, we got on top of that,

and we put our hearts into it.

And I trust that you remember that song at the end of the sermon, right?

Little is much when God is in it.

Little is much when God is in it.

Let's turn in our Bibles to John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Holy Father, this morning our hearts rejoice in the Lord Jesus.

And our desire this morning as we have sung, and our desire this morning as we open the

scriptures that you have given to us, is that the thing that resonates the most with our soul

is the person of our Savior.

That as we study the Word, and there are details here that you want us to know and apply and understand,

but as we study the Word, our greatest desire is this,

is that our hearts would grow in our love for the Lord Jesus Christ

and our longing for the day that we will see Him face to face.

I confess that the responsibility of preaching is not one that I can accomplish in my own flesh.

And I'm thankful for the truth of your word that never changes.

I'm thankful for the indwelling Spirit, both in my heart and in the hearts of your people,

that cares deeply about lifting up the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I'm thankful for the prayers of your people,

humble, dependent, expectant on you doing a work that glorifies your name.

And so we thank you in advance for what you will do this morning,

and we ask that the remembrance of our study and our time together

would make a difference in the week that lies ahead,

should you tarry and give us life.

And I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

As we take up this passage this morning,

I want you to understand that we are looking at the only one of the miracles of Jesus

that is recorded in all four Gospels.

That's pretty interesting.

Because if you have done any studies in the Gospels,

you understand that three of the four carry the commonality of dealing with a broad look at the life,

and particularly the public ministry of Christ.

John is different in that John's Gospel is focused almost exclusively on arguing the point

or making the point clear to us that Jesus is the Son of God,

that believing in Him we might have everlasting life.

It's not that the other Gospels don't have an interest in us seeing Christ as our Savior,

but John is focused in a very narrow sense of bringing us face to face with the person of Christ

as our Lord and Savior.

And so as we take up this passage this morning,

there is something that should immediately stand out in our thinking,

and you immediately say,

all right, this has bearing on me.

This passage is important for me in terms of my appreciating the Lord Jesus Christ

and my being affected by that truth.

Let me share something with you that I read earlier this week that was convicting to me.

J.C. Ryle, a pastor of a previous generation, wrote this.

He said,

I'm afraid that many Christians in our day have lost sight of Christ.

Oh, they talk about His salvation, but not about the Savior.

They talk about redemption as a theological truth,

but they don't talk about the Redeemer.

They talk about Christ's work and His power,

but they really don't focus on Christ Himself.

This is a great fault,

and one that accounts for much of the dry and shriveled spirit

that infuses the religious lives of so many people who profess faith.

If ever you would grow in grace and have joy and peace and abundance,

beware that you do not fall into this error of focusing on the details rather than the person.

Cease to regard the gospel merely as a collection of dry doctrine or historical facts.

Look at it rather as the revelation of the living and mighty Savior that you may know personally.

Cease to regard the gospels as a mere set of philosophical propositions

or hints at how to live a more productive and profitable life,

how to get along with other people, etc.,

and find in it instead a glorious and personal friend.

The leading subject of all that we study

is to be the loving heart of our actual Savior.

And I read that to you this morning.

The leading subject and focus of the sermon this morning, I trust,

is not the details of the feeding of the 5,000,

actually probably 20,000,

not the bread, not the loaves, and all those little things,

but it is the loving heart of our Lord Jesus

who is your Savior this morning

and the person that is most prized and most significant in your life.

So as we dive into this passage this morning,

I want you to have an understanding that it is recorded here

so that we, as believers, can be affected the same way the disciples were.

And I encourage you to know that it may be that the impact,

that the lesson that we have may take place over time.

I say that because if you will remember from your study in the Synoptic Gospels,

after Jesus fed the 5,000, later they're on a little trip,

and Jesus said,

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.

And what did they immediately think?

Oh, we didn't pack lunch, and Jesus is upset with us.

And it says,

And they didn't figure out that if He could handle feeding the 5,000,

lunch was no problem for Him.

And so this morning as we look at our passage,

I want you to understand that John's focus is helping us see

the significance of our Savior

and the blessing we have in our relationship with Him.

So let's kind of step into the text.

Let me read a portion of it,

and then we'll begin learning to see things like Jesus.

After this, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee,

which is the Sea of Tiberias.

And a large crowd was following Him

because they saw the signs that He was doing on the sick.

Jesus went up onto the mountain,

and there He sat down with His disciples.

Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

And lifting up His eyes then,

and seeing the large crowd was coming toward Him,

Jesus said to Philip,

Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?

He said this to test Him,

for He Himself knew what He would do.

Well, as we step into the passage and begin,

I want you to recognize that that little phrase

or little statement that's made after this

really has a lot of detail underneath it

that is appropriate for us to take some time

and get a handle on.

We learn from Matthew, Mark, and Luke

that Jesus actually,

following what we found recorded in John chapter 5

John 5 · chapter mention

and His interaction with the Pharisees,

had continued to run into growing adversity

and objection from the religious leaders.

And as a result,

instead of working in the direct proximity of Jerusalem,

His ministry had kind of stepped away

to some of the outlying cities, villages.

And during this time,

as He was ministering in these areas,

He was engaged not only in the interaction

that He had with people,

but He also, during this time,

sent out His disciples two by two,

and they went out into all the outlying communities,

and they preached the kingdom.

They preached the coming of the Messiah.

Repent, for Messiah is at hand.

Repent, because the issues of your heart

are going to be dealt with.

And as a result of this ministry,

you'll remember that the pressure

that was growing on Jesus

also grew on the disciples.

And so they became tired and fatigued

in the process of ministry,

and understandably,

we know that as a result of the pressure

that they were under,

they began to need some rest and some break.

They needed a break from what was going on.

As a result of this,

Jesus proposed,

let's step away

and let's get a little bit of time to ourselves

so we can kind of take a breather

and get reoriented in ministry.

It's an appropriate thing to do.

All of us need rest

and a break on occasion.

And here is Jesus planning this,

and He says,

all right, let's step into a boat.

And they took off on their journey in this boat.

It was only about 10 miles across the lake,

Sea of Galilee,

and it wasn't that long of a distance.

The people, however,

did not want to lose sight

or the presence of Christ.

And so there was a throng of people

that as they were making their slow journey

in that boat,

they were kind of running along the side

and kind of tracking the boat.

They kind of had an idea where it was going,

and they were running along the side of the lake

to stop wherever Jesus eventually ended up stopping.

We read there that the crowd followed Him,

not because they were interested in spiritual issues,

but they'd seen the miracles.

Look at verse 2.

The large crowd was following Him

because they saw the signs

that He was doing on the sick.

They were impressed with the power

that Jesus was displaying.

Now look in verse 3.

It says,

Jesus went up the mountain,

and there He sat down with His disciples.

Eventually, they landed at a place

where Jesus said,

all right, this will do it.

And off they went,

just kind of up away from the lake,

a little distance from it,

and they stopped,

and they just kind of rested there.

And you can imagine the disciples

having spent this time

in evangelistic work throughout the area

and having seen the crowds

and the incessant pressure

that the crowd brought,

they were thinking,

this is a time for us to get away,

and we can be quiet.

I don't know exactly

what the kids were.

I do too.

I have an idea.

I remember when the kids

came back from the vacation,

not from vacation,

but from the missions trip,

most all of them slept the next day.

Am I right?

Is that correct?

Wave at me.

They were exhausted.

Many of them came home

and just crashed,

and instead of scampering off

for the next activity,

they were bushed.

And so here are these disciples

in the same frame,

tired, exhausted,

and decided,

hey, we need to rest.

Jesus looks at this crowd,

and he stops

and immediately turns

to his disciples in particular.

It says there in verse 5,

lifting up his eyes,

then in seeing the large crowd

was coming toward him,

Jesus said to Philip,

where are we to buy bread

so that these people may eat?

And you can kind of just imagine

how Philip felt at that point.

He had kind of anticipated.

How many of you began counting on vacation

before it actually gets there?

I mean, we're all there, aren't we?

Jack, are you going on vacation here soon?

I see Carrie and her husband here.

Are you going with them too?

You're planning on this?

Okay.

I mean, we began planning for the,

oh man, I'm going to be able to relax,

and I won't have to answer the phone.

And the disciples were kind of,

you can imagine them settling in,

and they look,

and they see the crowd coming up the hill

towards them,

and they go,

oh, you've got to be kidding me.

I do want you to understand something.

Ministering to the needs of others

can grow to be exhausting.

It does.

It does get to us.

And Jesus recognized that,

and yet,

and so I should say,

he planned on having this time

where his disciples would get to unwind

and decompress a little bit

and relax.

So here we have the crowd

following Jesus,

and Jesus,

when he sees them coming towards him,

instead of dismissing the crowd

and saying,

hey, why don't you guys get out of here?

What we find here is that

he recognizes their concern

and their need,

and he steps in to meet it.

Look at this.

There in verse 5 again,

he turns to Philip,

he says,

where are we to buy bread

so that these people may eat?

How many of you recognize in America

we are seldomly very far

from an outlet

where we can purchase food?

I mean,

no matter where it is,

unless you're deciding

you're going to go on

a wilderness journey

for a week or something like that,

most of us can find something,

and for us to be hungry is what?

To go past 1230, right?

It's like,

oh, I'm starved.

I'm 30.

You know,

we kind of obsess about the thing,

and here these people

had walked all that distance

around the lake.

They'd been following Jesus,

and Jesus looks at them,

and he knows what's on their heart.

He knows how they felt.

And recognizing that,

he was willing to address

the physical need that they had.

So I want you to understand something.

Ministering to other people

ends up sometimes

meeting their basic needs

in advance of spiritual needs.

In advance of spiritual needs.

I know that next Saturday,

because the announcement went out

to small groups,

Greg, Bernard, and Connie,

I'm going to be involved

in that as well.

Well, we're going to take

a little morning stroll

and provide oatmeal

to people that are living

in some less ideal circumstances

than we are.

And you think to yourself,

well, why start there?

Well, that's where Jesus started.

He met the needs of people

that in some senses

had no interest at all

in who he was.

They were just attracted

to the externals.

Nevertheless, we find here

is Jesus ready to meet those needs

and not to do that

with a critical

and a kind of sarcastic spirit

towards them.

I want you to mark something else

that you find there in the passage.

I love the question

that Jesus asked Philip.

Philip looked at the crowd

and I have no doubt

that probably,

I don't know for sure,

but I would imagine

Philip, like the rest of us,

we're tired,

we're exhausted,

we're thinking we get a break

and here's the crowd

coming up the hill towards us

and Jesus turns to us

and say,

hey, what are you going

to do about this?

Now, when Jesus asked

the question to Philip,

Philip immediately looked

at this crowd

and while we hear

the word 5,000,

understand that the 5,000

identifies male, adult,

not the rest of the crowd.

Bible scholars estimate

that this crowd

was somewhere

in the proximity

of about 20,000 people.

20,000 people.

I know when we have

Thanksgiving dinner,

there's a lot of food

that gets piled up

and Thanksgiving dinner

here at the church,

probably 3,350,

that's small potatoes

compared to 20,000.

And here,

Philip looks out

at this crowd

and he sees 20,000 people

and you know,

he doesn't understand

really what is underlying

in Jesus' question.

He looks at the crowd

and he says,

hey,

200 denarii

would not buy enough bread

for each of them

to get a little.

What's 200 denarii?

A denarii was generally

a working man's wage

for one day.

And so it's saying,

I want you to understand

that 200 days of work

would not provide

for everyone

in this 20,000 crowd

to actually have

a bite or two.

We're not talking about

a full meal

that would satisfy.

We're talking about

just a little bit.

I think

by comparison

to what happens

when our people

have gone to

biblical counseling training

over in Lafayette

and I think they have

between 12,

1600,

something like that,

Pastor Saul.

And they feed people

there in shifts,

don't they?

There's so many people

there that they have

them come through

the gymnasium

in different time frames

and they have tables

stacked with the food.

That's only 1,200,

1,600.

It's nothing compared

to 20,000.

And so I want you

to recognize

as Philip looks

at this situation,

he is immediately

overwhelmed

by the reality

of what is being asked

of him

and he can't imagine

meeting the need.

I want you to know

that ministry

will take us

to a place

that is beyond

our ability

and our resources.

I want you to mark

that down

and have it clear

in your heart.

Ministry will take you

to a place

that is beyond

your ability

and your resources.

When you have

a heart for Christ

and you end up

interacting

with the needs

of people,

recognize

that your calling

and your ministry

will take you

to a place

that is beyond

what you can imagine

and what your

natural resources are.

Well, I want you

to understand

there's something else

in the story

and that is grasping

his sufficiency

because the story

is not really

about five loaves

and two fishes

and a little boy

that was willing

to sacrifice those

for the sake

of other people.

It's all about

Jesus and his

sufficiency.

So pick up

in verse 8 and 9.

One of his disciples,

Andrew,

Simon Peter's brother,

said to him,

there is a boy

here who has

five barley loaves

and two fish,

but what are they

for so many?

Philip was the

kind of the

glasses less

than half full

dude

because when

Jesus asked him

the question,

he says,

this is out of

our control.

It's bigger

than we can handle.

We can't solve

the problem.

Andrew,

a little bit more

of the mathematician,

he must have been

running through

the crowd figuring out,

hey, do you guys

have something

you could share?

One boy,

that's all we have

record of,

one boy had

five barley loaves

and two fish.

That's it.

We don't know

the story of

why he had that food,

we just know

that it was there

and as a result

of that,

as you read there,

Jesus immediately

in verse 10 says,

have the people

sit down.

Now,

can you imagine

the sinking feeling

that went through

the disciples

when Jesus said that?

I mean,

the question,

how are we going

to take care

of this problem?

one of the disciples

says,

this is bigger

than we can solve.

We don't have

adequate resources.

And in one

of the gospels

it says,

why don't you

send them back

to town

so they can get

what they need?

And Jesus then,

in the face of

all the information

that he has,

says this,

why don't you

have them sit,

when do we sit

down for dinner?

When it's ready?

When it's ready

to be served?

When there's,

if there's not

adequate resources,

do you invite people

to sit down?

And what's the answer?

No.

That's kind of like

setting the table

for absolute failure.

And so here's Jesus,

he says to the disciples,

have them sit down.

Talk about building

expectation

in the hearts of people.

It's one thing

to recognize

the crowd's hunger.

That's easy to identify.

It's another thing

to say,

I can meet the need.

And that's exactly

what Jesus did.

I love

that Jesus owned

the very practical

consideration

or concerns

of this great throng.

And so I want you

to recognize this morning

as you think about

the Lord Jesus

that if Jesus cared

about what people

would eat,

you can be absolutely

certain that he cares

about where we spend

eternity.

He cares

about us.

He cares about

our personal needs.

He's interested

in our well-being.

And he pays attention

to those details.

This last week,

previous week,

Pastor Andrew

and the missions team

were down in Louisville

and they spent the week

for the most part

around Muslims.

Am I correct?

And they were able

to go into a mosque

and watch the Muslims pray

and they had meals

in the homes of Muslims.

They had great opportunity

to interact with Islam.

The idea in Islam

that God cares

for you personally

is just way beyond

the pale.

That doesn't register

with them.

I'll never forget

talking with a Muslim

about my faith

in the Lord Jesus Christ

and my confidence

in Him.

And when I told him

that God loved me

personally,

he absolutely

burst out laughing.

He just,

ha!

ha!

He was beyond himself.

It was just,

it was a joke.

He said,

I cannot believe

the arrogance

of your thinking

that God cares

about you personally.

Well, hey,

here is Jesus

looking at a crowd.

By the way,

out of this crowd,

how many of the 20,000

were actually going

to end up being followers?

Does anybody remember

how John 6 concludes?

12.

After Jesus preached

His zinger sermon,

you know,

He was not a

Joel Osteen

kind of guy.

He kind of cut

to the chase

and let them know

they needed to be saved

from the brokenness

of their sin.

And as a result,

what happened?

That is a hard saying.

I'm not real comfortable

with what you're saying

about my own soul.

And so off they went.

You know,

Jesus wasn't saying

to the disciples,

I want you to feed

those who are going

to be believers.

I'm going to have you

take care of just

a certain select group.

No.

His love and His kindness

extends to all.

And here we find

that Jesus,

looking at the needs

of people,

He was willing to meet

their physical need.

And I want you

to understand

that beyond that

physical need,

He is interested

in the eternal destiny

and the spiritual needs

of every person.

After the crowd

had been seated,

it says there

in the passage,

Jesus in verse 11,

then took the loaves

and when He had given thanks,

He distributed them

to those who were seated.

Now how did He do that?

If we were relying

on Amazon to do it,

we'd drone it in, right?

Little zzzz,

there it be.

Meal, meal, meal, meal, meal.

And by the way,

they did sit in 50s and 100s.

Do you like the

organizational structure there?

Little groups,

little groups all over

the place,

all over the hill.

What happened was

the disciples

lined up

in front of Jesus

and Jesus gave them food

and they took it out

to the crowd.

Now,

I don't know

how much they took.

I don't know

how it was packaged.

I don't know

anything about portion control.

What I do know

is that when the story ends,

they'd had over

12 baskets full

of remnants

that they picked up.

I was doing a little bit

of limited computation

because that's risky for me,

but I was kind of imagining

what kind of logistics

would go into

feeding 20,000

adequate food.

Hey,

there's one thing,

I bet you none of them

were kind of on a diet

that day.

Do you follow?

Oh, no.

No.

Gluten-free?

No.

By the way,

they were into it.

When you're hungry,

how many of you know

that you'll eat

almost anything?

Can I say that again slowly?

Because some of you

have dietary restrictions

that are self-imposed.

It's like,

oh,

I don't want broccoli.

Not hungry.

I don't want peas.

Not hungry.

I can guarantee you

after having hoofed it

all the way around the lake

when it came time

for dinner or lunch

or whatever it was,

everybody,

I mean,

everything was just

God prepared.

It was just phenomenal.

And so here are the disciples

lined up in front of Jesus

and I'm in,

first one in line

sees five loaves

and two fishes,

right?

And he thinks,

well,

I don't know

what the rest of them

are doing,

but at least I get a start.

And then the second one

and the third one

and the fourth one

and out they go

to the crowd

and they're thinking

five loaves

and two fishes

and they're looking

and seeing the rest

of the disciples.

Guess what would have been

an anxious moment for me?

After I dropped

my first load

going back for seconds.

Do you follow that?

I remember

in previous years

when we have served

the women's tea

and whoever's done

the cooking on that

has always worked out

that there's been plenty

but being a boy

who grew up

in boarding school,

I want you to know

that I learned

the hard way

that if you wanted seconds

you had to be really quick.

You got that?

And so I have a tendency,

I want to eat it fast

and I want to get back

to the window

and hope that there's

more left over

for somebody,

you know,

you follow that?

And so can you imagine

the disciples walking out there

and dumping their first load

and thinking,

whoa.

I took care

of the little pile here,

I wonder if there's

any more coming.

And time after time

after time

after time

they went back

and there they were,

they were providing food

for all of this

throng of people.

How did it end up?

I think it's pretty interesting

when you stop

and think about it.

How many disciples

were there?

Twelve.

How many baskets

of leftovers

do you think

Jesus is good with math?

Huh?

I think he was.

And I just love that,

it struck me,

you know.

Let me kind of put

these things together

in practical terms

for you.

I want you to understand

that Christ will put you

in places where you need

to meet the needs

of others.

Will you mark that down?

If you are his child,

Christ will put you,

it's not on the screen,

you're going to try

to spell it out,

Christ will put you

in places where you need

to meet the needs

of others.

Why did he save me?

Why did he save me?

For his own pleasure.

And one of the things

that brings him pleasure

is seeing his child

end up meeting

the needs of other people.

That's going to happen.

If you are here today

and you know the Lord

Jesus Christ,

let me tell you,

this beyond a shadow

of a doubt,

his intention

and your pleasure

is going to be found

in meeting the needs

of other people.

And by the way,

everybody look up

so you don't miss this

because I'm talking to you.

If you become

a navel gazer

and a self-focused person,

the unintended consequences

of being that

is going to be this.

You grow unhappy

in direct proportion

to your unwillingness

to help and serve Christ

in caring for other people.

Do you get that?

What did I say?

When you say no

to being part

of what God is doing

and meeting the needs

of other people,

you become

an unhappier person.

Christ will put you

in places

to meet the needs

of other people.

Secondly,

I want you to recognize

that Christ will use

your inadequacy

for his glory

when you yield to him.

Christ will use

your inadequacy

for his glory

when you yield to him.

Stop and think about that.

Here were the disciples.

They had 20,000 people

in front of them.

Jesus turns to Philip

and says,

hey, what are we going

to do about this?

Philip, the mathematician,

says, oh, way beyond us.

200 days' wages

is just going to get

a taste

to each of these individuals.

And then on top of that,

Christ turns around

and says,

tell them to sit down.

Christ will use

your inadequacy

for his glory

when you yield to him.

I want you to understand

another fact

that you need

to recognize here.

Christ will supply

your needs

as you minister

in his stead.

Christ will supply

your needs

as you minister

in his stead.

And let me put this together

in two different ways.

For one,

I want you to recognize

that Christ supplied

what the disciples needed

to meet the needs

of other people.

Do you follow that?

Where does it come,

where does it come

that you end up

having the adequate resource

with which to minister

and encourage

other broken people?

Number one,

it comes from things

he has taught you

in your own journey

and in your own heartaches.

You keep your finger

there in John

and turn over

to 2 Corinthians 1.

2 Corinthians 1.

In verse 4,

it says,

who comforts us

in all our affliction

so that we may be able

to comfort those

who are in any affliction

with the comfort

with which we ourselves

are comforted by God.

How many of you understand

that one of the things

that is characteristic

of our Savior's economy

and ministry

is that He providentially

puts you

into situations

and into relationships

with people

who need what He

has helped you learn already?

You've gone through

a heartache in your life.

You've had difficulties

with your children.

You've had some difficulties

at work.

Whatever the challenge is,

in God's economy,

He's going to bring

people up against you

that you're going

to bump into

and you end up

having seen the grace

of God

help you through

that thing

and you can say,

hey, let me talk

to you about

how Jesus helps.

You can speak

from experience.

You can speak

from seeing the Word

of God

playing out in your life

as He has strengthened

and enriched you

and supported you.

You can speak

to that.

So Christ

will supply

your need

as you minister

in His stead.

But there's another piece

that I want you

to recognize.

Not only will He

supply what you need

to meet the needs

of others,

but He will also

supply your need,

your personal need.

Did the disciples

need to be fed

that evening

like the rest

of the crowd?

What's the answer?

Yes.

Were they as hungry

as the rest

of the crowd?

Yes.

Were they as exhausted

from ministry

as you can understand

they would be?

I think about the men

again serving

the women's tea.

It's fun.

It's fun.

But when the day

is all over,

guess what the rest

of the guys

are like in the back?

I mean,

running back and forth,

it's great.

I love the women's tea.

But, you know,

eventually the wheels

get a little tired.

You know,

it's like,

huh, okay.

How many more

water trips

does she really?

Okay.

And,

did I say something?

Yeah, I did.

Here's the truth.

Follow me.

Jesus will supply

your need

as you minister

in his stead.

He will not leave

you exhausted

and broken.

When you step up

to be his instrument

in the lives

of other people,

you can count on him

supplying what you

need personally.

Now,

I want you to

understand something.

The main lesson

of this passage

that we find there

in John chapter 6

John 6 · chapter mention

is not about bread.

It's not about

boys' lunches.

It's not about

a mom that had

the forethought

to pack ahead.

It's not about

organizational structure

and how you put people

in 50s and 100s

to take care

of all the needs.

It's really about

the fact that

the Lord Jesus

is the one

who can meet

the need

of every person's

heart and he

pays attention

to the real things

that are going on

in your life.

And I'm excited

about that

because I know this.

Jesus who cares

about food

cares about eternity

and he's interested

enough that he

is willing

to deal with

the smaller things

in a person's life

in order

to lay also

the groundwork

for the larger things.

Isn't that the way

we should be?

We willing

to meet

the smaller things

so we can be

instruments

in Christ's stead

to meet

the larger things.

I love the fact

that as I read

this passage

I am reminded

that this is my

Savior and my Jesus.

I get excited.

I get excited.

When I stop

and think

that the story

here is

in a sense

just a little

picture of just

how wonderful

my Savior is.

That's my Savior.

That's my Jesus.

And when I stop

and think about

the fact

that he is able

to meet

such an incredible need

and to do it

in such a simple way

I'm just overwhelmed

when I think

man there's no problem

too big for him.

There's no problem

too big for him.

And so as I read

this passage

my heart is lifted up

and I say

you know what?

If Jesus

can do this

for others

and he is willing

to use me

to be his instrument

then my life

is wrapped up

in finding

my pleasure

and my satisfaction

in being part

of what he's doing.

Let me ask you

a question.

In two ways

I'm curious

this morning

whether or not

your walk

with Christ

is marked

by a confidence

in his provision

and the certainty

of his meeting

the needs of others

because of what

he's doing

in your life

that you do not

have to be pressed

and pushed

to share the sweetness

of the gospel

with other people.

Do you understand

what I just said?

He is capable.

He is capable.

And are you finding

his capability

playing out

in your life

so that you are ready?

I'll bet you

by the third

or fourth time

walking back

to get another load

of food

the disciples

were not kind of

walking forward

in hesitancy.

They were all over it

like I am going

at more food.

He'll do it.

I'm trusting him.

Are you confident

in his power

because of what

you've seen him do

in your life

that you are

passing that

enthusiasm

and affection

onto other people?

Secondly,

I don't know.

There may be

some of you

that are sitting

here this morning

that have grown up

hearing the Bible stories.

You've memorized

all the Juana verses.

You've been through

the routine

but the truth

of the matter is

you have never

come to grips

with the reality

that you desperately

need Christ

in your heart.

And this morning

there is a

Holy Spirit

driven

discontentment

and sourness

with life

that cannot

be remedied

apart from

coming to Jesus

as your personal

Savior.

How can I preach

about Jesus

and not tell you

that he came

into the world

to be the Savior

of sinners

and you are here

today and you

need Christ

and there is no

remedy in your

own efforts?

And the Spirit

of God calls you

this morning

to repent

and believe

in Jesus Christ

alone.

And I would

plead with you

if you are here

and don't know

Christ

now is

the time.

Let's close

in prayer.

as you

Thank you.