I have a part in it

And that Satan's whole ploy and plan is to take the glory away from God.

And to take the honor away from God.

But I got still good news.

I'm excited this morning.

It's been a great week, even though it's been a bad week for our country.

It's been a great week for us because we said last Sunday we're going to attack the gates of hell.

And we started Wednesday right here at 12 o'clock, and every Wednesday from 12 to 1.

We have prayer time right here.

Right here.

Right here.

We had 11 show up for our first prayer room.

We had a couple of businessmen.

Susan's uh praying with the ladies.

And so we we've, ladies, this and we're inviting you too.

We're inviting anybody from 12 to 11, just come pray.

Every Wednesday.

We're gonna be on our knees in front of this cross or in a room just crying out to God.

And then that Wednesday night at 6 o'clock, the first Wednesday of every month, is gonna be a prayer room for Wednesday nights.

In Rick's office, we had seven.

So we ended up with 18 people on their knees crying out to God for God to do something in 21.

Can I let's give God a hand?

Amen.

So today I want you to turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter 6.

Mark 6 · chapter mention

You know what I was thinking?

And by the way, the worship Wednesday night was phenomenal.

We had a time of worship here.

Praise team did a Benji and them did a fantastic job.

We're gonna do that a little more often.

It's just a time to seek God in prayer and worship.

Just set aside a Wednesday night just for that.

In Mark chapter 6, it's probably one of the most talked-about miracles in the Bible.

Mark 6 · chapter mention

In fact, it's in all four Gospels.

It's called the feeding of the five thousand men and their families.

So, what that literally means, guys, is this.

Are you ready for this?

That means there's probably 15 to 20,000 people were fed that day with five loaves and two fish.

Now, I have done my research on the five loaves and two fish.

Let me tell you about how the size they were.

You know, when we talk about loaves, we think about these big loaves and, you know, the loaves that we get from publics, those big long loaves.

Well, possibly it, I'm sorry, it was not quite that big.

The little boy, the little lad, and we don't know how old he was.

I think he was anywhere between 12 and 18.

I really do.

I really believe that.

So we've got this little lad that decided he wanted to go hear Jesus.

Jesus was in the region, Jesus was teaching and preaching, and he's so excited.

He said, Mom, can I go hear Jesus?

And the disciples had just returned from ministering in the area, and we're gonna pick up on verse 30, and they come back and they tell Jesus all that they had been doing, and then the crowds knew Jesus was there, and so they're coming from all directions.

Hundreds, thousands of people wanted to hear Jesus.

Wouldn't you live?

You know, as a young pastor, Rick, not me, Dave, not me.

Wouldn't you love to see thousands of people hungry for Jesus, hungry for the Word of God?

Just that, hey, hey, they'd just be it the building's packed, the building's running over, and people are in their car.

I mean, they just can't get in when we open that new building.

Wouldn't you be excited to see that happen?

You know what?

If times get worse, you may see it.

Because the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3.13, they're gonna wax worse and worse.

And I'm gonna tell you, if it gets worse than what we're beginning to see, and I think it can be, and it probably will, I'm telling you, people are gonna run to Jesus.

Especially true Christians.

Even the carnal Christians are gonna wake up and decide it's time to come back to church.

They really will.

I guarantee it.

So we have this massive number of thousands of people trying to get to Jesus.

And Jesus is wanting to sit down with the disciples and talk to the disciples.

He wants to hear all about the ministry they've been doing in the region.

So he said, Well, let's let's get out of here.

Let's go up.

Let's go up to the mountain where they would depart and they would spend time together.

But the thing is, the crowd saw them leaving.

So they decided they're following Jesus.

Wherever he goes, we're going.

And so they get up on the mountain, they're getting ready to sit down and talk about the ministry that's been going on in the region.

And all of a sudden, all these people, for probably an hour to maybe more, have been walking and following him because it took them a little while to go to their private place up on the mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

And now they Jesus gets there and he's seen all these people, and he says in his heart, he says, they're hungry.

They've walked two or three miles, maybe four or five miles, really.

They don't, we don't know.

But anyway, he's hungry.

And let's pick up that story.

Oh, it's a beautiful story.

Mark 6, verse 30.

Mark 6:30

And after the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus.

Notice what it says.

And told them all the things in ministry they've been doing.

And he said unto them, Come, let's go, let's depart.

And there were many coming and going, and they had no leisures so much as to eat.

They had nothing to eat.

They were so excited, they just left wherever they were.

There's Jesus.

They jumped into group and they started following Jesus.

They didn't take time to fix them a snack or a lunch.

And they departed into a desert place by the ship by ship privately, I think, probably maybe even over to one of the quartersides of the Sea of Galilee.

So that meant they had to, it's a 13-mile round the whole sea.

So they had to walk at least two or three miles, this whole crowd of people, to follow as they were following Jesus, maybe even other boats.

And the people saw them departing and they went after them in verse 34.

And Jesus, when he came out and saw much people, he was moved with compassion.

God's always moved with compassion for people, and we must be moved with compassion for people.

Can I get an Amen?

That's what this church is all about.

We love our community.

We want to be a blessing to our community.

And let me tell you why else he was concerned and hurting.

Because they were a sheep not having a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.

Sheep without shepherds are in trouble.

They get in trouble, they wander off.

That's why we love shepherding our people here every week.

David, myself, and Joe and Rick, we go out, we call, we go see our people, checking on them, making sure they're okay.

And we got a lot of people sick right now.

So you need to be praying for the church.

That God will just touch them physically.

We got a lot of situations going on in our church right now.

And I know you don't, and you don't need to know.

But we pastors know every situation.

And let me just tell you something.

It is heavy stuff on us.

Because anytime we have a sheep that's in trouble, it breaks our heart.

Or a sheep that's physically in trouble, emotionally in trouble, uh spiritually in trouble, it breaks our heart.

And we feel that I know they do.

I know my pastors feel like I do.

We just got to go grab them and pick them up and hug them and love on them and bring them back.

That's what I do every week.

And I'm on this phone hours praying and talking to our sheep, ministering to our sheep, letting them know we care about them.

Jesus cared, folks.

We you want to be a part of a church that loves people, and I'm talking about all people.

Amen.

All people, all colors, all nationalities, all social classes.

We believe that God died for everyone.

And God has no favorites.

Can I get an amen?

And then look what happens.

Oh, it's gonna get good.

And then anyway, when Jesus came out and saw the people, he had the compassion.

And verse 35, and when the day was now far spent, 4:30, 5 o'clock in the afternoon, his disciples came unto him and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far past.

What he meant by the desert place, there is no place here for them to get anything to eat.

There's no place for them to get any kind of snack.

And then notice what the disciples did.

They said, Send them away.

Oh my goodness.

Send them away.

Send the problem away.

It was a problem.

That they may go into the country, in other words, back into the villages and buy themselves some bread.

But notice Jesus, he's answering and said, No, uh, uh-uh, no, no, no, no.

These are my people.

I love my people.

You're gonna feed them.

Now, instead of doing what they said, they should have said, yes, master, because they knew do you realize they didn't understand even who they were talking to?

Because the next thing they do, they say, but but but Jesus, you don't understand.

You don't ever tell Jesus you he doesn't understand.

Hello?

Dummy.

And I'm talking to me.

You don't ever tell him you don't.

He said, they said, Oh, uh, uh, uh, uh, you don't understand, Jesus.

We don't even have enough money if there was a place to buy food, to buy food.

In fact, we hey, hey, there's no way we can take care of these people.

They didn't realize who they were talking to.

The man that spoke into existence who created the heavens and earth, and he can't feed a crowd.

He's got it.

And then you remember what he said.

He didn't even, he didn't even answer the question.

I like that.

He didn't even answer that question.

Sometimes you say, well, I God didn't answer me.

Well, it might have been a dumb question.

That's my case.

Man, Lord, didn't you hear me?

Yes, son, I heard you, but that wasn't a super, that wasn't a bright question.

Not a hey, hey, he didn't even answer the question.

I like that.

You know what he did?

He didn't answer the question.

He told him the answer.

Go get some food.

He knew that there was food in the crowd.

He knows everything.

And not only did he know how much food was in the crowd, he knew there wasn't a whole lot.

Well, I, you know, when I get to heaven, I'm gonna ask the little lad something.

When that many people, thousands of people, especially the disciples, I just kind of have a feeling in my heart that those disciples, knowing that they were gonna go and spend the afternoon with Jesus, didn't leave with no food.

How many people put a granola bar or a snack when you're going somewhere?

Half of you don't?

I know, you know why?

Well, I can just pull in and at a curb store.

There's a curb store on every street.

But if you happen to be going into the wilderness, into a state park and taking a hike, wouldn't you might put a granola bar in your sack with your water?

Okay, that's better, a little better percentage.

Some of you, I suggest you don't go.

But anyway, anyway, he says you're gonna feed them.

Now that's the introduction.

The title of the message.

God's gonna do it again, and you get to be a part of it.

Ladies and gentlemen, every one of us in our hearts, if you're worth your salt, wants to be part of something that's bigger than you.

I want to be a part, and God's allowed me over 40 plus minister years to be parts of great, magnificent works of God.

And every time that that has happened in my life, it's happened because there was an opportunity which came because of a problem, and I made myself available for God to use me to help me be a part of something greater than me.

And this is the situation right here.

Right here.

What happened when one little lad, one little teenager obeys God and gets back to David and Goliath.

But watch this.

He obeys God and doesn't miss the opportunity to give everything that he has, his resources, who he is, his gifts, everything, his time, his talent, his trace.

He gives it to the Lord.

He doesn't miss that opportunity.

So in your outline today, I want to give us some observations about opportunities.

Ready?

You got the setting.

Number one, big opportunities rise out of big problems.

Let me repeat that.

Big opportunities rise out of big problems.

Amen.

Or you could put it this way small problems, small opportunities.

So we got some big problems in America right now.

We got some big problems in America right now.

Can I get an amen?

We got a virus that's killing people, we got a virus that's trying to stop everything, especially the church.

We got a big problem.

But I got good news.

It's not a big problem.

What's going on in the world right now is not a big problem.

It's a big opportunity for a big God to intervene and show himself strong.

Now watch.

Problems are opportunities.

You know how much your pastor loves a crossface.

Because you don't forget them.

I don't.

That's why I preach them all the time.

I gave you the word problems.

Now I'm gonna go pretty quick.

So get ready.

Let's P in the word problems stands for what a problem does for each of us.

It's predictors.

It predicts, or hey, whether we're gonna be successful or we're gonna fail.

And guess what?

Those predictions and those predictors, in order for, hey, really determines the way we react to that problem, or I'm gonna quit saying problems and say opportunities, whether or not we're successful or we're failure, on the way we react to that opportunity.

The disciples almost missed it.

Because they started out reacting the wrong way.

Send them away.

So they're predictors to see how much faith we have.

They're predictors to see if we're walking by faith and not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5, 7.

Can I get an Amen?

Letter R in the word problem.

The word for the letter R is reminders.

Problems, opportunities are reminders that life, are you ready for this?

Life is a big problem.

No, let's say it another way, which we know it is.

But life, now you gotta get this, and I'm doing this on purpose because we're gonna reprogram ourselves.

Life is a big opportunity.

It really is.

It's a big opportunity.

We're not sufficient in ourselves, but our sufficiencies in God.

It's an opportunity for us to watch God move in a miraculous way.

Letter?

Oh.

Opportunities.

Problems.

Or opportunities.

All great, hey, opportunities are birthed.

Now listen, all great opportunities are birthed out of the soul of problems.

Is that not good?

Say yes, good, preacher.

Let her be.

Blessings.

Problems.

Big opportunities are blessings.

Problems help us to totally depend upon God.

We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8 28.

We know that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us.

Philippians 4.13.

Letter L.

Problems are lessons.

If we will allow them, they will teach us things.

James 1 2.

Well, first of all, 1 Peter 4 12 says, Count it not strange concerning the fiery trials that are going to try you.

But then if you go to James 1 2, what does it say?

Count it all joy.

When you fall into diverse temptations, trials, and all, knowing that these trials are going to work patience and build faith in us.

Let her eat.

Problems are everywhere.

Can I get a know me?

No matter where you go, you will have problems.

I tell pastors, I used to tell pastors when I was training pastors all those years in seminary.

They'd call and say, you know, God, I think, is leading me to another church.

Dr.

Lovett, do you have any churches available?

And we always did.

But you know what?

I got to the point I'd ask.

I'd say, are you running away from problems?

Are you running away from Sister Fluffy Head?

Or Deacon Portator Head?

Are you running away?

Because guess what?

It doesn't matter.

You can get another church in maybe a year or two years and be sweet and happy, and then guess what?

They're gonna show up again.

You're working with people.

That's why the average tenure of a pastor, are you ready for this?

Two and a half years.

I say.

What happens?

They run against the brick wall and they have major problems and they see them as problems and not opportunities.

Opportunities to teach us how to depend on God.

Letter M, they're messages.

They tell us that something is wrong.

Problems are these opportunities tell us that something is wrong.

That's why we say, Search me, O God, know my heart, try me, know my thoughts, see if there be any wicked way in me and leave me in the way of everlasting.

Can I get an amen?

And then lastly, a letter S problems are solvable.

Problems are solvable, folks.

What does he say?

Nothing.

Luke 137.

Nothing, and the Greek word for nothing's nothing.

Nothing's impossible with God.

Amen.

They're solvable.

They're solvable.

And don't ever forget that.

They're opportunities.

That's why I love Galatians 6.10.

As ye have opportunity, do good to all men, especially those of the household of faith.

In other words, in the context of the message today, when Paul said that in Galatians 6.10, he's saying, as you have opportunity, as those problems arise, as those situations arise, as those circumstances arise, allow God to use you to help people, especially those in your church family.

Can I get an amen?

Is that not good?

As you have opportunity.

Number two, observation number two, verse 37.

Life is not a dress rehearsal.

Look at it.

Life is not a dress rehearsal.

He answered and said unto them, give them to eat.

Hey, they had this one opportunity right then to be used by God to do something fantastic.

To do something that's bigger than themselves.

There's no way they could feed those people, not twelve disciples.

They didn't have the means, they didn't have the money.

But watch.

They almost missed it.

They almost missed it.

Listen to Stephen Grillette's.

He made this statement and it grabbed my heart.

He said, I shall pass through this world but once.

Any good that I can do, or any kindness that I can show any human being, let me do it now and not defer it.

For I shall not pass this way again.

Why?

How many opportunities have we missed to be kind, to be a blessing, to show kindness, to do kindness.

And because of our bad attitudes or our wrong attitudes or our don't care attitudes, we just passed them by.

I found this poems, we don't know the author, title of the poems, tomorrow.

They were going to be all that they wanted to be tomorrow.

None would be braver or kinder than they tomorrow.

A friend who was troubled and weary, they knew, would be glad of a lift and needed it too.

On him they would call, see what they could do tomorrow.

Each morning they stacked up the letters they'd write tomorrow.

The greatest of people, they just might have been, the world would have opened its heart to them, but in fact, they passed on and faded from view, and all that they left when their living was through was a mounting of things they intended to do.

Tomorrow.

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

Life is not a dress rehearsal.

The best of every opportunity.

We need to take advantage for the glory of God.

I will not be able to come back 50 years and be the good pastor of CCW.

It's right now.

You want to be a good dad?

You need to do it now.

You want to be a good husband?

You need to do it now.

You want to be a good wife?

You need to do it now.

You want to be a good employee?

You need to do it now.

You want to be a good employer?

You need to do it now.

You want to be a good Christian?

You need to do it now.

Don't claim to be one.

Live one.

Amen?

Are you listening, church?

Hey, you don't get to go back and do it again.

Teenagers, listen to me.

You want to be a dynamic teenager, filled with the Spirit of God, loving God and loving your parents and loving your friends and being obedient to your parents and showing love to your friends, showing them Christlike.

You need to do it now because you're only a teenager one time.

There's one example that breaks my heart.

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Remember?

James, John, and Peter.

They inner circle.

And he asked them to come.

He knew he was about to go to the cross, and he said, Will you come pray with me?

And he brought them and he says, Stay right here.

You be praying while I go just a little further and pray.

You remember the story?

He came back and they were asleep.

He woke them up and he said, Would you please pray?

This is tough.

And he goes back, and this time he he oh he started sweating blood, great drops of blood.

And the first time he came back, he was dusty and he'd asked him to play.

He'd been rolling or lying in the dirt, crying out.

The second time he came, he not only had dirt, he had blood all over his tunic, and he still he turned and he saw him asleep.

This time he didn't wake him.

Oh my God.

How many times has the Lord asked me to do something?

And I say, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm going to do it.

I'm going to do it.

Tomorrow.

And he comes back and he says, Danny, please, you need to do this.

Yes, Lord, yes, yes.

Tomorrow.

And he didn't come back and nudge me again.

And somebody else.

That's it.

Oh my.

My heart drops.

Oh church.

Oh church.

Don't be a tomorrow person.

Be a today person.

Behold, now's the time.

Behold, now's the day of salvation.

Now's the day of opportunity.

Don't pass it up.

Number three.

The third observation: opportunities are seized by those who recognize.

Are you ready?

Opportunity are seized by those who recognize the opportunity, the situation.

Do you realize these disciples almost missed it?

They didn't recognize that God was trying to teach them that with Him nothing's impossible.

They almost missed it.

In fact, here's what happened.

In fact, Ellen Metcalf made this statement.

I would like to amend the idea of being in the right place at the right time.

How many of us have said that?

How many of us have believed that?

Well, you got to be in the right place at the right time.

Listen to me.

You can be in the right place at the right time and still miss it.

They almost missed it.

If you don't recognize the situation and the opportunity, you can be in the right place and still miss it, folks.

Say, oh me with me.

Oh me.

How many times have we been in the right place?

I've been in the right place.

And had an opportunity to be a blessing to somebody and I missed it.

I would like to, she said, to amend that idea.

There are many people who were in the right place but didn't know it.

You have to recognize when the right place and the right time comes together and take advantage of that opportunity.

There are plenty of opportunities out there.

You can't sit back and wait.

You gotta go after it.

Paul said, this one thing I do, forgetting those things behind, and I reach forth for those things that are before me.

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in and through Christ Jesus.

Woo! Hallelujah.

The lad didn't miss the opportunity.

The disciples did.

The disciples saw the problem and not the potential.

Hello?

Are we guilty?

I am.

They saw the problem.

Who's good at looking finding the problem?

Am I not?

Yeah, ask Susan.

I always, that's, and a lot of that is my my doctorate training in leadership.

Always, you know, as a leader gets ready to attack something, or or say, uh, uh, even I'm a big Civil War guy, the uh when I study the generals of the Civil War, you know, they're looking at all the problem, possible problems, which I'd say now, what?

Opportunities, and they're looking at all that.

So I'm I'm quick to start looking at a situation and seeing the problems instead of the opportunities.

So as we look at that, so many times I start getting a negative vibe.

Like, how are we gonna do this?

We don't have enough money, we don't have enough resources, we don't have enough people, we don't have enough, we don't, we don't, we don't.

Instead of I can, I can, I can.

We don't need to be I don't Christians, we need to be I can Christians.

I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

Philippians 4 13.

Number four.

Opportunity can be lost when God's ways are different from ours.

Uh-oh.

Think a minute, real quick.

What happened here in this whole situation?

God says, go get the bread.

He already had a plan.

God already knew how he's gonna solve the problem.

He already knew.

He already knew.

He said, just go find the bread.

You know what he was asking?

He was wanting to get them involved in what was about to take place.

Do you realize God, I'm about to have a running spell?

God wants to get you involved in doing something bigger than yourself.

God wants to get us as a church together and to do something bigger than ourselves when we move over, I call it into the promised land.

On to that 90 acres soon.

And you've got an opportunity, I've got an opportunity.

You can be a part, you're at the right place and you're at the right time, but are you gonna miss it?

Are you gonna miss it?

Are we gonna miss it?

I've been a part of a ministry that I really believe.

God had led us.

Had led us to do something bigger than ourselves.

And the whole leadership decided they didn't want to do that.

I took a week and a half, Susan, and I did, and prayed and fasted, and I came back and I resigned the ministry.

God said, it's over, it's time.

Move.

They're not gonna follow you.

Do you know in two years after I have resigned and moved on to another ministry and then ended up the second year coming down here starting this church?

So God had bigger plans for me.

Another church came in, bought the whole facility where we were, different denomination, and I'm I'm not even the denomination, it doesn't matter.

But a church came in with the same vision that I had cast verbatim and bought the whole 45 acres and buildings and turned around and did exactly the vision I had put up on the on the overhead, show them what God wanted us to do, and now that church is running almost 3,000 people right there in the same location where our people said, I don't think we can it'll grow because we're in a bad section of town.

They missed, hey, they missed the opportunity.

We were gonna just have a clinic, all of it.

If our ways are different than God's ways, listen to what Alexander Graham Bale said.

When one door closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been open for us.

Man, that's good, isn't it?

Think about that.

We have to recognize when God is moving in our lives and seize the opportunity.

The first step is not to measure our resources, but hey, to determine God's will and then be obedient.

Can I get an email?

Everywhere God's moved me, everywhere, you've heard this, uh I've used it a lot of times.

Every move I've made, and I think I've made four or five moves in 40 plus years, I always took a pretty big cut in pay.

And I say that for I never looked at the resources of what they were gonna pay me.

I just wanted to make sure this was God's will for my life.

The other takes care of itself.

Always, not sometimes, always.

Number five.

Remember, before I go to number five, remember, even though God had told them what to do, they they said, first of all, we don't have it, we don't have enough money.

In fact, they even said we could work almost a whole year and still wouldn't have enough money to feed these people.

You know what they were saying?

There is no way we can do this.

What?

Oh, is it too loud?

That better?

What happens when I go over here?

Okay, you can still hear me.

Okay.

What would I do without her?

I'd be lost.

Listen, listen.

And then they turn around, and after they go and they're obedient to what the Lord told them to do.

Andrew goes and finds a lad.

By the way, you gotta love Andrew.

Everywhere you see him in the Bible, he's bringing people to Jesus.

I want to be an Andrew.

He brings this lad.

Hey, we don't even know his name.

We don't even know where he's from.

I am being blessed today.

You know why I'm being blessed?

Because we've got a sweet couple here.

And she's interpreting what I'm saying to her family.

That is blessing my heart.

I've preached all over the world through interpreters, so you notice it hadn't bothered me.

Now I'm sure it's bothered some of you, but that's no, no, don't you say sorry.

We're not sorry.

The amen.

Yes.

And that just tells me, bitch, you know what we gotta do?

Because God's gonna bless this.

We're gonna start having hundreds coming that maybe doesn't understand English right now.

So we're gonna have these nice little headphones that will translate what I'm saying into your language.

How do I do that?

I did that 20 years ago when I went to Korea.

So, and my group around here loves technology.

And I'm glad that they love technology because I don't, I have a hard time turning my phone on.

Benji, I'll call Benji, Benji to fix it.

I don't know what I'm doing.

Well, preacher, all you gotta do is I said, well, do it.

Don't do it.

Or get me what I need, bitch.

Go get me.

He'll say, You need a new phone, okay?

You need a new iPad.

This one, okay, okay.

Just show me how to turn it on and off, and I'll be okay.

But now watch.

Not only did they say we don't have enough money, but when Andrew brought the lad with the two fish and five loaves.

By the way, let me tell you what I've come to the conclusion of all the research.

It was about the size of the largest foot-long uh subway.

Subway.

That was about the size of it.

Can you imagine that?

I mean, that that's for a lad, that's that's a lot of food.

But that's about the size of it.

I want you to get a mental picture, and then they come back and they say, but Lord.

In another gospel, they say, it's in John 6, what is so little among so much?

In other words, how is this little two loaves and uh I mean, these little two fish and five loaves gonna feed this massive crowd?

They almost missed it again.

You know, you almost won't just say, Well, boy, what is wrong with you?

My papa getting disgusted, me and say, Don't you have any sense?

I guess not.

Here, slap me again.

But think about it.

They missed, they almost missed it again.

Then he says, Get them to sit down in groups of fifty.

Don't worry about the circumstances.

Don't try to understand it.

Just obey me.

The ways, the knowledge, the judgment, the directions of God are past finding out.

Romans 11 33 and verse 34, he says, How can you know my mind?

Just obey me.

If you're willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.

But if you refuse to rebel, you should be devoured by the sword.

Isaiah 1, 19 and 20.

So he sits them down.

And then notice what he does.

Now, what if the little lad had not obeyed and decided after looking at all these people that there's no way my little lunch is going to feed these people, so I'm just going to keep it.

Sounds like some Baptist to me.

I'm okay.

I'm just excited.

Now what?

He said, here.

Now I wondered what I would do.

Would I might have taken a bite first?

Or maybe just tear a little piece off and say, here, you can have most of it.

I'm just going to keep a bite.

Lord, Lord, I'm going to give you almost.

But Lord, I just need a little bit.

Can we all say, oh me?

So what does he do?

He gives the lunch.

Andrew brings it to Jesus.

And Jesus takes the bag.

And he calls the disciples up.

He says, after they had seated them in groups of 50, this had to take a while.

But he told the disciples to go get.

You ready for this?

Twelve baskets.

I know what you're thinking.

Now, how do you know that?

Because when everything's said and done, how many baskets did they retrieve after?

Twelve.

Think a minute.

You gotta have a little imagination, too, but think about it.

So the Lord starts filling the baskets of each disciple.

Now it doesn't say that.

This is my interpretation, but I think I'm following scripture pretty literally.

He starts giving, filling the baskets with food for each 50 groups of people, or at least for the 12 disciples to start going to the groups of people and distributing the food.

You know what I saw there?

Ladies and gentlemen, don't miss this, don't miss this, don't miss this.

We're not the manufacturers, we're just the distributors.

That's good, preacher.

Now watch.

He starts filling it up.

Now if I'm a disciple, I'm doing what I'm going, I'm giving the food out, and I'm coming back, and he's still filling the basket again.

You know what I'm thinking?

Where's all that food coming out of that bag?

I know it was just that much.

Right in the front of their eyes, and they were being a part of it, distributing the miracle of God.

Woo! I wanna I want to be that.

I want to be a part of that.

I want to see something done bigger than me that I can't do.

And we saw that with this land, and I saw that over and over in my own 40 plus years of ministry.

All right, I gotta finish.

Oh, times run.

Whoo, man, has this been good?

And you remember the story.

They're fed and they take 12 baskets up afterwards, after 15 or 20,000 people are full and can't eat anymore.

My God shall supply all your needs according to your riches and glory through Christ Jesus.

And then the sixth thing, the last thing, opportunity.

Once, hey, you seize it, it benefits a lot of people.

They seize the opportunity.

And look who it benefited.

15 to 20,000 people they fed.

All right, if you and I seize the opportunity that we're in the midst of right now, who's gonna benefit?

One, we will as a congregation.

You're gonna see in 21, if you're obedient, you give everything you've got to Jesus, you're gonna watch God do something in your personal lives, and then cooperatively together, we're gonna watch Him do something fantastic in our congregation.

Are you hearing me, church?

Shelby County's gonna benefit from it, and our children are gonna benefit from it.

Because next week you don't want to miss this, kids.

And I'm a kid, I'm a 67-year-old kid.

Next week, God's gonna do it again, and your family gets to see it.

Deuteronomy 6.

We're gonna look at that next week.

Your kids get to see the miraculous, and then I close with this.

Give me a few minutes, though.

Just a few.

How do we miss these opportunities?

This is the most important.

Well, all of it.

I'm gonna tell you what.

This message right here can change our whole church.

All right, how do we miss it?

Here it is.

And I'm taking it from what they almost did, how they almost missed this opportunity.

One, when we look at our resources instead of relying on God.

With men it is impossible, not with God, for with God all things are possible.

Mark 10, 27.

Number two, when we realize, excuse me, when we rely, when we rely on our understanding instead of obeying God.

And then number three, when we expect God to do big things without us doing our part, God can do big things without you, but that's not the way he's chosen to do it.

He could have fed those people by himself, but he wants you and me to be a part of something bigger than we are.

Can I get an amen?

Don't you want to be a part of something like that?

I close with this.

Oh man.

My whole ministry started back when I decided to quit my job and go to Liberty University.

Didn't know where I was gonna live, didn't know how I was gonna get there.

Had no money.

Was renting an apartment.

We just, Becky and I, my wife that's in heaven, we just got in the car and took off.

Rented the U-Haul trailer.

I drove the truck and she drove the car and we just left.

Because God had told me, He presented the opportunity for me.

I took it.

Then he presented another opportunity.

Oh, I don't know how many times at liberty to take care of me and to get a little church.

I saw the opportunity, I took it.

Then I had an opportunity to go to Tuscaloose at an open door baptist church and I took it.

And I watched him build a great church there.

Then I had an opportunity to go back to Liberty and head up the pastoral training and ended up being the uh vice president dean of the seminary.

Watched him build the largest online seminary in the world.

Each opportunity starts with a small opportunity.

You don't get to the be, hey, the big without being obedient to the little.

Hello, that's good now.

Come on.

You need to hear this, teenagers.

You gotta start with the little things.

If you'll be obedient to the little things, gotta use you to do great things.

You listening?

Hey, Benji, you can come start playing if you want to.

I need a little music.

I want you to see how the lad benefited.

The lad didn't miss the opportunity.