There’s a Lad Here - 9/2/26 - Meadows Baptist Church Missions Conference - Bro. Gary Crisp

Welcome to [music] the podcast of

Meadows Baptist Church of Walnut Cove,

North Carolina. We're so glad [music]

you joined us today. If you enjoy

today's message, be sure to subscribe,

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friends. Now, let's join Pastor [music]

Charlie Branch with a word from God.

Amen. Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed it

and uh thank the Lord for everything

that he's done. And I do hope and pray

that something has been said or done

been a help to you these days. And um

if if anybody's got any help, I promise

you it was him that did it. Amen. And uh

and I'm glad he's able to.

>> Nothing that we have need of that he

can't help us with. And I'm thankful for

that. Amen. Take your Bibles tonight.

Let's go to the book of John. John

chapter number six this evening. John

chapter number six. While you're turning

appreciate brother Todd McKon.

I'm going I'm going to behave not say

say nothing mean or anything of that

nature. He probably would if he was up

here, but uh I'm not going to do him

that way.

I appreciate him more than he knows.

Dear friend of mine. Uh but he uh he

does as much for Prayer Baptist Missions

as probably anybody else does. And I

appreciate him. I appreciate him and his

ministry and what he what he does. I I'd

like to think that he he drove all the

way back from Robinsville out here just

to hear me preach. But um I know better

than that. Some grandb babies there.

What brought him back? Amen. But uh

I appreciate it anyway. Amen. John

chapter number six tonight. Sure has

been good to be with you. I hope that uh

you'll take everything that the Lord's

done these days and carry it on in the

future and um continue to grow from it

and and let God continue to work on your

hearts.

Uh we passed out the faith promise cards

just a little while ago. Let me say

something about them real quickly. Uh,

that's another thing that you won't find

necessarily in the scripture.

Just because something's not in there

don't mean it's not

good to use or nothing wrong with it.

Uh, somebody came up to me one time

trying to bring an accusation about

something that I said that wasn't

actually

the word wasn't actually in the book. I

tell you what it was. It's the rapture.

I preached about the rapture. And he

said, "You know, the rapture ain't in

there."

>> I said, "Well, that's true. The word

rapture, R A P T U R E, that that's not

in your King James Bible, but uh caught

up together

>> is what rapture is."

>> I looked at him and I said, "Listen, I

got to ask you a question. You got a

problem with the word Bible?"

>> He said, "Not at all." I said, "It ain't

in there."

>> Just because something ain't right there

record, I mean, that don't mean there

something wrong with it. So

those those cards are a good tool, a

real good tool.

>> And um trust that you'll be praying

about that.

>> Uh [snorts] he's passed them out to you.

Take it somewhere and pray about it. And

a little challenge here. Leave the

calculator out of it.

>> Yes.

>> There's nothing faith about it. If we

budget it and take the calculator and

figure it up and what we can after after

all the bills are paid and the groceries

are bought and if there's anything left,

we'll put that down for our faith

promise. No, why don't you trust the

Lord? Ask him about it and let him uh

let him guide you in that. Amen. I'll

probably say a little bit more about

that in the message tonight. John

chapter number six,

I'll begin reading in verse number one

tonight. The Bible said, "After these

things, Jesus went over the Sea of

Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias,

and a great multitude followed him bes

because they saw his miracles, which he

did on them that were diseased." And

Jesus went up into a mountain, and there

he sat with his disciples. And the

Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and

saw a great company come unto him, he

saith unto Philillip, when shall we buy

bread that these may eat? This he said

to prove him, for he himself knew what

he would do?

Philip answered him, 200 penny worth of

bread is not sufficient for them, that

every one of them may take a little. One

of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's

brother, saith unto him,"There

is a lad here which hath five barley

loaves and two small fishes. But what

are they among so many?" And Jesus said,

"Make the men sit down." Now there was

much grass in the place. So the men sat

down in number, about 5,000.

Jesus took the loaves, and when he had

given thanks, he distributed to the

disciples. and the disciples to them

that were set down. And likewise of the

fishes as much as they would. When they

were filled, he said unto his disciples,

"Gather up the fragments that remained,

that nothing be lost." Therefore, they

gathered them together, and filled 12

baskets with the fragments of the five

barley loaves, which remained over and

above unto them that had eaten. And then

those men when they had seen the miracle

that Jesus did said, "This is of a truth

that prophet that should come into the

world." Let's pray. Father, thank you

again for this great privilege you've

given us to be here, not only tonight,

but Lord, these services since Sunday

morning. It sure has been a blessing to

me. And I'm grateful for the

opportunity. Lord, thank you for Brother

Charlie and Sister Abby and the kids.

And thank you for this church and each

family, each one that makes up this

congregation. I pray rich blessings upon

them. Lord, I'm excited about what

you're doing here and what lies ahead

for your people at Meadows Baptist

Church. God, give them a greater vision,

Lord, than they've ever had before.

Lord, give them a greater burden, Lord,

than they've ever carried before. and

help them to reach, Lord, farther with

the gospel than they've ever reached

before. Lord, I ask you now as we stand

and look into the word of God, would you

please help us, God? Would you touch me

Aresh once again? And God, give me

liberty to preach and whatever you do,

Lord. We'll try. We'll try our best,

God, to thank you for it and give you

every bit of the glory, Lord, for it's

in Jesus name we pray. And amen. And

we're looking at some familiar scripture

to most of you tonight here in John

chapter number six. The miracle of

feeding the multitude.

When I look at this text and I look at a

couple other parallel texts, I I see

that this is one of the greatest

miracles that Jesus ever did while he's

here on earth. Brother Todd and I have

talked about this many times and he

actually gave me a couple couple of

these thoughts. So I'll give credit

where

but there's a couple of reasons why I

would believe that this is one of the

greatest miracles that Jesus ever did.

First

of all, the miracle was with more people

than any other miracle Jesus did.

>> We're told in the text is about 5,000

men. Another writer said 5,000 men plus

women and children. And somebody a whole

lot smarter than me said there could

have easily been 15 to 20,000.

One even said there could have been as

many as 40,000

people gathered there together and

watched what Christ did that day.

the greatest multitude

watched the greatest miracle that that

one of the greatest miracles that Jesus

ever did and it had an effect. Verse 14

said then those men when they seen the

miracle when they saw the miracle that

Jesus did said of a truth this is that

prophet that should come into the world.

Another thing about this miracle outside

of the resurrection of Christ, this is

the only other miracle that all four

gospel writers gives their account of

all four of them. This one and the

resurrection is the only two miracles

that all four writers told us about.

That says something. But then here's

probably one of the greatest reasons

that I would believe this is one of the

greatest miracles is that where most

miracles that Jesus did were simply

miracles of restoration.

>> When he gave sight back to the blind, he

restored their vision.

>> Even when he raised the dead, he's

restoring life.

>> But this is not a miracle of

restoration. This is actually a miracle

of creation.

He going to make fish that's never swam

in the water.

>> Yeah.

>> He makes bread that's never been in an

oven.

>> Only God can create. Amen.

>> And when I saw this, I happened to

notice a little detail that has proven

to be a great help to me and I hope that

it'll be a help to you. I saw in this

great miracle that Jesus did.

I saw where a lad

got to be a part of what God did.

>> He didn't just watch what God did. He

got to participate

in what God did. I want to ask you a

question. Are you interested tonight in

being a part of what God is doing?

>> Now, somebody's going to think or say,

"But preacher, God's not doing much."

>> I beg to differ with you.

>> I believe God's at work as much today as

he's ever been at work. And there are

places around the world tonight where

God's still doing some big things.

>> And I think we're telling on ourselves

if we say that God is not doing much

where we are.

>> I'll ask you, is God doing anything

where you are?

>> If the answer is no or not much, it's

probably not his fault.

I read where Jesus was in Nazareth and

the Bible is clear. It said he did not

do many mighty works there. He didn't do

much in Nazareth. He did some big things

in other places, but not in Nazareth.

Why did he not do much in Nazareth?

Wasn't his fault.

>> It was because of their unbelief.

If God is not doing anything big where

you are, it could be our fault

>> in our unbelief.

>> I want to go out of this this year. I

want to go out of my life believing that

God is still on the throne and God's

still able. Amen.

>> Amen.

>> Amen. He's still able to do big things.

>> And if God's going to do something,

wouldn't wouldn't you like to be a part

of it? Surely you would. We've got by

far too many spectators that just want

to watch

>> and not too many people wanting to

participate in being a part.

>> Amen. We don't need no more spectators.

We need some participants.

>> This little lad didn't get to just

spectate. He got to participate. Amen.

Yes.

>> I started looking at this lad and if he

could have a part in what God did that

day, surely

surely we could have a part of what

God's doing in this day.

>> Amen. A lad,

I thought they got to be some help in

this. And I found some. The first place

I looked, I I love to do word studies. I

I'm not good at it, but I like to try. I

I listened to years to to uh some men

that could take a word and dissect it

and and bring out truths and nuggets

that would feed your soul. And I I've

tried that a few times and I've just I

don't do very well, but I thought I'd

give it a shot here. So, I looked at the

word lad. I thought maybe there's

something in that. And so, the first

place I went to, I just I went to the

English dictionary. I thought maybe

there's something there. And uh the

English definition of the word lad,

y'all ready?

Small child.

I thought, well, I don't see nothing in

that. So, I'll go to the Greek. Got my

concordance out and I started looking it

up and and here's the Greek word

pedarian.

You know what it means?

Small child.

I I didn't get much help there. So, I

gave up on the word and I started

looking at the boy. When I started

looking at him, I found a few things

that helped me. First of all, I noticed

this about him. He is little.

It's a given, isn't it? But now, don't

give up just yet. I'm not thinking about

stature

>> or size or age.

I notice some other things about him

that tells me he's little. He's little

in the fact that first of all, he's

unnamed.

>> Yeah.

>> We don't know what his name is. He had

one.

His mama or somebody gave him one just

like you was given one.

>> I'd say there's a good chance the Lord

knowed what his name was.

>> But we don't know what his name is.

>> I'll be honest with you, that that kind

of helped me right there. Here's

somebody that got to be a part of what

God did that didn't have a big name.

>> That wasn't well known.

>> Amen. You don't have to have a big name.

You don't have to be well known to be a

part of what God

>> is doing. As a matter of fact, if we

ain't careful, we get too concerned

about building up our name

>> and not his name.

>> Amen. Hey, listen. It's Wednesday night.

got the meetings right now over with.

And when this thing closes out and you

don't know nothing about me, you've

missed nothing.

>> But if this thing's closed out and you

don't know more know more about Jesus

than what you did, we in bad shape.

>> It ain't about me. It's all about him.

Amen.

>> He's little in the fact that he's

unnamed. But then watch this. Also

notice he's little in the fact that for

the most part he's unnoticed.

>> Yeah. I mentioned that all four writers

gave their account of what happened that

day. Of course, under the inspiration of

the Holy Ghost. So, I flipped back and I

read Matthew's account of what happened

that day. And and Matthew don't mention

anything about a lad. Nothing.

So, I flipped over and I read Mark's

account.

Mark don't mention anything about a lad.

I read Luke's account.

Luke don't mention anything about a lad.

John is the only one that gives us any

idea where the bread and the fish came

from.

Only one. Now, y'all with me?

>> Oh, we're doing good tonight. It's only

about 12 minutes till 8. Y'all okay.

These men wrote as they were inspired.

>> You agree with that?

>> That book's Holy Ghost inspired.

>> But usually when God inspired these men

to pin down, there are some exceptions,

but usually when he inspired these men

to pin down, they pinned down what they

saw,

what they heard, what they witnessed.

And with that in mind, there's a good

chance Matthew never saw the lad.

There's a good chance Mark and Luke

wasn't there that day.

>> That's a different text. That's a

different thought for a different time.

>> But they wasn't there that day. But

whoever informed them, whether it was

Peter telling Mark or even if it was the

Holy Ghost,

>> they didn't see fit to tell Mark about

the lad.

>> Luke,

according to Luke chapter 1, he probably

Luke 1 · chapter mention

got most his information from

eyewitnesses

and of course the Holy Ghost. But nobody

mentioned to Luke anything about no lad.

>> I think he would have pinned it down.

John's the only one. That shouldn't be

surprising.

Usually where Jesus is right there's

where John is. Amen. And so there's a

good chance that nobody noticed him.

Maybe except John did.

>> It helps me in the fact that nobody has

to know what you're doing

>> to be a part of what God's doing.

>> You don't have to be in the spotlight.

You don't have to be the main

attraction. and everybody's attention be

on you, you can still be a part of what

God's doing and be in the background and

for the most part be unnoticed. However,

even though you may be unnoticed by man,

you'll never go unnoticed by God. AMEN.

AND THAT'S the one that matters. We're

not trying to impress man. We're not

trying to say, "Hey, look at me. Look

what I'M DOING. HERE'S MY PART. THIS

WOULDN'T EVER HAPPEN if it wasn't for

me." NO, WE WANT ALL EYES ON HIM. AMEN.

AND IF ALL EYES ARE ON HIM,

>> people going to get some mail.

>> Amen.

>> Here's somebody got to be a part of what

God did. That was number one, unnamed.

Number two, unnoticed. I noticed this

about him. He's little in the fact that

not only he's unnamed and unnoticed, but

here's somebody got to be a part of what

God did that was unnumbered.

Help [snorts] me out here, church. Let's

see if we can picture the scene. Great

multitudes gathered together. I mean,

there's literally thousands of people

there. Many of them's there for the

wrong reason. They're hoping to catch a

glimpse of a miracle. They're wanting to

see a performance, but regardless of why

they're there, they're there. Jesus

wants to feed them. He asked the

question, "When shall we buy bread that

these may eat?" I don't know who all is

exactly around them, but we know

Philillip's there.

>> Yeah.

>> And they look out over the crowd. My

what a crowd is gathered.

>> And they sum up the need. They decide

there's about, listen, 5,000

men.

[crying]

Men. When they summed up the size of the

crowd, when they summed up the need,

they counted the men.

>> He's a lad.

Watch this. Here's somebody that got to

be a part of what God did that day that

didn't even count.

>> Yeah.

>> I'm going to change that wording around

a little bit and see if this will help

you even a little more. Here's somebody

got to be a part of what God did that

day. That was no count. Yeah.

>> Amen.

>> Let me help you right here. You've been

wondering since Sunday. I'm going to

help you. You're looking at one tonight.

That's no count.

>> Amen. I really ought to be in hell.

>> Amen.

>> Nothing. Absolutely nothing good about

me except him.

>> Amen. And I want to be honest with you

and please don't let me hurt your

feelings. But you know who I'm looking

at tonight? I'm looking at a bunch of no

counts.

>> AMEN. YES, EVEN YOU. Every one of us

ought to be in hell tonight. A bunch of

no counts gathered here at Meadows

BAPTIST CHURCH. BUT WHAT A BLESSING.

HE'LL LET A BUNCH OF NO COUNTS HAVE A

LITTLE part in what he's doing. I say

bless the Lord for that. Amen.

>> Amen.

>> Here's what gets me every time I think

of it. God could have created beings to

do his will.

>> Yeah, that's right.

>> He could have created angels or some

other

>> perfect being that would not stumble,

that would not struggle, that would not

stutter. He could create something that

would do everything he did perfectly.

>> But he didn't do it. He let a bunch like

me and you

>> have the privilege,

>> have the honor of being a part of what

God is doing. Amen.

>> He'll let somebody like us have a part.

>> No count. I I looked at the lad and I

noticed that he's little. But I

continued looking and I saw a few other

things. I think this one's real

important. I happened to look at him and

I noticed this about him. Not only is he

little, he's listening.

>> Yeah.

>> Had to be.

>> Had to be. Again, let's see if we can

picture the scene. The multitudes

gathered. Notice this. Nobody's

preaching.

Nobody's teaching. Nobody's praying.

Nobody is demanding attention.

What's fixing to happen? They're fixing

to have a meal together. Is that right?

>> Yes.

Next time y'all get together for a

church meal, I want I want you to do

something. I want you to notice the

children.

Notice the youngans. I seen some tonight

down there this evening.

>> Children's always been children.

Regardless of centuries or time frame or

location, kids are kids.

>> They've always just been kids. That day

would have been no different if we'd

looked out over the crowd and seen all

these thousands of people. They'd been a

group of kids back yonder. They'd been a

group of kids back yonder. They'd been

playing and doing their little thing.

But if we can look real carefully right

there around where Jesus is,

he's asked the question, "When shall we

buy bread that these may eat?"

It don't look like a long period of time

until Andrew is going to come with the

lad

and he's going to say there's a lad here

which have five barley loaves and two

small fishes.

I'm concerned. I'm I'm interested. How

did that lad know that the Lord's

looking for bread?

How?

I don't think an announcement has been

made. Anybody have bread?

I don't think that happened. He's

talking to his disciples. They're having

a conversation. When shall we buy bread

that these me? Philip said, why 200

penny worth wouldn't be sufficient for

everybody just have a little bit? Here

comes Andrew.

Now, here's a lad that had to be close

enough to Jesus

to hear the Lord speak.

>> And because he's close enough to hear

the Lord speak, that's how he gets to be

a part of what God did that day.

>> He heard the Lord mention bread. Why?

He's got something with him. What's he

got? He looks, he's got some bread. Now,

the ideal would have been take that to

Jesus, would it not?

>> For some reason, it looks like he

couldn't get to Jesus. He does the next

best thing. He goes to one of his

disciples and it's, "Oh, Andrew, I can

almost see it. See if you can see it

with me. Excuse me, sir."

I don't want to give Andrew a bad rap.

He might have he might have said

something like this. "Not now, boy.

We're busy."

It's way us adults can be, ain't we? But

he's persistent. Excuse me, sir. What is

it, boy? I got some bread.

How much you got?

>> I got five barley loaves.

I'm amazed to be honest with you. I

really am. I'm amazed. Brother Todd

Andrew even brought him to Jesus.

>> I shouldn't be. Andrew is always

bringing somebody to Jesus. Amen. He's

one brought Peter to Jesus.

But he brings him to Jesus.

How do he know to offer his bread?

He had to be listening. Had to be close

enough to Jesus to hear what Jesus said.

Because of that, he got to be a part of

what God did that day. This is vital.

Y'all with me? I'm going to quit here in

a few minutes. But if you don't get

nothing else I say tonight, listen to

this question. It's it's important. How

close are you to Jesus tonight?

>> How close are you?

Listen, I commend you for being in

church on a Wednesday night. Some of you

come in here from work and you're tired

and um you really would like to be at

home and relaxing, getting ready to go

to bed, got to get up early in the

morning. I commend you for being at

church tonight. I really do. Thank you

for coming. But just because you're in

church on a Wednesday night, that really

don't mean you're really close to Jesus.

>> That's right.

>> We know how to put the show on, don't

we?

>> We know how to act the part.

>> Can I be honest with y'all? Y'all ain't

going y'all ain't going to have no

confidence in me. And that's really

okay. You don't need no confidence in

me.

But I've got up I've got up to preach

before,

but Charlie, I'm just being honest.

That's all right.

And I know how to go through the motions

and do the outline. And I know when to

lift my voice up. And I know when to

calm it down.

>> I've done that before. And I've been

feeling like I so far away from Jesus.

>> Tell it preacher.

>> Y'all ever get like that?

>> Help me now. Don't tell me I'm the only

one.

>> Surely I'm not the only one.

>> And we know how to do it. and make it

look good on the outside. So, just

because you're here tonight, that really

don't mean you're real close to Jesus.

But listen to me carefully. If you want

to be a part of what God's doing, you've

got to get close to him.

>> Think of all the voices that day.

There's there 15 20,000 people there.

Think of all the noise. Out of all the

noise. Out of all the voices, he heard

the right one.

>> He heard the master's voice. Amen.

>> And because he heard the master's voice,

here we are talking about him, preaching

about him 2,000 plus years later, he got

to be a part of what God did that day.

>> All of hell, all of the world is pulling

at you, trying to get you away from God,

trying to get you away from Jesus. I'm

telling you, it's a constant struggle.

It's a constant battle to try to stay

close to the Lord. Is it not?

>> Oh, help me now. IT'S IT'S HARD

SOMETIME. AND ALL YOU GOT TO do is just

quit trying. And you don't have to get

out in the world. You don't have to

start cussing. You don't have to START

DRINKING. JUST QUIT TRYING TO STAY CLOSE

TO HIM. And you know what you're going

to find? You're going to find you've

drifted.

>> Yeah.

>> You've gotten away from God. You didn't

mean to. You didn't want to. But here

you are now. It seems like God's a

million miles away. If if that's the

case, I can tell you who didn't move.

>> Yeah.

>> That's right. I know who didn't move.

>> It's me and you. That's right. It's

>> me and you. I'm just telling you though,

if we want to be a part of what God's

doing, we got to get close to him.

>> I challenge the church, get close to

you, preacher.

>> I challenge families, get close to one

another.

>> But please don't neglect the fact you

better get close to Jesus.

>> We need to be close to him. That little

lad had to be right up there near where

Jesus was. He wasn't playing back yonder

in the back somewhere. He had to be real

close

>> because he was close. Heard the Lord's

voice. He knew how he could be a part of

what God was doing. I have people ask

me, "Preacher, how do I know what God

would have me to do?" Got to get close

and hear his voice.

>> Yeah.

>> Amen.

>> Amen. I wish I could shout out some

orders. You know what I'd do? I'd send

this couple to Africa. I'd send this

couple to China. I that's my voice. You

don't need to hear my voice.

>> That's right.

>> When I'm preaching, I guess, but the

voice you're needing to hear is his.

>> Yeah.

>> Yes, sir.

>> He was listening. Little He's listening.

I got to give you this one. It's only 3

after 8, y'all. Okay, sir.

>> Brother Todd's going home tonight. He

said, "Don't preach long."

Oh, I'm trying, preacher. I'm trying.

He's little. He's listening and he's

limited.

Oh my.

If that been me, put yourself right here

with me. Lord's looking for bread.

I got some bread.

One, two, three, five.

I got five barley loaves. We got to

understand something about barley

loaves. Barley was a poor man's grain.

Yes.

>> Barley bread's a poor man's bread. One

preacher said it like this and he's

accurate. He said basically what he's

got five crackers.

>> This wasn't big loaves of bread like

your mama made. Got five crackers.

The Lord's looking for bread. If that

had been me, Brian, I think I know what

I would have done.

Too embarrassed to offer such a little

bit when the need's so great. I'd looked

in there and I'd probably hid that

behind me. I would have said, "Good

luck."

What would you have done?

I mean, so little.

The need is so great. What good's my

little bit going to do? It's not going

to change anything. I'll just keep it.

Oh my. But see, here's the key. in the

lad in the lad's hands in the lad's bag

or box or basket or whatever he had. You

know what that was? Five barley loaves.

That's what it was.

If Andrew touched it, you know what it

was when he got a hold of it? Five

barley loaves.

But when it got in Jesus hands,

>> it ain't five loaves no more.

>> You know what it is now? When Jesus gets

a hold of it, it's enough.

>> Amen. It's enough. Oh, wait a minute.

Now, they going to take up 12 baskets of

leftovers. So, I guess it's not just

enough. When it got IN JESUS' HANDS,

IT'S more than enough.

>> Amen.

>> And what little we've got in our hands.

That's all it is. IT'S JUST WHAT WE'VE

GOT. BUT IF WE CAN GET IT IN HIS HANDS,

IT BECOMES more than enough

>> when he gets a hold of

>> he's he's limited. He don't have much.

If I had given anything,

I probably wouldn't have. If id given

anything,

think I might know what I might have

done. He's little. He's listening. He's

limited. Got another one for you

already. I don't like this word, but

we'll use it anyway. He's liberal.

>> I ain't talking about he's in con

convictions and I'm not talking about

his political party.

I

>> I believe the little fella gave

everything he had. What do y'all think?

>> Brother Jonathan, if that been me and

I'd give anything, I know what I might

have done. See if y'all with me. I'd

looked in there and I'd seen five loaves

and two small fishes. Here's my

thinking,

man. I might get hungry after a while.

>> I tell you what I'll do. I'll give him

three loaves and one fish.

>> Yeah.

>> That way after a while,

I've got two crackers. I can put a

sardine between and I'll have me a

snack.

>> Amen.

Let [snorts] me throw out something

here. I if he'd only given three loaves

and one fish,

would he not have gave more than anybody

else?

>> Yeah.

>> And you'll never convince me he's the

only one that had anything to offer.

>> Yeah.

>> You'll never convince me of that.

>> What makes you say that? They're going

to take up 12 baskets of leftovers.

Right.

>> Y'all help me.

>> What was in them baskets?

Don't tell me people showed up with

empty baskets. There's some others in

that crowd that had something to eat,

too.

>> Yeah, right.

>> They just didn't offer it.

>> If he'd only given three loaves and one

fish, he gave more than anybody else.

>> Let me ask you another question. Would

it have hindered God?

>> No.

>> No. He could have worked with three

loaves and one fish just as good as he

worked with five loaves and two fishes.

>> Wouldn't have entered God. But if

there's anybody glad he went ahead and

gave everything, I think that little

fell was.

>> Let's see if we can watch it unfold out

here. And

he he gives it Andrew takes him to the

Lord as a lad here. He's got five barley

loaves, too. I really wish Andrew had

just stopped with that statement. He had

to throw his two cents in. He said, "But

what are they amongst so many?" Lord

didn't rebuke. The Lord didn't say

anything. He just he took what the Lord

lad gave, did he not? It's in the Lord's

hands. Now, watch what the Lord did. He

bowed and gave thanks for it. Did he

not? I wonder if I've ever given God

anything that he gave thanks for.

He gives thanks for it and then he I

don't know if it's I don't know if it's

a bag or what's it a basket?

He reaches into it, does he not? He

said, "There's much grass in the place."

said, "Have the men sit down."

That took a while. 15, 20,000, maybe up

to 40,000 people getting them to sit

down. Hey, everybody sit down. Everybody

sit down. That took a while. And then

he's going to reach in and give

something. He going to give the

disciples, right? Going to use the

disciples, distribute this. He reaches

in. He pulls it out and he gives it to

the Hey, ladies, help me here just a

minute.

How long is it going to take to feed

15, 20,000, maybe as even many as 40,000

people? How long is it going to take

coming from one source to feed a crowd

that size?

He reaches in, he pulls out, and he

gives to a disciple, does he not? that

disciple takes it and he's going to

deliver it to one of those that is sat

down, right?

>> I guess all all the disciples got

involved, I'm assuming. So, they're

standing there in line and Jesus is

reaching in and pulling it out and

giving it to another one. Now, the lad

obviously has faded into the background.

That's what it looks like. He's faded

off into the But you know this about

him, don't you? He's still watching.

The Lord's reaching into what he gave.

Oh, bless the Lord. He's watching the

Lord reach into what he gave and he's

pulling from it and he giving it to a

disciple. He reaches back in and he's

pulling from it and he gives it to

another disciple. Y'all with me?

>> Hang on now. Amen.

>> 10 minutes have gone by. That lad's

still watching and he's and the Lord's

reaching in and pulling it out, right?

20 minutes have gone by. The lad's still

watching. Lord's reaching in and pulling

out. He's scratching his head. He says,

"I didn't know there's that much in

there." And the Lord's 30 minutes later,

he's still reaching in.

Y'all getting this?

>> Could it be an hour has gone by? He's

still watching God reach in and pull it

out. Reach in. I don't know. Two hours

could have went by. He's still watching

God. It's all came from what he gave.

>> My my and then guess what happens in a

few moments? Here comes a disciple

and he's bringing something to the lad

and the lad gets to partake as they all

going to be full. That includes that lad

too.

>> Yeah,

>> I thought about this, brother Todd. It's

possible

five loaves and two small fishes might

have not have filled the lad.

>> Yeah, that's right.

>> But I guarantee you this. Whatever one

of them disciples brought him was enough

to fill his belly.

>> Amen.

They all going to get filled

off [snorts] of this

and then they're going to take up 12

baskets of leftovers.

12 of them. Here's the question. You've

heard it before. It's been debated by

the smartest. What they do with them 12

baskets of leftovers?

I got some good ideals and a hero of

mine preached it a certain way and I

just say amen. One said there's 12

baskets, 12 disciples. There's a good

chance that each disciple left with a

basket. Might have. I don't know. But

I'm going throw a biblical

a biblical thought in here with it.

Think on this. You can't outgive God.

That's right.

>> That's a principle, is it not?

>> You can't outgive God. And with that in

mind,

>> there's a chance that that little lad

had to have some help carrying his lunch

back home.

>> Amen.

>> You ain't going to outgive God.

>> Amen.

>> All because a little lad

was close enough to Jesus to hear Jesus

say he's looking for bread and he gave

what he had.

Got one more and I'm done. It's 13 after

8. We're doing okay. I think

>> I noticed one other thing about him. Not

only is he little listening, limited,

liberal, I noticed this. He's loved.

>> Yeah,

>> that little fella's loved. What do you

mean, preacher? Just wondering where'd

he get them loaves and fishes? I don't

think he's the fisherman.

I don't think he's the cook. I think

somebody cared about that little fell

and they gave something to him. What do

y'all think? All he's doing is going to

take what's been given him. He going to

give it to God.

>> Yeah.

>> God going to do a miracle with it. The

key to all of this, I believe this is

the key.

He was close enough to hear the voice of

God.

>> You got faith promise cards.

Y'all with me? I'm done. You got faith

promise cards. I want to challenge you.

Get close to the Lord and listen to him

speak.

>> Just listen for him.

Second Corinthians, we didn't go that

far. 2 Corinthians chapter nine

tells us that we should purpose in our

heart what we should give.

This don't come on a calculator or on a

paper. This comes from our heart. You

and God work this out in your heart. You

listen to him. And whatever he tells

you, that's what you need to do. Got a

message. I ain't going to preach it, but

I got a message out of John 2 where

Mary, remember when they ran out of

wine?

I ain't going to tell you the whole

story. You remember it. Bottom line, she

looks at some servants over there and

here's what Mary said. Whatsoever he

saith unto you, do it.

>> I'm gonna tell you what Mary said.

Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

>> Yeah.

>> You want to be a part of what God's

doing? Listen for him. If you'll listen,

I'll guarantee you. You got to get close

to if you'll listen, he'll speak.

>> Sure.

>> He'll speak and you can find out what

you can do. And you can watch what God

does. Amen.

That's one of the most exciting parts of

the story. He got to watch what God did

with what he gave. Say, "Preacher, how

do we watch?" How about prayer letters?

>> Yeah.

>> That's a good way to get to watch what

God does

>> with what you gave. If you want to be a

part of what God's doing, you can one

two things you really need to focus on.

Are you little enough? And will you get

close enough to listen? I think some

people's too big for God. Slad

was little enough to be used.

>> Sure.

>> And he got close enough to God and he

heard the voice of God. Father, we love

you. We want to thank you for giving us

the privilege of getting to be a part of

what you're doing. And I'm so thankful,

God, you're still doing.

Help us to have the faith. Help us to

believe that God, you'll even do big

things here.

I know you can and I know you want to.

I'm going to believe that you will. Help

us to all believe that. And then Lord,

when you are doing something, God, give

us the desire to be a part of it. We

don't want to just watch you do

something. We want to participate in it.

Will you let us have a part God? I know

you will. If we'll get close enough to

you that we can hear your voice, we can

be a part of what God's doing. have your

way in our hearts and we'll thank you

for it. Jesus name. Heads are still

bowed, eyes are still closed. I just

want to ask something real quickly.

I didn't preach salvation tonight. I

understand. But if you're here and

you're not saved, tonight be a wonderful

[music] night to come and make this God

your savior.

Let me ask [music] this.

Only you can answer it. I don't I don't

even know if your spouse can answer this

one for you. I I don't think your

children, [music] they might have an

ideal, but I want to ask you this. How

close are you to Jesus [music] tonight?

How close are you? You You know,

you know,

you may have everybody else [music]

fooled, but you know, are you close

enough that if he speaks,

he ain't always in the thunder. He ain't

always in the earthquake. It's usually

[music] that little still small voice.

If he speaks tonight, are you close

enough to hear him?

I tell you what you [music] want ought

to want to do. Lord, help me get as

close to you as I can. I want to be able

to hear your voice. With all the noise

tonight, with all the voices,

God, help us [music] get close enough to

hear yours.

We want to be a part of what you're

doing. God,

help us to get close. Help [music] us to

listen. Help us to listen. Let's all

stand. Something's already came. I' I'd

[music] encourage you tonight. You might

even bring that faith promise card with

you. Bring it to an altar. Lord, I want

to hear your voice.

Speak to [music] me, Lord. Help me be

close enough to you. You might want to

tell God you're sorry for drifting.

You might want to just [music] downright

apologize. Lord, I'm I'm sorry that life

has just gotten so hectic. I just

drifted [music] away from you.

Crawl your way back close to him again.

I'd [music] say probably bunch of us

ought to do that. Help us, Lord. Get

close to you.

>> And then when [music] we do, Lord, speak

to me. Let me hear your voice. Ain't no

greater voice to hear than his. I say

this, ain't no greater sound than to

hear his voice when God [music] speaks

to us.

Somebody told me not long ago said,

"Preacher, it's been months since I've

heard the voice of God. [music] That's a

sad place to be in.

Sad place to be in. Help us, Lord. Get

close enough to hear your voice. And

then when we hear it, let's be [music]

obedient to it. Do exactly what he bids

us. We can be a part of what God's doing

right here in 2026. [music]

We can be involved.

Involved in what God's doing.

Amen. Amen. These praying tonight were

no hurry. [music] No hurry tonight. Take

all the time you need.

[music]

Effective prayer is a patient thing.

Father

Lord, I want to say thank you tonight.

Thank you for the word of God that's

been shared.

Lord, I thank you for the man of God

taking time [music] to be with us this

week and to help us. And Lord, we have

been helped. I have been helped. I've

been stirred. I've been challenged.

And God, I know that you have challenged

our church.

God, I pray number one tonight, Lord, if

there's somebody here tonight and

they're not saved, I pray, Lord, that

you'd save them before they leave this

place. God, that's the need of the hour.

That's the cry of missions, Lord, that

[music] sinners would come to know you.

Lord, can't think of a better way to end

a missions conference.

But Lord, I pray number two tonight,

Father, that we would take these truths

as your church. Lord, I know that we

call ourselves Meta's Baptist Church.

But Lord, I know that we are your

church.

And uh Lord, I pray that you would help

us, Lord, to [music] embrace,

God, the fact that our little bit is

enough when you take it. And [music]

when we give it to you, Lord, it'll be

enough and more than enough.

And God, as we spend the next few days,

Lord, praying earnestly praying, Father,

over these faith promise cards, Lord, as

it is the lifeline for our missions work

here at Medas. Lord, I pray that you

would help us, Lord, to God to pray and

stay until we hear your voice.

Lord, the old men of God used to say

that we get a hold of the horns of the

altar and stay until we know we prayed

through. And God, I pray that you would

help us to do that, Lord, to take time,

Lord, to make it a priority over the

next few days, Lord, to purpose in our

heart, Lord. you told us in the word of

God, not grudgingly nor necessity,

Lord, to be cheerful in our giving.

Lord, I ask you that you would give us

the strength, [music]

the obedient heart of faith to do that.

Lord, I pray for every need tonight,

Lord. Every every heart, every burden.

Well, I pray for maybe that one, Lord,

that's been here tonight. Maybe they

couldn't enjoy the service for some

burden they have. God, I pray tonight,

Lord, that the word of God would break

through that burden. Lord, you'd remind

them that you're enough.

That you're enough, Lord, for whatever

they're lacking. And God, would you help

us all, Lord, to be obedient to the word

of God? Well, we give you thanks for

what you do cuz you're wonderful and we

love you. [music] We give you praise.

Lord, I stand amazed

all that you've done. But Lord, who you

are, the fact you take out time, stop by

our way. Lord, I love you and I thank

you tonight and I ask it all in Jesus

name. Amen.

Thank you for joining our service

[music] today. We'd love it if you'd

join us in person the next time you are

able at Meadows Baptist Church. Our

[music] physical address is 2988 Stewart

Road in Walnut Cove, North Carolina. Our

service times are Sunday school at 10:00

a.m., Sunday [music] morning worship at

11:00 a.m., Sunday evening worship at

6:00 p.m., [music] and Wednesday evening

Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com. [music]

Thanks again for tuning in.