SEVEN Series: Loaves and Fishes

There's an excitement that comes along with being aware and looking for the miracles that Jesus is gonna bring.

Like being on the edge of your seat, kind of like, okay, God, like this is an adventure.

What a cool, what a cool life to lead, you know.

Hi, Sydney.

Hi, Jake.

How are you?

I'm good.

How are you?

Go again, go again, go again.

I'm I'm fine now.

I'm fine.

Get it out of here.

Okay, we're good.

We're good.

Let's go.

Hi, Sydney.

How's it going?

I'm good.

How are you?

I'm doing pretty good.

Today we are in our seventh series.

We're talking through uh John chapter six, Jesus feeding the five thousand.

And you wrote our Devo in the journal for this week.

And so I appreciate you taking the time to come and just kind of talk us through what's happening in this passage.

For anybody that's watching, these videos exist to help you kind of just kickstart your week studying through this passage and going through your journal, but then also uh to help small groups.

You know, if it maybe you if you're in a small group, you can kind of start your time off watching this or send it out to everybody.

So, Sydney, thank you for writing the devo for us this week.

Talk to us a little bit about what is happening here in John chapter six today.

Yeah.

First off, I want to preface that it is such a privilege to be here and just to get the chance to talk about God's word and to to write about it and to just, oh my gosh, I'm in just an awe of of God's goodness and his consistency through through this story.

In this time, we've gotten to see several miracles of Jesus come to life.

And there he's been revealing himself little by little as he's been doing his travels with his disciples, and this is no different.

So, with that, um all these crowds are following him, and there's just these herds and herds of people that like they're seeing all these miracles and these healings and these these signs that of the coming Messiah.

Yeah.

Um, and who wouldn't want to follow that?

So there's just these hordes of people following.

And one day when they get, they get to this hill, they get to this mountain, and Jesus looks at his disciples, he goes to Philip and he's like, hey, like all these people are following us.

I'm teaching, I'm healing, like we're all here, we're tired, we're hungry.

How can we feed these people?

Like, there's about 5,000 men.

There's 5,000 men in this crowd, and that's excluding women and children.

So there's probably up to close to 14,000 people here, like thousands and thousands of people, which is insane.

Um, so they're like scratching their heads, like, how do we get, how do we get more food?

Like, we don't have we don't have anything to give.

We would have to work for years to buy enough for crying out loud.

So Jesus is as he's in his way, he's like, I already know what I'm gonna do.

He already knows what he's gonna what miracle he's gonna perform here.

There's this boy and he comes up with um five loaves of bread and two fish.

And he's he he brings this this lunch to Jesus and he goes, I have this is all I have, but if you want to use it, you can have it.

And the disciples look at look at each other probably.

I just imagine this scenario where they're just like standing there awkwardly thinking, How is this?

This is this is ridiculous.

Like this is five loaves of bread, two fish, and we have thousands of people here.

There's no way this is gonna cut it.

But Jesus, in his way, he multiplies it and uh they're able to feed this entire crowd of people, men, women, and children that are here to um listen and be healed, and um using something so insignificant and minuscule as five loaves of bread and two fish.

Yeah.

And with that, they're all fed, they're all full, and there's some left over.

Yeah.

And it's incredible.

And after this, after this section in the passage, it says that Jesus goes up to the mountain and he takes some time alone.

And um then we see in the next chapter, I'm gonna give a little sneak peek of when he comes down from the mountain and he's walking on water.

Yeah.

Um, so that's a little tidbit for next week.

But I think it's so amazing how we see Jesus create this miracle, and then everybody's just left in awe of like wow, he provided.

Yeah, it's amazing.

He take he takes this group of people from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset, absolutely, you know, and this and that's because of his presence, regardless of what is provided resource-wise, you know, and for all these people, he gives them more than they can ever need.

Right.

Even in in a physical sense here, but also in a spiritual sense, you know.

And you you talked about all the people that were following him.

For some reason, whenever I read this story and it talks about the amount of people that are that are following him, I always think about the scene in Forrest Gump where he's just running.

Oh my god.

And then all of a sudden there's like all these people behind him.

Like following him.

I just imagine that I think about Rocky when he's running through Philly.

Yeah.

It's all these all these kids are like chasing him as he's running through Philly, and then he goes to the top of the statue.

He's like, Like, I don't even remember what he says, but oh man, yeah.

Cool.

So so that's some of the stuff that I get from this of just an idea of of Jesus, you know, he he's he's pulling all these people that that are following him, and you know, it he he's amassed this massive uh crowd and following, and then he he takes them out of this place of of you know following him out of desperation to now they're following him in abundance, you know, in this, and he's giving them everything they need.

What are some of the things that that you know, as you were studying this passage, as you were writing this devo, and even just like in your own personal time when you've read this throughout the years, what are some things that really speak to you through this passage?

I I immediately think about how God can use little to give much.

And it's interesting how we definitely that of course applies to physical need, right?

Like God takes a little bit that we can give and multiplies it abundantly so that way our needs are filled.

And that doesn't always look the way we imagine it to look.

Sometimes we are provided for in ways that we would never expect.

In fact, it's usually that way.

Um, nobody could have expected that Jesus was gonna take this little kid's lunch and multiply it for thousands of people.

That's the complete unexpected path of action.

And that's just kind of Jesus' thing, though.

Like he just goes and he he does the unexpected and performs and comes through and gives you abundantly more than you could possibly imagine.

Yeah, no, that's that that's so good.

And that that makes me think a lot about things like um looking forward to heaven as well.

Because while we're while we're in this time, you know, while we're on earth and while we're experiencing the pains of life, you know, these these these thousands of people are following them, they're hungry.

Yeah.

Um, the disciples are obviously stressed, you know, so there's lots of areas where it's like like I need I need this thing in my life fulfilled the way that I think it needs to be fulfilled in the way that it needs to happen, you know.

And you know, I think there are there I I know I've experienced this a lot, I'm sure you have as well.

Um, you know, there are things in my life that I feel like I need.

There are things that I feel like, okay, unless unless my life pans out the way that I imagine it to pan out, or if there's things that I feel like um I don't have right now, just one one example is I'm shopping for a van right now.

Yeah.

You know, I've coming over to the van.

Yeah, I'm looking for a minivan.

I really need one, you know.

Um family's growing and everything.

So I'm thinking about, you know, man, if I just if I could find the right situation, you know, then then my problems are gonna be solved.

Yeah.

But the reality is my problems are truly not gonna be solved until I'm in the full presence of Christ, you know, until I'm in eternity.

And so the things that I feel like are gonna be good for me right now in this life are nothing compared to what it's gonna be like in eternity.

Absolutely.

And and when when we're in eternity, we're not gonna remember any of this.

And that the biggest problems that we experience in life right now, when we're when we're truly in communion with Christ in heaven, we're not it it's gonna feel like a distant, distant, faded memory, if even that.

And so we'll be living in abundance in that space.

And even like the the peace that we can feel right now, understanding that that while we're while we are with Jesus, we have everything we need.

Oh man, like like you you can't buy that.

Yeah, there's there's nothing that replaces that.

And there's an there's an excitement that comes along with being aware and looking for the miracles that Jesus is gonna bring.

Like being on the edge of your seat, kind of like, okay, God, like this is an adventure.

What what a cool, what a cool life to lead, you know, where we get to be expectant for how he's gonna how he's gonna come through in in a surprising way.

Yeah, yeah.

I do also think that you mentioned this as well, right after this, you know, at the very at the very end of this of this section, Jesus leaves to go off be by to be by himself.

And in my head, I think it's interesting that he provides for them in this way, in this miraculous way, then he disappears.

Yeah.

Do you my head goes this way, but do you think that he's trying to show them like I'm everything you need?

Yeah.

I'm gonna disappear to help you guys see that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um and I think there's there are so many things in life where maybe we feel like the Lord is allowing hardship in our lives, or maybe he's causing some things in our lives.

Um, but maybe like uh to just to just be mean.

To like I've heard some people equate God to being a mean kid with a magnifying glass burning, burning the ants, you know what I mean?

But I do think that there is something about sometimes, and maybe he's showing us his nature here of like I'm gonna show up for you and provide you for you in this way, but to help you fully understand how good I am and how much you need me.

Sometimes I'm gonna let this thing happen.

Yeah.

You know, just to just to show you how much I really am working in your life.

Do you feel like that's what he's trying to do here?

I feel like that's a definitely a part of it.

I think initially the the passage talks about how the the people were trying to make, they were seeing this miracle, and they're like, we're gonna make him our king.

Yeah.

And he's like, wait, it's not my that's not what I'm here for.

So I think that was a part of it.

He was kind of retreating, like, get get some space between these people in the literal sense.

When it comes to the spiritual sense, I do absolutely think that that is a a part of why he went to be alone.

Also in the fact that he is probably straining his body and his mind to to perform these miracles.

Like he's up for hours on end ministering to people, conversing with them, hearing their stories, taking time to pause with them.

And you and I have had experiences in ministry, and even if we're if you guys who are listening are not in a ministry context on a staff at a church, your ministry is people, yeah, and it's exhausting.

Like it's not all of us are energized by people 24-7.

We do need some solitude to be alone and it's just hear from the Lord.

And I think too being able to sit back.

I think about when you make when you bake bread, okay.

You bake bread, you you put all the ingredients together, you put the yeast in, you have to let it rest.

That way it can grow.

And you kind of it is kind of Jesus' way of putting the yeast in and letting it grow and stepping back and just being like, okay, let it simmer.

You guys reflect on everything I just did.

And hopefully, by his will, you will come to realize the power that you just got to see.

Because what what a miracle! Like, let that rest for a second.

Yeah.

So are you trying to say that Jesus is an introvert?

Maybe.

I don't know.

Maybe he's more of an ambivert.

I really don't know.

Like, I'm sure he had his his moments where he he was extroverted.

You can love people and be an introvert.

I'm an introvert and I love people.

Yeah, but you gotta you have to rest by yourself.

I have my moments where I'm like, I will be outgoing, I will be bubbly, I will be turned that switch will be flipped, but then I do need my hour and a half of I'm gonna rot on the couch and nobody talked to me.

We've all been there, so I'm sure Gio's had a mix of that.

Right.

Oh yeah, yeah.

Awesome.

Well, thank you so much, Sydney, for your time today.

And um, I know that there's so many other things we could pull out of this passage today.

I I really appreciate your time talking to us through this passage and writing our devo for this week.

Guys, thank you so much for watching today.

If you're in a small group, now's a great time to jump into your discussion time, or maybe you're just studying this on your own.

Just know that we're praying for you guys and your time in God's Word.

Sydney, thank you so much again.

Thank you, Jake.