We're turning together just to the portion that Mr. Florey read for us a little earlier in the meeting. John chapter six. There's two verses just that we'll pick out from the passage in just a moment or two. It's very nice to be with you again. We're very thankful to your Secretary for the kind invitation to be present and to participate again in this monthly series of meetings. It's always a privilege and an honor to be here. And it's good to see all of you. We welcome you warmly and thank you sincerely for the effort that you make to come and be present. We appreciate that and appreciate your presence very much indeed. You can see I brought some of the good Northern Ireland weather over with me. When we were coming down, a man from the congregation rang me, I suppose just in case I was feeling homesick, and he assured me it's still raining in Northern Ireland ever so lately. He was shocked whenever I told him the weather conditions that we were experiencing here. But it is a reminder of God's faithfulness to us. He assured us that while the earth remained, that seed time and harvest and summer and winter would not cease. And we're glad to experience the summer weather today. I was thinking of that story, I don't know if I've told you the story before about the visiting preacher who came to a church for the first time and he went round the back in through the side door to go into the prayer meeting before the service and his wife was with him and she slipped in through the main door into the congregation and because they entered through two different doors The people in the church didn't identify this lady as the preacher's wife. They thought that she was just a visitor that had come in from the community and they were so excited and so thrilled to see a visitor coming in. Unfortunately, the preacher didn't do so well. The message, they couldn't really follow it and nobody got that much blessing from it. And they were afraid that the bad preaching would put this lady off. coming back to the service. So immediately, the man had said amen. One of the elders went over to speak to the lady to make her feel very welcome, wanted her to be assured they were glad to have her and wouldn't want her to be put off returning. And in the course of what he said, he stated these words, we wouldn't want you to be put off coming back. We don't have that old blether with us too often, referring to the preacher not knowing that it was her husband. So I suppose the moral of the story is be careful who you speak to after the meeting, especially if you don't know who the minister's wife is or the preacher's wife is. You may end up putting your foot on it. Well, just a wee word of prayer together, please. Our Father, we thank Thee for the blessing of being here in Thy presence tonight. We're glad that You've assured us that You never leave us, nor forsake us. And Father, most of all tonight we pray for a very real and definite sense of the Saviour's presence, even here in our midst. We thank Thee, Father, for all who are present, each one that you've brought safely to this place tonight. We're thankful, Father, that we're here with Thy Word in our hands. And it's our cry that Lord, you would bless us here. We read of Jacob at Peniel that the Lord blessed him there. And Lord, as we have met here in this place tonight, may it be true that you'll bless us here in this place. Bless us with thy presence. Draw graciously near. Let this house be a literal Bethel, the very house of God. and the very gate of heaven. We pray that you would bless us with a word from thyself. You have assured us that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. And Father, we pray for a word from your mouth tonight. We ask thee to speak to us. We would cry with David, be not silent unto me, lest I be like them that go down to the pit. We would count it, Father, a great mercy if we were about to hear thy voice tonight and if you were to speak to all of our hearts. Open up thy word. We pray that the eyes of our understanding might be enlightened. Deliver us, we pray, from looking upon the page and yet not seeing the truth of God or seeing the person of the Saviour. We would cry, Holy Spirit, shine thou upon the book we read. and gild its holy pages with the light we need. We thank Father of Isaiah. It says that he saw also the Lord. And that's our desire before we go away tonight. We ask that we might see the Lord, give us a vision of the glory of our God. And we pray that even in this place tonight, that we would know the glory of God manifested even in our midst. We cry with Moses, show me thy glory. Hear this heart cry for Jesus sake. Amen. Amen. John chapter six, please. In the words of verse 9, and if we read just down to the end of verse 11, there is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes, but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were sat down, and likewise of the fishes, as much as they would. In this series of messages, we come to consider one of the miracles of the Lord Jesus. In some respects, it is unfortunate that someone in my position is not here to participate in the messages that have gone before, to have heard those messages and to have heard the direction that has been taken as far as the themes and truths have been concerned. In some respects, you are dealing with milestones in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, picking out some of the great events that marked his earthly ministry. has a book on the life of Christ entitled The Crises of the Christ. The crises being the main events, the great events that were like crises, turning points in his life upon this earth. And we come, as has been stated already, to this, the feeding of the 5,000. And I'm sure that even the youngest amongst us even the children and the young people will be able to identify with the theme tonight. It's one of those stories that you're taught even as a child in Sunday school. Mr. Toms has made some reference to the figure about 5,000. It has been noted before at meetings here how accurate John is in the record that he gives of figures and numbers. If I'm not mistaken Mr Medhurst did a little article for Watching and Waiting along those lines a number of years ago and we commend that to you. It's interesting just with regard to the figure that it is just the men that are included in that number. of about 5,000. If you read all the accounts that are given of this miracle, you will find that Matthew tells you that it's 5,000 men besides women and children. And that gives you some idea of the multitude that was assembled on the hillside of Galilee on that particular day. If you think of it, if every man had his wife with him, that doubles the figure already. And if every man and wife had at least one child or one other relative, perhaps a parent, a grandparent or such like, it gives you some idea. You're talking of a multitude of at least 15,000 people. And that is an evidence of the blessing and the interest that attended the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ when he was here upon this earth. If we contrast with that the day that we live in and the sad state of the spiritual condition of our land, as Mr. Florey indicated a little earlier, the vast crowds today attend the great sporting events and the great pop events in the land. and there's so little interest in the things of God. So when we're talking about the feeding of the 5,000 or about 5,000, keep in mind that that is just a reference to the men. We're told clearly in Matthew that there was also the women and the children present. And this great multitude of people were fed that day with just two little fishes, and five loaves of bread. Now remember, this was just a lad, just a boy, like one of these young men in the meeting tonight. And he had gone out that day to hear the Lord Jesus. And his mother had given him a few provisions. Had given him like a little packed lunch. just to see him through the day. So it wasn't the sort of meal that you would provide for a working man. It was just for a little boy, just for a lad. And there's emphasis put in the passage upon the fact that the fishes were too small fishes. They were very, very tiny. I don't know whether you've ever been to Israel. I went A couple of times, the first time I was there, one of the men that was with me went up one night and he asked for fish and chips. He was not too happy with some of the food they were serving him in the hotel and he thought he would like something that reminded him of home. But he didn't realize that fish and chips in Israel was the fish in its entirety. head, tail, fins, and everything. They generally describe it as St. Peter's fish. But the fish would have filled the plate on its own. It was a large fish, and if you had the stomach to eat it, it would have been a very satisfying meal. But by contrast, what you're told about here is two small fish, two tiny little fishes, and five barley Loaves. Not the sort of big loaf you might carry home from the baker's shop. Maybe more like if you were out for your meal some night and you had soup as a starter and they said a little bap. Something like that. They had maybe five of those. Maybe not even as big as those. And that is what the lad had. And from those five loaves and two little fishes that great multitude was fed. Now, if you think of it, how does that work out? If it was just the 5,000, there's a loaf each among the 5,000. But if it's something in the region of what we have been thinking of, 15,000 people, then it's 3,000 people to one loaf. And you just get a little bit of the fish. chopped off the end. That's how it divides up normally or humanly speaking. We sometimes sing the little chorus, two little fishes, five loaves of bread and 5,000 people by Jesus were fed. This is the miracle that we're thinking of and we're considering this evening. The first miracle the Lord Jesus performed is also recorded in John's Gospel. It is one that causes some people great difficulty. The turning of the water into wine, that's the first miracle, John chapter 2. If that is what we describe as the first miracle, then there is justification for calling this the greatest miracle. that the Lord Jesus performed while he was here upon this earth. You say, why describe it as the greatest miracle? Let me give you quickly a number of reasons. First of all, because of what actually took place that day. When he was feeding that multitude of people, he did it by direct creation. When he was reaching out the bread and the fish, He was calling into existence bread and fish that only a moment or two before had not existed. You have a demonstration here of the creative power of Christ. Contrast that with the first miracle, there was a change from water into wine. That is one of the arguments that the Romanists give for transubstantiation. But I will not take time just to go down that road tonight. But there was a changing of the water into wine. There is a difference here. You see the creator at work. Remember he is the creator. Without him was not anything made. that was made. And when he was here upon this earth, on this occasion, as he stood before the multitude, he displayed that omnipotent power, that creative power. And it was an act of continual creation that carried on going right through the entire feeding of the multitude. That's one reason. why this is the greatest of all the miracles. Another is because of the number of the witnesses that were present. Do you remember what Paul said on one occasion? This thing was not done in a corner. And that is certainly true of this miracle. It wasn't done in some quiet corner where nobody knew anything about it. You think of the charismatics. They sometimes claim great miracles have taken place. You ask them, where did the miracle take place? Well, it's a way out in the jungle somewhere. And there was nobody there to see really whether anything happened at all or not. There were witnesses here. The Bible says by the mouth of two or three witnesses, Every word shall be established. That's maybe one of the reasons why the emphasis is put here on the men in the chapter. Because as far as Jewish custom and practice was concerned, only the witness of a man was taken. That's one reason you know why in 1 Corinthians 15, there's a list given there of those who witnessed the risen Christ. But there's no reference to the women. But were the women not the first at the tomb? Were they not the first to see the Lord Jesus after he rose again? And the reason why they're not recorded there is because there was no credence given to the witness or the testimony of a lady. And I say that's probably one of the reasons why here the emphasis is placed upon the about, we'll have to keep this right, the about the 5,000 men who were present on that occasion. By the mouth of two or three witnesses, Well, there were thousands of witnesses on the hillside that day who witnessed the omnipotent power of the Savior. And another reason why we describe this as the greatest of all miracles is because it's the only incident in the life of Christ that is recorded in all four Gospels. And that is unique. That is very, very significant. The Lord himself, the Holy Ghost, in inspiring the New Testament, draws our attention specifically to this miracle. Four times it is recorded. And in addition to that, the feeding of the 4,000, which is a comparable miracle, is recorded on two occasions in the New Testament. So at least six times in the New Testament scriptures, you have a record of the Lord Jesus miraculously feeding the multitudes. There's no doubt about it. This is the greatest miracle that our Savior performed here upon earth. Now you will know that things like this, the liberals try to explain them away. If there is one thing you can rely upon a liberal or a modernist to do, it is to take the supernatural out of the word of God. And that is what they try to do. There are all sorts of explanations given for what happened. One is, they say that everyone who was present After the Lord Jesus prayed, they brought out all these hidden provisions that they had brought with them. Nobody knew anything about them. Nobody really was aware that they brought these things along that day. But suddenly, they brought them out and they shared them around. And that's one of the great lessons that you will hear in many modernist and ecumenical churches It's a lesson in sharing. And that's all they can see in a passage like this. They endeavor to explain it away. And that's one reason why we put emphasis on the fact of how many witnesses were actually there that day. It was witnessed by thousands of people. If in the days of Christ, a court had been set up to prove the reality of this miracle, There would have been thousands of people who could have been called into the courtroom to testify to the reality of what took place that day. And remember, it's even recorded here as a miracle. Verse 14 says, then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, there's no doubt about it. This was a real, an actual, A literal miracle. The people who were there that day had absolutely no doubt. Mark that verse in your Bible. If somebody ever challenges you about this passage or ever tries to explain it away, open the Bible at John 6 and 14 and show them the record in the book of God that says it was a miracle that was performed on that occasion. And the miracles, Christ performed them as a proof or as an evidence of his deity, of who he really was. That's the difference between John's gospel and the other three. John's gospel reveals his deity. These things are written that you might know that he is the son of God. And that is why you have the record of these miracles given for us. They're evidences of the deity, the fact that he is the eternal son of God. Now there are some lessons we can learn from the miracle. There are spiritual lessons and there are practical lessons. And I would like us, as we think of this display of the power of Christ, I would like us to concentrate tonight a little on the practical lessons that we can draw from them. Some simple lessons that can be applied to the lives of everyone who is here present tonight. You'll notice first of all there's a lesson here in giving. A lesson about our giving to God and giving to his work. I'm sure you're familiar with the name Rockefeller. Rockefellers are the multi-millionaires in the United States. John Rockefeller Sr. was an oil magnate. He owned the Standard Oil Company in the United States. And at one time, his wealth was estimated to be something like 900 million American dollars. I read an article in the newspaper once that contrasted John Rockefeller with Bill Gates today. They both had a monopoly. on the business that they were engaged in. Bill Gates, they reckon, is worth something over $50 billion, but because of the decrease in the value of money, they think that Rockefeller was actually worth more than Bill Gates is today. But John Rockefeller said once, if he hadn't tithed his first dollar, he wouldn't have been able to have tithed his first million. It would be very hard to tithe a million, wouldn't it? If you thought you had to give a hundred thousand of it away. But he was a tither. He gave his money to God's work. And he gave vast sums of money to God's work. In Toronto, in our Toronto church, there was an elderly man, a Mr. McComb, came from Northern Ireland originally. to North America and they bought some oil shares way back in the thirties and they let the shares lie for years and when his brothers and sisters died they left their shares to him and he lived to be an old man he didn't marry until he was 90 years of age and his bride was 72 and her mother was still alive and was present at the wedding but whenever our Toronto church bought a piece of land to establish their Christian school. The bit of land cost them about one and a half million Canadian dollars. And he paid in its entirety for that piece of ground. And there was a little school building that stood upon it. And in his memory, they call it the Macomb building. Isn't it tremendous to have men like that, men of wealth, men of substance that can support and aid the work of God. But the reality is there are not really many men like that in the church of Christ. And we can say, I don't have much money. I don't have much of this world's goods. What can I do? What can I give to the Lord and to the cause of Christ? I don't have much learning. I don't have much ability. I don't have many talents. I don't even have much bodily strength, especially as the years go onward. What could I give to God? Well, you know, there's a lesson here for us. And the lesson is whatever you have, whatever you have, how little, whatever it is, give it to God. and He can use it. He can use it to His glory. As now what we find in that ninth verse, there's a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes. But what are they among so many? It didn't seem to be much. It hardly even seemed worth considering. It was so little, so insignificant, Why even give any thought to it at all? And yet the Lord took it that day and the Lord used it for his glory. It's not what it actually says. Verse 11, Jesus took the loaves. He didn't laugh at them. He didn't despise the tiny little amount. He didn't scorn it or look down upon it. If we read the passage right, the disciples did. The disciples said, what are these? It's so little. It's so useless. But that wasn't the attitude of Christ. The Savior took and he used that little amount, the five loaves, the two fishes. He received it that day. And he used it to great effect. He used it way beyond. our greatest expectation. And the lesson is clear, brethren and sisters, whatever you have, you may not think it very much. You might even think what you have to give to God. It's hardly worth noting, but whatever you have, give it to the Lord and he can use it. And you have an example here of the mighty way that he can use it. to his own glory. There are other examples of the same truth in the scriptures. Do you remember Moses? And the Lord said, what is that in thine hand? It was just a rod, just a stick. And didn't the Lord take it and use it? It became known throughout Israel as the rod of God. The Lord used it to perform miracles and to display his power before Pharaoh and before Egypt. Think of Samson. What had Samson in his hand when he came before the Philistines? Just the jawbone of an ass, an old bone, a bit of a skull. What was that? And yet the Lord used it. The Lord used it that day to work a mighty victory. Think of David, the young lad. When he stood before the giant, they tried to fit him out with Saul's armor. But when he stepped out onto the battlefield that day, he hadn't much in his hand. He had just a little leather sling and five little stones and a shepherd's bag. What was that to take out onto the battlefield for Israel and God that day? And yet the Lord used it. Isn't that a victory that's known to the very ends of the earth? how the Lord used that little insignificant weapon that day. He said that all the earth, it's recorded in the chapter, that all the earth might know that there's a God in Israel. And all the earth to this day knows of what David did with that insignificant little weapon that day. When we were in Israel, we were at Bethany to see the tomb of Lazarus, whether it's the tomb or not. Who knows? But there was a man there selling slings. I brought one home with me. And he gave us a demonstration. He put this stone. It wasn't a pebble. If it had hit you on the head with it, it would have killed you dead. And he put the stone in it and he up the street and hit this telegraph pole. crack of the stone of the telegraph pole. I haven't practiced with it. I bring it out now and again when I tell the story of David and Goliath. But think as well, think of the New Testament. You think of the widow in the temple. And what did that widow cast in? It wasn't a tithe of a million dollars or a million and a half Canadian dollars. two mates, all are living. And yet it is recorded for us in the New Testament as one of the greatest acts of giving to God that ever took place. Whatever you have, brethren and sisters, how little you have, God can use it, and he can use it mightily, in his service. And I urge you to give it to him today. Be encouraged. You don't have to give great amounts. You don't have to give great value. Whatever you have, you give it. Because little is much. when God is in it. We sometimes sing that, and you have an illustration of it here in this place. There's a lesson then in giving. There's also a lesson in serving. Look there again at that verse 9. Do you see how it opens? It says there is a lad here. It's not relevant, but there's more than one lad here tonight. And I would like all the lads and lassies to listen very carefully. We're glad to see all the young people in the meeting and we thank you especially for coming to be with us. You look at what it says. There's a lad here. You think of the age. Think of the age group of the one who provided the food that day. Think of what age category he fell into. The person that served the Lord so willingly. The Bible says he was just a lad. In other words, he was only a young person, a young boy, maybe even a teenager. And maybe in all respects, he might not even have got as far as being a teenager. But the reality is, he wasn't an adult. He wasn't one who was fully grown. Here is an example of a young person serving the Lord. And I'd like you to see that tonight. I'd especially like all the young people to see it. I'd like you to be encouraged. There's a message in this story, a message in this miracle for you as well tonight. An example of a young person serving the Lord. There again, there are other examples of that in the Bible. You think of Samuel. Didn't his mother bring him to the tabernacle? And she presented him and lent him to the Lord all the days of his life. And the Bible says that the child Samuel ministered before the Lord. He's just a child. He's only a boy. He's still just a lad. And what's he doing? He's ministering. He's serving the Lord. in the tabernacle. You think as well of Timothy in the New Testament. It says, let no man despise thy youth. He's still a young person. You talk about fellowship of youth. And if you're a member of the youth fellowship, well, there's a word for you. Don't let anybody despise your youth. Don't let anybody despise the fact that you're a young person. You can live for God and you can serve him even while you're young. Remember when Paul was writing to Timothy, at that time he was already a minister. He was already in charge of a church. He was already doing the work of an evangelist. Here's a young man serving the Lord. You think as well of David, we have made reference to David already and to the little weapon that he used to fight Goliath. But remember, whenever David was engaged in that great event of killing Goliath, do you remember what Saul said to him before he went out? He talked about Goliath being a man of war from his youth. And he said to David, but thou art but a youth. That event, and it's the event that we remember David most for, maybe the greatest event in his life, And when he killed the giant, he was only a youth. When he stepped out that day before all Israel to defeat the enemies of Israel, he was only a lad. He was only a boy when he did that great work for God. God can use the young people. And that should encourage even us older people. to pray on for the young people in the church and the young people of the community. Isn't it interesting that Mr. Spurgeon, in his first church at Water Beach, he was only a lad of 17 and he was known as the boy preacher of Water Beach. Just a boy, a boy preacher. And we can pray today, we can take encouragement, brethren and sisters, And pray that in this land again God would give us more boy preachers. More young men like that with a passion from their teenage years to preach Christ in all his fullness. The lesson is you can serve the Lord whenever you're young. When you're still a teenager you don't have to wait till you leave school. You don't have to wait until you're an adult before you do a work for God. You can serve the Lord now in your youth. You can serve him in the school, in the place of learning where you are. You can serve him in your early years. And I'd want to encourage you to do that. Because remember this, now is the only time we're sure of Isn't that right? No guarantee of tomorrow, let alone any guarantee of thinking that you're going to live to be old. That's a good lesson even to ponder upon for a moment. Boast not thyself of tomorrow. In the province, in the last couple of weeks, I knew of three young men One 18, one 21, the other about 27. All died in car accidents. All the children of Christian homes died in their youth. No guarantee that you'll live to be old. So therefore I urge you, regardless of what others are doing, don't you worry about your other friends at school or college. Don't you worry about your other friends even in church. Regardless of what others are doing, you serve the Lord. Like this boy, you serve him from your youth. So there's a lesson in serving as well. There's also a lesson here in organizing. Look again at verse 10. Jesus said, make the men sit down. If I could digress just a moment, that next statement is very interesting. Now there was much grass in that place. Isn't it interesting the Holy Spirit recorded that? The Lord was interested in their comfort. Nature provided a very comfortable seat for them to sit down on. We believe in the principle that the mind can only take in what the bottom can endure. Once your bottom gets sore and you start to shift about in the seat, you don't concentrate anymore. Isn't that right? I reminded the church committee of this passage when they were going to buy some new chairs for the prayer room and I encouraged them to buy nice soft padded ones. And I said we had the example of the Lord Jesus here in this place. There was much grass. It's recorded for a reason. The place where they sat down, they had a padded seat under their bottoms. But that's a little digression. We're thinking of organizing. It says the Lord Jesus said, make the men sit down. And I want you to understand, they weren't just to sit down anywhere. They weren't just to sit down in a great mass. Now you think of the difficulties that that would cause. If 15,000 people just sat down in a mass on the hillside, how difficult would it be to go between them? when the disciples were actually serving the bread, they'd have to tramp over the top of everybody. That's not what happened on that occasion. We're told, in Mark's account, they were encouraged to sit down by hundreds and by fifties. They sat down orderly. in little groups together here and there across the hillside. And I want to emphasize that, brethren and sisters. There was order here. The event that took place that day was an event that was organized and planned. And one of the things you learn from that is that God is a God of order. And we need to be reminded of that, even in the day in which we live. Think of the universe. Think of the world. There are days. There are months. There are seasons. Those things are planned. Those things are organized. Those things take place in order. Who caused it? It was our God. He's a God of order. He planned it. He arranged it. The days and the months and the years and the seasons don't happen in a haphazard fashion. Our God is a God of order. You think as well of the tabernacle, that tent that the children of Israel worshipped in for most of the time or most of the days of the Old Testament. Isn't it true that everything had its place? Whenever they erected the tabernacle, they weren't left to their own desires as to where they would put the furniture. Well, here's the brazen altar, we'll just set it over in the corner. And here's the laver, we'll put it inside the Holy of Holies. It wasn't like that. It was all planned. Everything had its place. God had ordered it all. And the same was true even of the tents that the children of Israel dwelt in. If you read the book of Numbers carefully, you'll find that every tribe had its place, a specific place on a specific side of the tabernacle. We see the order of God even in that place of worship. You think of Israel leaving Egypt. I wonder what What sort of picture do you have in your mind of Israel coming out of bondage, coming out of Egypt? Again, think of the numbers. Is it 600,000 foot men that we're told of? That was just the men. There probably would have been two or three million people leaving Egypt. How did they come out that night? Was it just a case of, you know, like the charge of the light brigade? Charge everybody, this great mass of people, just as quick as we can get out of here, and every man for himself. That's not what the Bible says. It says they came out in ranks, and there was five in a rank. They marched out in a decent manner, like an army. They came out of Egypt in an orderly fashion. Our God, brethren and sisters, is a God of order. And I want to stress that to you tonight. And we need to learn the lesson. We need to be like that ourselves. How does your life, how does your home compare when you think of the order of our God? It's an example for us to follow. We should be like this in our business, in our work, in our home, but especially in the church of Jesus Christ, our church meetings, everything that we do in the name of Christ, it should be done in an orderly manner. It's not what Paul said when he was writing to the Corinthians, let everything be done decently and in order. The sad thing was, in Corinth, that wasn't the case. That's one of the reasons why Paul had to write to the Corinthians. Corinth was a problem church. There were all sorts of problems that Paul had to address. He wasn't able to visit at that particular time, and he had been made aware. Some people had told him, some had written to him, told him about the difficulties, and one of them was the absolute chaos in the meetings. And he had to address that in the letter. And that's why he stated that principle. Learn it well tonight. Everything done decently and in order. And let me stress this, and again, maybe especially for the young people. You remember this. If you go to a meeting and there's no order in that meeting, if it's just confusion, If nobody knows what's happening, if nobody knows what's being said, if nobody gets any benefit from that service, if there's just confusion, you remember that meeting is not of God. It's not, no matter what people will want to tell you about it, because God is not the author of confusion. A meeting where God is, a meeting where the spirit of God is at work, is a meeting that will be carried out decently. and in order. Remember Paul said as well, he said the rest will I set in order when I come. He addressed some of the things in the epistle. There were other things he knew would have to be addressed. And he said the rest, I'm going to set it all in order. And Titus, whenever Paul was writing to Titus, that was one of the reasons Titus had to go to the island of Crete. He said, to set in order the things that are wanting there. That's one of the great ministries these men had in the days of the New Testament. Let's move on quickly. Two other things I'd like you to see if time will allow us. We've thought of a lesson in giving, a lesson in serving, a lesson in organizing. There's a lesson here as well in testing. Look at verse six. It says, and this he said, to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do. A lesson in testing. Philip had been asked a question. The Lord Jesus posed the question, when shall we buy bread that these may eat? Now, probably the reason he addressed Philip was Philip was from Bethsaida. which was just a little distance from where they were at that particular time. He was the local man. He would know the baker. He would know the local supermarket. He would know the local prices. Whence shall we buy bread? He was asking him, you're the man here on the ground. Philip, where could we go to get the food that we need to feed this multitude? But the Lord Jesus asked him that question for a specific reason. It was to try him, to test him. He's in a difficult situation. Would you like to have been in that situation that day? And the Lord say to you, look at all that multitude out there, Philip, and I want you to go and get some food for them. But it was no accident, no accident that Philip was in the circumstances And no accident did the Lord ask him the question. He did it as a test, as a trial. And I want you to see clearly from that verse, from verse six, I want you to see that God does test his people. And maybe what you're passing through tonight, maybe what circumstances you're faced with, maybe it's just the same as this. It's to prove you. The Lord's bringing this way as a trial. You think of those words of Job. He knoweth the way that I take. It's not a great comfort. Whatever path you're on tonight, whatever road you're taking, he knows. He knows the way that I take. He knows the circumstances you're passing through. And he went on to say, and when he hath tried me. And remember the circumstances Job was in. Think of all that he had lost. If ever a man passed through the fire of affliction, he was the man. But he said, he knows the way that I take. And when he hath tried me, he's bringing me this way as a trial. God's trying me. You think as well of Abraham. In Genesis 22 it says the Lord did tempt Abraham and said unto him to take Isaac his only son to Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice. Now that's a text, last night the Deacons were faced with some difficult texts and difficult questions and that's a text that is often brought up. The Lord tempted him. How could that be? The Lord was setting sin, as it were, in his pathway. But that word tempt has more meanings than the one that we normally apply to it. Language is one of those things that is ever changing and when our authorised version was written, the word tempt in all probability had The other meaning, or the other meaning was more, much more in use. And it's clarified for us. If you read Hebrews 11, it says of Abraham by faith, Abraham, when he was tried, and that's the meaning of the temptation, it was a trial, a temptation in that respect. Abraham, when he was tried. Now think of the trial. Think of the extremity of the trial. His boy. His only boy. Whom thou lovest, the Bible says. This is the one that your affection is set upon. But Abraham, this is what I want you to do. I want you to take that boy to Moriah. And I want you to lay him on the altar. And I want you to make him a sacrifice to me. But God was trying Abraham, testing his heart. Do you remember the answer that God gave? He said, now I know that thou fearest God. The Lord brought Abraham that way as a trial. You think of what Peter wrote in his epistle. He said, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you. Sometimes the trials can be really, really extreme. It's not the meaning of the fiery, passing through the fire, the fiery trial. Why, Lord? Why are you bringing me this way? Why the persecution? It's fiery trial to try you. It's a test. It's a trial. And if I could give you one other example, the psalmist when he was writing about Joseph said that the word of the Lord tried him. God had given him a word. God had given him a promise. And all those years, all those years sold as a slave into Egypt, all those years in the dungeon, He was tried. The promise, God had given him his word, and as he thought of that promise and as he held on to it, it tried him, it was a trial. God tries his people, brethren and sisters. You ask tonight, why am I in these circumstances? You ask, why have these things befallen me? Why do I have to make this very difficult decision? Why is nothing happening when I pray for the blessing of God in my life and my family? Well, maybe the answer tonight is just like Philip. It's a trial. It's a test from the Lord himself. Like Israel in the wilderness, the Lord said it was to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart and whether thou wilt keep his commandments or no, to prove thee. God tests his people. So there's a lesson in testing here as well. And the final one, and I think it is an appropriate one to finish on, is praying. There's a lesson in praying. And we're thinking of a particular type of prayer. There's a lesson here in praying at meal times, in offering what we generally describe as grace, you bow your heads and you may say to a member of the family, would you say grace for us before we have our meal? You have a clear example of that here in this place. The example of Christ himself, verse 11, Jesus took the loaves and it says, And when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples. Just to point out that word thanks, it's the same word that is used of the Lord's table. You will know it says, when he had given thanks, he break it and said. It's exactly the same word. The Lord Jesus gave thanks at that table as well. at his own table, the Lord's table. And it's the word, or the Greek word, that you get the Eucharist from. They talk about the Eucharist especially in Anglican services. The Eucharist is a giving of thanks, and it comes from the Greek word that is here translated thanks, or giving of thanks. And remember this, as you think of the grace or the giving of thanks, They thanked the Lord even though they had just a little to thank him for. It wasn't like a king's table. It wasn't like David or Solomon's table. Five loaves, two fishes. They say that barley loaves, barley is generally what they fed the animals. It was probably as rough a meal as you could have ever had. It wasn't delicate or dainty. And yet what they had that day, the Lord set them the example of bowing their heads and thanking God for his provision. And the same is true if you read the account that is given of the feeding of the 4,000 also. Here is the example An example that every Christian home ought to follow. And I would want to encourage this practice amongst you tonight if you're not already engaged in it. There are some other examples of it, again in the New Testament that emphasize it and drive it home to our hearts. You think of Paul when he was on the ship to Rome. There was a specific number on that occasion. 272, 276, sorry I was four out. 276 people hadn't eaten for 14 days, been fasting. And Paul said, this is for your health. You need to eat for your own physical wellbeing. And before they did eat, and remember, he was the prisoner. And yet, isn't it, A remarkable picture that the prisoner's nearly the captain of the ship. He's the man that's in control that day. He's the man that's giving the orders. Don't let these men off the ship. This is what you have to do. The prisoner was the captain. And he gathered those men around him, those men that hadn't eaten for 14 days. And before he allowed them to take a bite, it says he gave thanks. in the presence of the law, a testimony, a testimony to God. It just comes to mind, you know, as I'm speaking, Mr. Green told me on one occasion when he was working for the Royal Insurance Company, they would go to these big functions and they would have a meal. And I think it was at the first one he went to, he stood up and he said, everyone upstanding, we give thanks for the food. And everybody just jumped to their feet thinking that this was the normal thing to do. And thereafter, every time they had one of those engagements, they looked to him to give thanks before they ate the food. It's a good testimony, even for visitors coming into your home to see you. thankful to God in worship to him for his provision. You know there's that question about vegetarianism. Should a Christian be a vegetarian? And I know there are some very sincere Christians who argue very strongly that it's wrong for a Christian to eat meat. Well there's one verse in the New Testament I generally give as an answer. to that question. Every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused. Does not answer at all. Every creature. Doesn't matter what the animal is. Over Easter, I had the opportunity to go out to the Philippines. And before I went, they told me there's a Filipino delicacy called balut. It's a duck egg that has been half incubated until the duck is formed inside the egg, it's head, it's beak, it's wings, it's feathers and when it gets to that stage they boil it and then they eat it. And what you do, you break the top off and inside there's some liquid that they call soup and the first thing you do is you drink the soup, you knock it back and then you peel off the shell and you see the little duck and it's head And I have photographic evidence. Mr. Paisley says they need the photographic evidence. Well, I have the photographic evidence. You peel it off, and there's a little duck. And in behind is the rest of the yolk with all the veins running in through it. And you drop salt on it, and down it goes. And high in protein. And they told me all about this, and they kept me going when I was there. They will never allow you back if you don't eat Balut before you go home. Now one day, the young lad who's a missionary from our church, his wife is a Filipino girl, and one day she said to me, you know, you don't actually have to eat the chick. Most Filipinos do. All her family does except herself. Well, when I heard that, I thought I'm home and dry. So I ate the lute one night, but I didn't eat the chick. I just couldn't bring myself. that far. But doesn't it come in under this, every creature of God is good. And nothing to be refused, but here is the condition, if it be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. Before you eat your balut, before you eat your steak, or your pork, or your chicken, it should be received with Thanks, Kevin. You take a moment to bow your head and thank God for it. And there's an Old Testament example as well. Do you remember that time whenever Saul's father had lost the Asses and Saul and the servant went in search of them? And then Saul started to think, you know, my old dad, he'll not be worrying anymore about the Asses. He'll be starting to worry about us. where we are, what has happened to us, what has befallen us. And the servant said, do you see this city? There's a man of God in this city. Before we go home, we'll go in and see the man of God. And God had spoken to Samuel and told him that Saul was coming. And he had a place prepared for him at the meeting. And whenever they came in, Saul was surprised that he was expected, that they were anticipating his arrival. And he sat down, and the Bible says, he doth bless the sacrifice, and afterward they ate that is bidden. See what happened that day? Samuel, Saul, the servant, the other guests that were gathered, and before Samuel allowed them to eat, it says he blessed the sacrifice, and then they ate. There's the Old Testament example as well of giving thanks. We talk about blessing the food. Is that right? We'll ask a blessing. We'll ask God to bless the food. Well, that's really the wording there. He doth bless the sacrifice. He's asking the blessing. And after he blesses it, then we will eat. Biblical examples of giving thanks. It's a biblical Practice. Never be ashamed of it. Never be afraid of it. No matter who's in your home, it's a great testimony for them. Follow the example of Christ. It's Christ-like. Isn't that good to know tonight? When you sit around your table tonight or tomorrow and you bow your head and thank God for the food. It's Christ-like to do that. We're following in the footsteps of the Savior. And I say this to you just in conclusion. Verse 13 there, it says, therefore they gathered them together and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above onto them that had eaten. It's not staggering. 12 baskets over. They ended up with more, much, much more than they began with. The 12, I suppose, is significant. It's not a basket for every disciple. They were rewarded for their labors. The Lord provided for them. They didn't go away that day and want, not only were the people fed and the Bible makes it clear they were satisfied, but every one of the disciples had his needs met as well. And I think what that teaches us, you never lose by giving to God, never. He is no man's debtor. Always remember that. Give, and it shall be given unto you. Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and running over, shall men give into your bosom. Never be afraid to give to God. Because the reality is, you can never out-give God. We talked about how little you can give. But it doesn't matter how much you give, you'll never be able to outgive the greatest giver of all, the feeding of the 5,000. May God bless His word tonight to all our hearts for Jesus' sake.