WEBVTT 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:01.560 All right, here we go, pop quiz. 00:00:01.720 --> 00:00:03.120 We're going to dive into today's message, ready? 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:05.460 Here's a pop quiz for you. 00:00:06.100 --> 00:00:09.420 Out of all the miracles performed in the Bible, rather than... 00:00:09.920 --> 00:00:16.440 Other than, excuse me, other than the resurrection, what miracle is recorded in all four Gospels? 00:00:17.840 --> 00:00:18.980 Think about that for a minute. 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:26.120 Out of all the miracles Jesus performs in the Bible, there's only one other than the resurrection that finds itself in all four 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:26.500 Gospels. 00:00:27.540 --> 00:00:34.280 And if you know the answer to that, then you know where we're going today, because if you've even been here for, I don't know, any time in the last few weeks, we're in John chapter 6. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:36.540 John chapter 6, that's the answer to the question. 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:41.640 The one miracle in all four Gospels is the feeding of the 5,000. 00:00:43.080 --> 00:00:44.080 Feeding of the 5,000. 00:00:44.080 --> 00:00:46.740 Now, here's the big question: Why? 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:47.300 Right? 00:00:47.440 --> 00:00:55.000 Some of you might hear that Jesus feeds 5,000 here in the story, and some debate if it's even 5,000, because it describes itself as 5,000 00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:02.280 men in this passage, so is that 5,000 men not including the women and children, we're not counting the women and children here, or is it 5,000 people and it's just representing 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:04.890 men as humankind or mankind? 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:10.040 Some say it could be 5,000, some say it could be as much as 20,000 if we're not counting women and children here. 00:01:10.380 --> 00:01:12.520 But regardless, Jesus is feeding 5,000. 00:01:12.520 --> 00:01:16.060 Now, why is this the miracle that's recorded in all four Gospels? 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:19.400 Out of all the miracles that you could record, why is it this one? 00:01:19.820 --> 00:01:26.860 Some of you might be saying, "Well, I know why it's this one, it's because after today, we're already thinking about what we can eat, and we've got a family of five, and sometimes 00:01:26.860 --> 00:01:28.540 I don't even know how to feed them." Right? 00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:30.150 You're talking about a day with... 00:01:30.820 --> 00:01:33.460 In Jesus' day, there's no refrigeration, right? 00:01:33.580 --> 00:01:38.900 This was agricultural society, but you just wake up that day, and you got to figure out what you're going to eat, you know? 00:01:38.900 --> 00:01:44.980 There's no going to the supermarket and going down the frozen food section and just heating something up in the microwave. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:46.340 That's not how this works. 00:01:46.340 --> 00:01:53.460 And so, you look at that and be like, "Of course, out of all the miracles." I think about just feeding a family at Thanksgiving, and I don't even want to do that, and we're talking 00:01:53.460 --> 00:01:54.520 thousands of people. 00:01:54.540 --> 00:01:56.060 How do you even wrap your mind around that? 00:01:56.080 --> 00:02:02.560 I mean, we just had men's breakfast yesterday, and we try to tally the numbers just for a few dozen people, just to make sure we can get that done. 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:04.760 But 5,000, that's pretty incredible. 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:07.140 But honestly, you think about it, why? 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:15.120 Why the miracle of the 5,000, out of all the miracles that Jesus could record? 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:19.490 I mean, if you're going to put a miracle in all four Gospels, would that be the one you pick? 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:21.700 Why is it here? 00:02:21.700 --> 00:02:28.880 Well, when you look at the first seven verses of this section, chapter 6, Jesus wants us to 00:02:28.880 --> 00:02:31.420 recognize the problem that's existing here. 00:02:31.440 --> 00:02:33.200 So, we're really going to talk about three things today. 00:02:33.640 --> 00:02:41.380 We're going to look at the problem that Jesus presents here in John chapter 6; then we're going to look at the response that Jesus communicates to us, starting 00:02:41.380 --> 00:02:48.480 in verses 8 to 12; and then we're going to talk about the application, because here's what I find with this story, is when people get to the application 00:02:48.480 --> 00:02:52.210 of the feeding of the 5,000, we really botch it up a lot of times. 00:02:52.500 --> 00:02:59.620 Jesus actually tells us what the application is in portions of the Gospel, so we're going to look at the application that 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:04.850 Jesus tells us to make to this, and not botch up what Jesus wants us to understand about this story. 00:03:05.200 --> 00:03:10.260 John chapter 6, verse 1, let's recognize the problem here. 00:03:10.380 --> 00:03:12.420 We could've titled this section... 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:20.200 I titled it Worship in Your Struggle, right, we should learn to worship in our struggle, and Jesus is going to show us a problem here, how to worship. 00:03:20.880 --> 00:03:24.560 But I think we could also title this How Not to Push Jesus Away. 00:03:25.160 --> 00:03:32.160 Because that's what you find in the end of this story, it's interesting how they choose to respond to this, and Jesus' response to their 00:03:32.160 --> 00:03:33.420 interaction with Him. 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:37.580 So we definitely don't want to push Jesus away, but learn how to worship in our struggle. 00:03:38.020 --> 00:03:39.020 So, let's look at the problem, verse 1. 00:03:40.740 --> 00:03:45.780 "After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, or Tiberias. 00:03:48.100 --> 00:03:55.350 A large crowd was following Him, because they were watching the signs which He was performing on those who were sick." Real quick, let me just say this. 00:03:56.400 --> 00:04:01.610 Jesus was going to a place around the Sea of Galilee that's really a newer town, it's more remote. 00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:09.580 This is more a village for peasants, fishermen would've gathered here, agricultural-type society. 00:04:09.720 --> 00:04:15.820 Not a whole lot of great things that you would say for vacation spots you would necessarily want to go and participate. 00:04:15.880 --> 00:04:21.120 So, it's a smaller, rural area that Jesus is participating in life with people here. 00:04:21.320 --> 00:04:23.780 And verse 2, it tells us that there's a large crowd here. 00:04:23.950 --> 00:04:31.000 Here's an indicator for you, any time that you read the Gospels, any time an author says something about a crowd, you know 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:32.410 something dumb's about to happen. 00:04:32.460 --> 00:04:33.820 That's typically... 00:04:33.940 --> 00:04:41.040 Whenever the crowd gathers, it's usually something foolish that then takes place right after that, and that's what you see in verse 2: a large crowd following 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:47.380 after Jesus "because they were watching the signs which He was performing on those who were sick." Verse 3: "But when Jesus went up on the mountain... 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:51.980 He went up on the mountain; there He sat with His disciples." I love this about Jesus. 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:59.580 When Jesus typically teaches, He doesn't bring out the bright lights and the fog machine, you know? 00:05:00.700 --> 00:05:03.980 He usually gathers with a group of people, and think, this is thousands of people. 00:05:03.980 --> 00:05:05.600 What's Jesus do when He gets in front of the crowd? 00:05:05.960 --> 00:05:06.530 He sits down. 00:05:07.340 --> 00:05:07.690 He sits down. 00:05:08.820 --> 00:05:09.860 He does that over and... 00:05:09.940 --> 00:05:14.820 His Sermon on the Mount, I conjured up this image in my mind when Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount. 00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:16.920 I think it's even done like this in the movies. 00:05:17.020 --> 00:05:23.500 Jesus gets up to preach His Sermon on the Mount, and he's orating this eloquent speech in front of all these people as He stands there. 00:05:23.940 --> 00:05:26.940 And really, what the passages says is Jesus goes up on the mountain and He sits down. 00:05:28.840 --> 00:05:29.820 And He does the same thing in this story. 00:05:31.940 --> 00:05:39.120 Jesus is, He's not about the spotlight, it's not about a popularity contest; He just wants 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:41.700 to teach the truth and for people to understand that. 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:48.880 And then verse 4, "Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near." I 00:05:48.880 --> 00:05:54.640 think verse 4 is here because of everything Jesus is about to lead into with verse 5. 00:05:54.900 --> 00:06:00.670 I think Jesus wants us to tie in this story with sort of an Exodus experience. 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:07.860 You remember in the story of Exodus, Moses is with masses of people, journeying through the wilderness. 00:06:09.440 --> 00:06:14.940 And any time you got a crowd, you got problems to figure out with the crowd, and one of those problems is how in the world you're going to feed this group. 00:06:16.960 --> 00:06:24.100 And just like Moses during the time of the initiation of the Passover having to figure out this problem, so the author 00:06:24.100 --> 00:06:31.740 wants to correlate that story, really Numbers chapter 11's where this comes from, verse 13, to 00:06:31.740 --> 00:06:34.320 the story of Jesus in this moment. 00:06:35.880 --> 00:06:42.940 And in verse 5, "So Jesus, after raising His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, 'Where 00:06:42.940 --> 00:06:51.360 are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?'" That's the same thing Moses asked, Numbers chapter 11, verse 13. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:58.040 "Where are we going to find enough meat to feed this crowd?" And Jesus says the same thing to Philip here. 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:04.760 It's like, Jesus wants us to really see how He intersects in our struggle in life, right? 00:07:04.820 --> 00:07:06.200 He puts His thumb right on the problem. 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:12.140 He did that last week when we talked about the healing of the paralytic man next to the porticoes. 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:16.830 Jesus comes, and He certainly identifies the struggle. 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:17.540 He's great at that. 00:07:17.880 --> 00:07:25.000 It wasn't something we could sweep under the rug, and He wants something that we wrestle with, the darkness that we face in life, and He wants 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:27.220 it exposed to the light, and that's what Jesus does in this circumstance. 00:07:27.700 --> 00:07:34.820 "Here's a problem; what are we going to do about it?" In verse 6, I don't know, maybe if you're like me, the answer you would say is, "Let's spaz." Like, there's... 00:07:35.140 --> 00:07:37.140 "I don't know, what can we do about this problem? 00:07:37.380 --> 00:07:38.640 Let's flip out for just a minute. 00:07:38.660 --> 00:07:39.780 Are we supposed to feed these people? 00:07:39.780 --> 00:07:41.220 I didn't know we were supposed to feed these people. 00:07:41.340 --> 00:07:43.320 Who said we were supposed to feed these people? 00:07:43.340 --> 00:07:50.660 Now there's all these people gathering around." And Jesus, verse 6, "He was saying this only to test him, 00:07:51.700 --> 00:07:58.840 for He Himself knew what He intended to do." Jesus is going to use this as 00:07:58.840 --> 00:07:59.620 a teaching moment. 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:09.720 Maybe it's safe to say some of us have been trying to solve things our way for so long and recognizing it's just 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:13.550 not going to work, but what we need is something greater. 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:16.580 What we need is a miracle. 00:08:18.580 --> 00:08:21.870 And Jesus wants His disciples to see that. 00:08:23.220 --> 00:08:30.560 In verse 7, "Philip answered Him, 'Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not enough 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:37.919 for them, for each to receive even just a little.'" I think Philip's really trying here. 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:40.419 Jesus said, "Feed them"; now Philip's trying to solve the problem. 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:46.100 "How in the world are we going to do this?" He counts the money they have, he's like, "We got 200 denarii. 00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:47.040 200 denarii's not even going to touch this. 00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:49.650 We're in a small town, there's no refrigeration. 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:51.580 What do you do with... 00:08:51.920 --> 00:08:59.020 This town doesn't even have this many people, and how in the world are we ever going to feed this many people?" And so, you see Philip struggling with his circumstance. 00:08:59.020 --> 00:09:03.860 But then we get to the responses, verse 8 to 9. 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:12.320 And Jesus gives three responses to this circumstance, and all three responses 00:09:12.420 --> 00:09:13.430 are really unusual. 00:09:13.520 --> 00:09:20.700 If you were in this moment with the crowd, and maybe you think, "We're going to a church service, we're going to meet with Jesus," and maybe 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:27.700 you take along with you your pessimistic friend that's not really all in to who Jesus is, but you've encountered Christ, and so you 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:35.280 love what Jesus is doing, and you just want other people to be exposed to Jesus too, if you take that kind of friend into this is the perfect moment 00:09:35.280 --> 00:09:39.820 for him to expound upon his skepticism based on what Jesus does here. 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:47.240 Jesus does some extraordinary things, but three responses Jesus gives in this circumstance, but He teaches us a lot about how God 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:48.840 can supply in our struggle. 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:49.820 Verse 8, look at this. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:58.640 "One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, 'There is a boy here 00:09:58.640 --> 00:10:06.520 who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many people?'" I 00:10:06.520 --> 00:10:13.520 don't know how Andrew got into this interaction; you try to speculate a little bit in your mind as to what this might look 00:10:13.520 --> 00:10:13.760 like. 00:10:15.140 --> 00:10:22.140 I could imagine that Philip's over here panicking over trying to feed the crowd, and then he looks over and he sees Andrew sitting down with just a 00:10:22.140 --> 00:10:22.660 little boy. 00:10:22.660 --> 00:10:24.110 He's like, "Andrew, what are you doing? 00:10:24.180 --> 00:10:30.090 We got to figure out how to feed these people," and Andrew's like, "Joke's on you, suckas, I found a little boy with some loaves and some fish. 00:10:30.100 --> 00:10:32.980 I'm having my lunch; you guys figure out your own problem." Right? 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:34.980 Is that how Andrew comes into this? 00:10:35.020 --> 00:10:36.630 It doesn't really tell you in this text. 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:43.880 Or maybe not, maybe I'm being too pessimistic towards Andrew here, but maybe more Andrew has a little bit more 00:10:43.880 --> 00:10:45.340 faith in having walked with Jesus. 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:52.440 Maybe Andrew looks at the moment and he's thinking, "You know what, this is probably weird to even say, but I remember when Jesus turned 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:59.540 water into wine, so, Jesus, believe it or not, out of this whole crowd, there happens to be the little boy 00:10:59.540 --> 00:11:00.600 out of everybody. 00:11:00.780 --> 00:11:03.480 Not a man, not like someone sent it for their family. 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:11.860 No one planned ahead for this but this little boy, this little boy did, and he's got some loaves and a couple of fish." 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:11.960 Right? 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:19.800 And so Andrew, maybe in faith, is just hoping, hoping that 00:11:19.860 --> 00:11:21.320 Jesus can do something here. 00:11:21.380 --> 00:11:23.720 He's starting to learn something about who Christ is. 00:11:26.660 --> 00:11:32.160 What we learn here, it becomes an incredible story, right? 00:11:33.460 --> 00:11:34.500 And this is in all four Gospels. 00:11:36.640 --> 00:11:43.720 Jesus takes just a few loaves and a couple of fish, and He feeds thousands of people. 00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:52.020 Can imagine if you were this little boy, what this moment would've been like, really, for the rest of your life. 00:11:54.600 --> 00:12:01.660 How incredible it is that God would use a little boy, and how humbling it is that God would use a 00:12:01.660 --> 00:12:01.860 little boy. 00:12:04.100 --> 00:12:09.600 Yet it's this little boy who has the faith to give this meal over to Jesus. 00:12:12.040 --> 00:12:20.500 I think maybe the first lesson for us when you look at this story is just to simply say this: A moment with Jesus can 00:12:20.540 --> 00:12:21.500 change your life forever. 00:12:24.260 --> 00:12:29.480 One moment with Jesus can change your life forever, if you just surrender. 00:12:31.980 --> 00:12:34.040 And some of you know what that's like, right? 00:12:35.300 --> 00:12:42.820 Because you can think in your own life that moment where you just stopped living for you, and 00:12:42.820 --> 00:12:43.700 you really looked at Jesus. 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:49.140 And maybe you looked at what you had, and it wasn't that great, but you just... 00:12:50.020 --> 00:12:51.920 You turned it over to Him. 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:58.500 And that moment with Jesus has changed your life forever. 00:13:01.220 --> 00:13:08.960 Verse 10: "Jesus said, 'Have the people recline to eat.' 00:13:09.300 --> 00:13:11.240 Now there was plenty of grass in the place. 00:13:11.280 --> 00:13:13.460 So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. 00:13:13.460 --> 00:13:21.760 Just then, Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were reclining; likewise also 00:13:21.760 --> 00:13:28.840 of the fish, as much as they wanted." You think about this: You go to the worship service 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:36.720 with Jesus, with your pessimistic friend, and you see Andrew come up, and 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:40.360 he's presented Jesus with these five loaves and two fish. 00:13:42.540 --> 00:13:49.540 And you're sitting there with your friend, and you're listening to what Jesus says, and your friend says, "What is Jesus saying?" "Jesus, 00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:51.040 I don't know, I can't really see Him. 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:52.940 He's kind of sitting down." Right? 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:54.780 "But I think He just said... 00:13:55.100 --> 00:13:56.600 I think He just told us to all sit down. 00:13:56.700 --> 00:13:57.630 Why is He telling us to all sit down? 00:13:57.860 --> 00:14:03.220 I think He's planning to feed us with the five loaves and the two fish." "Why is He going to... 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:10.720 How's He going to do that?" "I don't know, but now He's praying." "Why is He praying?" "I think He really believes He can feed us with five 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:17.740 loaves and two fish." You can imagine just being in that moment, just how ridiculous that 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:18.440 might look, right? 00:14:19.220 --> 00:14:21.980 "5,000 people, five loaves, two fish, let's do this," right? 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:25.680 You're thinking, "By the time this even gets to us, there's definitely not going to be anything left. 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:27.450 What, are we taking, like, communion-size today? 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:28.230 What is this? 00:14:28.280 --> 00:14:35.320 This is not going to be enough for this group, Jesus." But Jesus completely believes, and you're thinking, "I journeyed all the way out to this wilderness 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:36.720 to meet with this guy? 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:42.610 This guy is crazy." But you know how the story goes, right? 00:14:44.380 --> 00:14:45.730 What's Jesus teaching us? 00:14:47.670 --> 00:14:55.460 It's not about the size of the gift, but it's about the size of your God and 00:14:55.460 --> 00:14:56.160 the heart of the giver. 00:14:58.430 --> 00:15:01.990 Guys, it's not about the size of the gift. 00:15:03.660 --> 00:15:11.360 And that's such an important lesson for anyone putting their faith in Christ, because here's the tendency in our own lives, is that when 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:15.820 we come to Jesus, sometimes we look at what we have to give and we're like, "Guys, why would I even give this? 00:15:15.920 --> 00:15:17.020 I don't understand. 00:15:17.020 --> 00:15:18.640 Compared to them, they have so much more. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:22.380 Why give what I've got when what they've got is so much better? 00:15:22.380 --> 00:15:24.140 Jesus can do so much more with what they got. 00:15:24.140 --> 00:15:27.280 I'll just let them do that, because they've got something that I don't have. 00:15:27.280 --> 00:15:29.540 It looks better than what I've got, and so who am I? 00:15:29.540 --> 00:15:34.460 I'm just a little boy, and to offer just a few loaves and some fish to God, what's God going to do with that? 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:35.340 God can use them. 00:15:35.340 --> 00:15:42.110 Look, He's made them more talented than me." It's not about the size of the gift. 00:15:45.970 --> 00:15:52.220 It's about the heart of the giver and the size of your God, the power of your God. 00:15:55.240 --> 00:15:58.440 God can do just incredible things with just very little. 00:16:00.800 --> 00:16:08.000 I'm not saying to be stingy with God and just give God a little; I'm saying just use 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:10.150 whatever God's given you for His glory. 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.880 The results aren't up to you; it's up to Him. 00:16:13.900 --> 00:16:15.520 What God's interested in is your heart. 00:16:15.560 --> 00:16:19.770 You know, there's three ways we can look at the possessions of things that we have in life. 00:16:21.060 --> 00:16:21.700 The first... 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:22.700 They all start with S. 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:23.340 Let me just say it like this. 00:16:23.560 --> 00:16:30.640 The first is to be selfish, "what's mine is mine"; The second is to be 00:16:30.640 --> 00:16:40.160 stealing, "what's His is mine"; and the third is to be a steward, "what's mine is His." Had 00:16:40.160 --> 00:16:47.510 the little boy not saw his possessions as a steward, he would've missed out at the great things God would've done. 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:51.140 This moment would've changed his life forever. 00:16:52.780 --> 00:16:57.820 Sure, you can hold on to the things that are yours, but just look at the beauty of what it became. 00:17:00.800 --> 00:17:07.980 When we approach life with the attitude of "what's mine is mine," how could God ever 00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:12.980 expect to bless you with more when you're not even willing to give what He's already given to you? 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:18.000 It's not about the size of the gift, but the heart of the giver. 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:28.140 When we come to worship on a day like this, we're not here to impress anybody, we're here to connect with Jesus, because 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:29.140 what's mine is His. 00:17:32.120 --> 00:17:33.660 God, how can I leverage this for your glory? 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:37.050 How can I be a part of something great that you are doing? 00:17:39.300 --> 00:17:43.040 You know, one of the beautiful things that we've been seeing in our church, just over the last year... 00:17:43.040 --> 00:17:50.100 We start our calendar year in September, we follow a school year, so our fiscal year starts in September, and I remember 00:17:50.100 --> 00:17:57.100 we met with a group of our board, our elders, our leaders here at the church, and we were just thinking through what would be healthy for our church this 00:17:57.100 --> 00:18:00.180 year and where God is leading us and seeing us grow. 00:18:00.760 --> 00:18:07.800 Our heart was towards missions, just to think about how we can see God not just do great things here, but just continue to do 00:18:07.800 --> 00:18:08.840 great things through His church. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:14.460 And we just sort of set some, what we thought were feasible goals for our church this year in giving. 00:18:15.580 --> 00:18:17.510 We haven't really talked a whole lot about missions. 00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:26.000 We had baby bottles here a couple weeks ago to fill up for pregnancy care centers in our valley, and 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:29.210 then the only thing we've presented really formally was Uganda. 00:18:30.540 --> 00:18:34.750 But so far this year, a third of our budget has gone to missions. 00:18:36.860 --> 00:18:41.580 You know, as a church, $75,000 from our church this year is going to missions. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:44.500 That's incredible. 00:18:44.560 --> 00:18:48.200 I looked at that and I thought, "I don't even know if we'll ever do this again. 00:18:48.360 --> 00:18:55.260 This is amazing to see the Lord work in His people for His glory with just what we have." I mean, we're not... 00:18:55.500 --> 00:19:02.600 We didn't shoot for really a number or anything, we just, "Lord, we're willing, whatever you've got, let's just see you move through is," 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:06.270 and together, it's incredible what God can do. 00:19:07.140 --> 00:19:14.180 I mean, all we did was really one Sunday, we presented a need, and on one Sunday, we took over 10% of our yearly budget 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:16.600 in an offering to go to Uganda. 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:20.640 That's powerful. 00:19:22.820 --> 00:19:27.200 It's a powerful thing to see God work through His people. 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:34.240 So, there's the approach that we can take that is selfish, but how can God trust us with more when we don't even give what He's 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:35.240 given to us? 00:19:36.620 --> 00:19:41.780 And this doesn't just have to do with finances, it's not just a money thing. 00:19:41.840 --> 00:19:48.970 This is just to check where our heart is with what God's given to us, and to not downplay the importance of what God has blessed you with. 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:51.500 Who cares if someone else is better? 00:19:54.020 --> 00:19:56.440 It's not about what they have versus what you have. 00:19:58.800 --> 00:20:05.840 It's not even about the size of your gift, but the heart of the giver and the 00:20:05.940 --> 00:20:08.100 power of the God that you believe in. 00:20:10.420 --> 00:20:17.540 God calls us to be stewards, and it's when we steward 00:20:17.540 --> 00:20:20.280 the things of God that we see the hand of God move. 00:20:20.380 --> 00:20:21.120 We get a front-row seat. 00:20:21.360 --> 00:20:23.650 That's what the life of this boy is, right? 00:20:24.700 --> 00:20:26.160 Could you imagine if he just held on to the food? 00:20:26.760 --> 00:20:28.680 "Me and Andrew are going to sit in the corner and eat this. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:34.780 Good luck, guys." But because of that, his life is changed forever. 00:20:35.040 --> 00:20:42.560 You know, when I think about how that might play in just more than this story, because 00:20:42.560 --> 00:20:45.340 you know, this Friday for us as a church, this Friday is Good Friday. 00:20:47.520 --> 00:20:48.040 Good Friday. 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:55.200 You ever wonder, "Why in the world do we call Good Friday good?" It's a bit speculative, but in case you didn't know, Good Friday's the day 00:20:55.360 --> 00:20:56.260 Jesus died on the cross. 00:20:56.650 --> 00:20:59.600 Why in the world would we call that good? 00:21:02.800 --> 00:21:10.000 Might I just throw out maybe a suggestion for you this Friday as you enter into Friday and what makes it good? 00:21:12.860 --> 00:21:18.180 It wasn't the nails that held Him on the cross; it was His love. 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:22.220 His love held Him there for you. 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:31.960 That's what makes that day so good, that God would love you that deeply, and the same God that came 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:34.810 for this boy is the same God that comes for you. 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:44.580 And the proof of the resurrection is the demonstration that His word is good, and that His promises are true, that 00:21:44.580 --> 00:21:45.320 Jesus has overcome. 00:21:47.020 --> 00:21:54.280 And so, when you think about the challenges in your life, and the God who comes to meet you in them, this was why 00:21:54.280 --> 00:21:56.720 this miracle is in all four Gospels. 00:21:59.180 --> 00:22:06.400 To see that it's the same God that enters into our world for our benefit 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:13.820 and His glory, that if we would just come to Him, because a moment with the Lord can change our lives forever, 00:22:13.820 --> 00:22:18.600 and that we don't want to miss out on the opportunity to see the hand of God move in our lives. 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:22.670 So, number three, let me give you the third response. 00:22:25.600 --> 00:22:26.580 Interesting here, right? 00:22:26.620 --> 00:22:33.260 Jesus uses a kid, and in verse 10 and 11, Jesus wants us to relax and worship. 00:22:33.860 --> 00:22:40.880 A little bit odd with just five loaves and two fish, but if you're stressed out about something, rather than spaz, maybe consider 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:44.300 relax and worship for a minute in Him. 00:22:44.460 --> 00:22:48.240 And in verse 12, Jesus wants to take up a collection. 00:22:50.020 --> 00:22:57.120 And you think for a minute, if you're coming to this to 00:22:57.120 --> 00:23:04.160 worship the Lord, you come to this, and you're thinking, "Jesus, there's no way you're going to be able to 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:08.450 feed all these people," and then Jesus feeds all these people. 00:23:08.620 --> 00:23:15.820 And then after Jesus feeds all these people, Jesus then says to the crowd, "Okay, we're going to take up a collection." "What are we going to collect, Lord?" 00:23:16.340 --> 00:23:23.200 "Everything you just ate." And again, you'd be looking at that moment thinking, "And, yeah, you are certifiably insane. 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:30.420 This is not normal, Jesus." But Jesus does that, verse 12: "And when they had eaten their fill, He said to His 00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:37.820 disciples, 'Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.'" Now, let 00:23:37.820 --> 00:23:40.340 me just tell you, when people get to the end of this story, here's... 00:23:40.560 --> 00:23:43.800 I'm going to tell you the interpretation we often make, and then I'm going to tell you it's wrong, okay? 00:23:44.020 --> 00:23:48.800 Here's the interpretation we often make: If you give to God just a little, He will multiply you a lot. 00:23:49.340 --> 00:23:49.620 Right? 00:23:50.340 --> 00:23:52.810 You got a tiny house, you give God your tiny house, He'll give you a big house. 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:55.140 You got a tiny car, you give God your tiny car, He'll give you a big car. 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:57.360 You give a little bit to God, God'll give you a lot. 00:23:57.360 --> 00:23:59.040 You give God a dollar, He'll make it a million, right? 00:23:59.360 --> 00:24:06.460 That's usually the interpretation that I often hear in a passage like this, and I want you to know that is not the point of the story, 00:24:07.600 --> 00:24:08.120 because here's why. 00:24:09.120 --> 00:24:14.040 If you end with that point to this story, guess who the hero of the story is: you. 00:24:15.340 --> 00:24:19.460 You've just turned this miraculous story about Jesus into all about you. 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:23.940 And so, when you read this story, you're going to think, "I'm going to do this because I want to make it all about me. 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:31.160 I'm just going to use Jesus to get what I want, and I've got $100 right now, and I want it to be $1,000 tomorrow, so Jesus, 00:24:31.160 --> 00:24:34.290 here you go." But the point of the story isn't about you. 00:24:37.320 --> 00:24:41.730 Jesus certainly cares about you; you see His care here. 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:50.520 But to just stop with you is to miss the heart of what Jesus desires for you to see in Him, 00:24:51.660 --> 00:24:55.080 because the point of the story isn't you. 00:24:56.080 --> 00:24:59.260 The point of the story is Jesus. 00:25:03.340 --> 00:25:10.280 God fills us up, not because of us, but because of Him. 00:25:12.060 --> 00:25:14.560 Look in verse 13 and 14. 00:25:14.980 --> 00:25:16.190 This is where we make the right application. 00:25:19.420 --> 00:25:26.680 "So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which 00:25:26.740 --> 00:25:28.340 were left over by those who had eaten. 00:25:29.340 --> 00:25:36.960 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, 'This is truly the Prophet who is come into the world." So, there's two responses here; 00:25:37.560 --> 00:25:44.660 we're going to look at the second one in verse 15 in a minute, but one pushes Jesus away, and the other one draws Jesus 00:25:44.660 --> 00:25:44.760 near. 00:25:45.940 --> 00:25:49.080 And we certainly want to be the people that draw Jesus near. 00:25:52.010 --> 00:25:52.190 Now, let me just say this. 00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:53.100 This is a miracle, right? 00:25:53.100 --> 00:25:54.100 This story obviously is a miracle. 00:25:55.460 --> 00:26:01.940 And when I come to put my faith in Christ, a few things I think are important for us. 00:26:02.080 --> 00:26:05.620 One is to recognize God has built faith in a very logical way. 00:26:06.620 --> 00:26:13.720 When you think about, like we talked about Good Friday, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, like you're in a place in your life where you're just wondering, "Should I even be trusting in 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:20.320 Jesus?" Jesus has given us enough in God's Word to validate who He is. 00:26:20.560 --> 00:26:26.000 There's enough proof in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus alone to say, "Okay, I'm putting my trust in Jesus. 00:26:26.260 --> 00:26:30.320 He is who He says." His Word prophetically revealing exactly who He is before He came. 00:26:30.320 --> 00:26:32.020 God has made faith very logical. 00:26:33.220 --> 00:26:40.260 And at the same time, in seeing that, there is still a place of trust in saying, "God, because you have been good in your word, and because you are who you say you are, I 00:26:40.260 --> 00:26:47.460 am now taking my soul and entrusting that into you because of how you've communicated yourself and how you've 00:26:47.540 --> 00:26:53.740 faithfully demonstrated yourself, and therefore my soul." There is a leap of trust in your faith in God because of that. 00:26:55.880 --> 00:27:03.000 And so, when you look at a story like this, I think it's important to recognize, when you come to a miracle and you see God doing things like this, to see a precedent for, and therefore 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:08.880 God, as you trust yourself into Him, that God is able to fulfill everything that He promises to you as well. 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:16.340 In verse 13 and 14, Jesus shows yet one more time in this story, they gather up 12 baskets full. 00:27:17.840 --> 00:27:23.400 When you think about these 12 baskets, it's kind of interesting that He does 12 baskets, right? 00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:24.120 What is this? 00:27:24.120 --> 00:27:29.780 I guess after the meeting's done, when the disciples leave, every disciple gets a goodie bag to walk with Jesus, right? 00:27:29.780 --> 00:27:34.100 For the rest of the day, they know where their meal's coming from, because they've all got 12 baskets they get to carry now. 00:27:34.320 --> 00:27:39.740 I mean, that's pretty cool to think about, Jesus' 12 disciples and 12 baskets, so they can eat from. 00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:42.740 But I think there's a little bit more to the story than that. 00:27:44.380 --> 00:27:51.340 Because when you think about the story of the feeding of the 5,000, you look in the Gospels, you can recognize this isn't the only time Jesus fed a crowd. 00:27:51.340 --> 00:27:58.660 Jesus fed 5,000, and then a little bit later in some of the Gospels, it also records for us that Jesus feeds 00:27:58.660 --> 00:27:59.620 4,000 people. 00:28:01.380 --> 00:28:04.160 Jesus feeds both 5,000 and 4,000. 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:11.740 And what's really interesting about this story is, if you read in the book of Matthew or the book of Mark when Jesus talks about both those stories, the 00:28:11.760 --> 00:28:19.320 5,000 and the 4,000, He doesn't tell the disciples the point of the feeding of the 5,000 and to the point of the feeding of the 4,000 until both 00:28:19.320 --> 00:28:22.740 of those events are over, and then He explains it to them. 00:28:23.340 --> 00:28:28.150 It happens in the book of Matthew chapter 16, and it happens in the book of Mark in chapter 8, but look at this. 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:36.720 In chapter 8, verses 18, Jesus explains to His disciples in this portion why He feeds the 5,000 and 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:38.040 why He fed the 4,000. 00:28:40.320 --> 00:28:43.860 Jesus says, "'Having eyes, do you not see? 00:28:45.520 --> 00:28:46.720 And having ears, do you not hear? 00:28:48.560 --> 00:28:55.600 And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces 00:28:55.600 --> 00:29:02.720 did you pick up?' They said to Him, 'Twelve.' 'When I broke the seven for the four thousand, 00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:11.840 how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?' And they said to Him, 'Seven.' And He was saying to them, 'Do 00:29:11.840 --> 00:29:15.980 you not yet understand?'" What? 00:29:17.740 --> 00:29:18.330 Do you understand? 00:29:19.890 --> 00:29:25.140 Jesus is talking about baskets here; you're thinking, "Who cares? 00:29:25.420 --> 00:29:26.240 We picked up 12, who cares? 00:29:26.580 --> 00:29:27.820 We picked up seven, who cares? 00:29:27.820 --> 00:29:29.120 We picked up the baskets, Jesus. 00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:31.630 You told us to pick up the baskets, we collected it, and we picked up the baskets. 00:29:32.120 --> 00:29:33.140 Who cares about the baskets? 00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:36.880 The baskets were full." But Jesus in this story is saying, "But this is exactly the point. 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:42.040 The whole point of the story is the basket." Well, what does this have to do with me, right? 00:29:42.060 --> 00:29:44.540 Why do I need to know anything about these baskets? 00:29:44.580 --> 00:29:45.340 Well, here's the point. 00:29:47.380 --> 00:29:51.780 When Jesus was feeding the 5,000, He was in an area of Israel. 00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:56.810 How many tribes are in Israel? 00:29:57.060 --> 00:29:57.860 12. 00:29:58.900 --> 00:30:00.460 12 tribes. 00:30:01.340 --> 00:30:02.890 12 tribes in Israel. 00:30:05.100 --> 00:30:09.330 When Jesus feeds the 4,000, He's in an area of Gentiles. 00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:12.900 What's the number of completion or fullness for Gentiles? 00:30:14.360 --> 00:30:15.500 Seven. 00:30:17.060 --> 00:30:24.220 Jesus, in the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000, is communicating to both the Jewish world and the Gentile world 00:30:25.620 --> 00:30:31.320 that He's able to satisfy them, and in Him, there's more than enough, there's plenty to go around. 00:30:32.800 --> 00:30:39.820 In fact, what Jesus is saying is that He can supply, and His supply is unending; that you 00:30:39.820 --> 00:30:45.260 can take and you can eat, and there's enough for everyone else too. 00:30:48.500 --> 00:30:49.720 Jesus is more than enough. 00:30:54.240 --> 00:30:55.860 12 baskets and seven baskets. 00:30:56.620 --> 00:31:03.060 It's not just an arbitrary number; it's an intentional number, to communicate to your soul exactly who Jesus is. 00:31:05.560 --> 00:31:12.640 Jesus comes into your life to provide an encounter for you, that your soul can 00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:13.840 taste and see that He is good. 00:31:16.040 --> 00:31:17.360 Both 12 and seven is the point. 00:31:17.380 --> 00:31:24.740 That's why I say when we get to this story, this story isn't about "come to Jesus so you can get everything that you want." The 00:31:24.840 --> 00:31:27.420 point of the story is to see that giving is the blessing. 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:33.200 It's not about you, it's about Him. 00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:36.520 But because He's good, it fills your soul. 00:31:39.260 --> 00:31:39.920 Jesus is enough. 00:31:42.320 --> 00:31:48.100 And when your soul finds itself content there, you get the joy of seeing God supply. 00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:51.180 Verse 15, though, look at this. 00:31:54.160 --> 00:32:03.120 "So Jesus, aware that they intended to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself, alone." 00:32:03.340 --> 00:32:10.320 Here's the tragedy of the story, is they didn't see the sufficiency of Jesus as enough for them. 00:32:12.120 --> 00:32:18.200 The tragedy of the story is they start thinking about their kingdom and their agenda, and they think, "Wow, Jesus can do that. 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:25.650 Let's put Jesus on our team, and we'll get Jesus to do what we want for our kingdom," and Jesus is like, "I don't want anything to do with that. 00:32:27.150 --> 00:32:29.900 I'm not coming to you for you to invite me to your team. 00:32:32.280 --> 00:32:39.500 I'm coming to you to invite you to my team." When He saw the crowd and the heart's desire was to simply 00:32:39.500 --> 00:32:41.980 focus on themselves, Jesus withdrew. 00:32:46.820 --> 00:32:53.940 When you think about a moment like today, and you think about all your struggles and all the things that 00:32:53.940 --> 00:33:01.460 you've gone through in life, I think the message for us is to 00:33:01.480 --> 00:33:02.160 get out of the way. 00:33:05.160 --> 00:33:12.160 Like Jesus said to His disciples as He sat down, knowing what He was going to do in verse 6, looks at you 00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:19.160 and says, "Relax, worship." And even when it looks like you've got just 00:33:19.160 --> 00:33:26.540 a little, a little in the hands of a great God can radically transform 00:33:26.540 --> 00:33:33.920 anything, because it's not about the size of the gift, but 00:33:33.960 --> 00:33:37.880 the heart of the giver coming to a God who is more than enough. 00:33:41.050 --> 00:33:44.500 The feeding of the 5,000, you look at this and think, "Why? 00:33:45.600 --> 00:33:52.660 Out of all the miracles, out of all the miracles that God could have, why is the feeding 00:33:52.660 --> 00:33:59.880 of the 5,000 here?" It's a communication to the entire world: When 00:33:59.880 --> 00:34:07.180 you don't feel like you have enough, and it feels overwhelming, when you can't even see how trusting 00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:14.250 will help, rest and worship, because a moment with Jesus can change your life forever. 00:34:16.300 --> 00:34:20.620 Jesus in this moment shows us just to pray, give thanks. 00:34:22.580 --> 00:34:25.460 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:31.639 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 00:34:33.260 --> 00:34:35.120 Give us this day our daily bread. 00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:44.699 God, meet the need, because you're more than enough. 00:34:45.860 --> 00:34:49.060 We all have a need for Jesus to satisfy our soul in the midst of trouble. 00:34:51.380 --> 00:34:55.280 We all in some way are in the wilderness, and our souls hunger for satisfaction. 00:34:58.040 --> 00:35:05.060 This doesn't become an invitation for Jesus to join my team, but for me to die to self 00:35:05.060 --> 00:35:09.820 and come to His, that He can fill me up.