All right, well let's go to John. We are now worked up to chapter six, which is a text that I preached on not very long ago. So we won't rehash too much of everything else that's in there, but there are some other interesting truths that seem to pop up from the loaves and the fishes. Anybody want to do some reading this morning? We got 13 verses to read. Anybody want to do that? Lisa, read down through verse number 4. John 6, 1-4. Someone else get ready and we'll read from there. After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were deceived. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And at Passover, a feast of the Jews was done. All right, six through nine. Who wants to read that? John, go ahead. 5 through 9, correct? 5 through 9, sorry. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Which shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, and that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes. What are they among so many? Interesting. Six through thirteen. Ten through thirteen. Ten through thirteen. Sorry. I read the wrong number there. Ten through thirteen. Go ahead, Francis. And Jesus said, Make the man sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, So the men sat down in number about 5,000, 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. Twelve, when they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Thirteen, Therefore, they gathered them together and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten." Okay, all right. So we see this amazing miracle. And you got to wonder, you got to wonder just what they saw before their eyes as the Lord Jesus did this. Now, how many of you remember the story of the woman with the oil in the Old Testament, the widow, that Elijah was sent to. I believe it was Elijah, right? And he told her to gather all the vessels, to borrow as many vessels as she could. Gather all the pitchers, gather up all the pots, anything you could find that would hold oil. Because she had just this little bit of oil left in this one little vessel. And the Lord had sent him, she had taken care of Elijah. She was poor, but she shared what she had with the man of God. God seems to smile on that a lot in the Bible. So he tells her to gather all the vessels that she can find. He didn't tell her what he was going to do. If God ever tells you to go get all the vessels you can find, Well, you best get you a truckload of vessels and go back for more if you can. Yeah. Because what did he tell her next to do? You remember? He said to pour it. He said, take that vessel that you got with the oil in it and pour into the other. That's right. I filled the vessels. And she kept pouring and it just kept pouring. And she filled them all. And then when the last vessel that she had borrowed and she had gotten was full, it stopped. It stopped, yeah. How much oil would God have given her? However many she was willing to have faith to go give. There's a real story there. Now, what did he tell her to do with the oil? Go to the market and sell it. Oil is a pretty precious commodity. Is that new? It's still pretty precious. Different kind of oil, but it's still pretty precious. God took care of them. Now, they couldn't see the oil multiply in the vessel as it was multiplying like that. I have no idea how that they would reach in the basket and pull out a piece of fish and reach in there and there's still more fish. And I'm sure they were kind of looking to see what's that fish appearing. I don't know, man. It just boggles my mind to think of how this all occurred, you know. I'm one of those mechanical people. I like to take things apart and see how it works and make sure I know how to fix it or whatever. I kind of like to know where the, you know, how that just poof, did it show up or did it, you know, how did that work? Maybe it kind of like cell division, maybe just two become one or three, who knows? But I know one thing, 5,000 men plus all the women and kids had fish sandwiches that day. Somebody said, you don't know if that's a fish sandwich. You're right, I don't. But I would have put the fish and the bread together and ate it together like that. So I just, I'm just, I'm just, you know, they could have made fish sandwiches if they wanted to, right? Well, in Africa, we will eat it separate. Bread and the fish. Well, that's the way we do with hush puppies. So, you know, you got a point. Maybe it wasn't fish sandwiches, but anyway, made for good preaching anyway. All right. So, the miracle is taking place. The Lord tests Philip. What's this test that Philip got to go through? The Lord said to Philip, where are we going to buy bread that these may eat? And Philip says, Lord, 200 penny worth. Why 200 penny worth, do you think? That's probably, I don't know, but it's probably all the money they had in the bag. Now, if the Lord could do that with fishes and loaves, what could he do with what's in the bag? He's still the Lord of hosts, is he not? We're going to get into that. There are so many wonderful things taught in this passage of Scripture. I'll never live long enough to see them all. I mean, this is just like a treasure chest. You go to the river, cast in your hook, pull out a fish, and there's plenty in his mouth. So, Philip answered, 200 penny worth not sufficient. And one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, says, Lord, there's a lad here. He's got five barley loaves and two small fishes. But what are they among so many? Now was Andrew asking the Lord? What are they among so many? Or was he saying? Well, this is nothing, you know? What's he saying? What do you think he's saying? This is nothing. I think he's probably saying, but that's nothing compared to this crowd. Do you ever hear somebody make the statement, don't tell God how big your problem is? Tell your problem how big your God is. I've liked that ever since I first heard it. I don't know when that was, but I love that statement. And many times I have told my problem how big my God is. And my problem found out how big my God was because he solved every one of them so far. And it's amazing. It's just amazing. Now, so the Lord says, now this next statement is like, okay, I really wonder how this went down. Make the men sit down. Did he mean invite the men to sit down? I mean, there's 12 and there's 5000. There's 12 of us 5000 men, we're going to make them sit down. Well, I have a feeling Thank you. I have a feeling remember how remember how the Bible says that the Lord's Speaking was different than the authority of the day the Scribes and the Pharisees. What's the Bible say that was different about Jesus when he spoke? That's right. He spoke with authority not as the Scribes When the Lord said, make the men sit down, of course, He's already up there on the hillside. Actually, it does not tell us that I know of, but if you go there, you've got the water, and the hill starts immediately, just a little bit of flat place, and it comes right up. Was the Lord up on top of the hill preaching down, or was He at the bottom of the hill preaching up? Based on other texts of Scripture, remember they were kind of pressing in on him so he got in the boat and went out a little bit and preached from the boat. He's probably preaching from the bottom up because the water is acting like a big megaphone basically. Have you ever stood at the water with your back to the water and talked to somebody on the ground or yelled to somebody? Yeah, it echoes and amplifies. So that's probably what the case is. So the Lord's there, probably standing there by the lakeside, and tells them, make them in, sit down. And probably most of them heard Him say that, and so when they started organizing, you go sit over there and you over there, and they basically set them in companies. It doesn't say so here, but it does in another account. So they're all basically organized and sitting there where they can kind of go row by row and do the distribution. Tim? Well, there's other evidence that when he spoke, people fell down. Yeah, they fell down. This was just the least violent thing. He said, make them sit down. And do you suppose anybody said, I ain't sitting there. Probably not, not in this group. Lisa? We didn't actually stand on the shore all the way around the Sea of Tiberias when we were there, but it's like natural amphitheater. It comes down like this, where you have all these acoustics from the water. It's pretty amazing. Yeah, it's quite a place. It's really not all that unusual. There are other places similar, but But this one is basically one of a kind for sure. So there's a lad here. What are they among so many? Well, the answer to that would be the word enough. They're enough. So make this man sit down. So the man sat down and number about 5,000. And Jesus took the loaves and when he'd given thanks, he distributed to the disciples. and the disciples to them that were set down and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. He gave to them and then they gave to others. Does that tell you anything? Is there a lesson in that verse? Like the passage in the book of Psalms that says the oil ran from the head of down his beard and onto his garments. Is this not what the Lord has commanded us to do? To take what we've been given and give it to others? Amen. If God gives you a fish, and you eat the fish, and you give some to others, will you run out of fish in a little while? Yeah, you will. One fish is going to go so far. But what has God given us that we can give to others that we won't run out of? I see something here. Don't you see something here? We are we feast upon the Word of God. We're feeding on it now. And this is one thing that you can eat your fill, give it to someone else, and they can eat their fill, and keep giving it, and keep giving it, and keep giving it, but it never runs out, does it? So I see a little something here that, you know, maybe bigger than just fish and loaves. Maybe you do, maybe you don't. To me, there's just so much in here. Okay, now, Jesus took the loaves, fed the whole multitude, and then he said this thing to the disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. What's that about? It's wastage. Didn't want to waste it? No. I think you wanted to show off. Maybe. A demonstration of what we started with and now what's left over and now everybody's eating and there's 12 baskets full. They're all satisfied. Which was one basket full. Went to 12 and everybody was satisfied. 10th? It could be a directive that we're not, we're supposed to get the fragmented souls and not leave them lost. Okay, gather up the fragments that remain. The disciples are the ones that were directed, so it's go and gather. Go gather the fragments. That's interesting. That could be. There's a, for whatever waste Waste not, want not, what Bible verse is that? I don't know where it is either because it's not a Bible verse, is it? Well, you know, you're always supposed to clean your plate. That way you stay skinny, right? That's just like go to waste to waste. Yeah, something like it goes to your waist, W-A-I-S-T. Well, I don't know that God is all that concerned about that none of the fish or anything got wasted or none of the food got spoiled or whatever. As I've studied through the Bible for years, I really don't see a recurring pattern about God worrying about something that's getting wasted. But He says that nothing be lost. So I'm thinking there's other spiritual stuff here that this is about, not just about this food, okay? I mean, whenever they went into the boat and the Lord said, the 11 of the Pharisees, they thought, well, oh man, we forgot to bring groceries. Now the Lord's upset with us because we were, and they said, what's the matter with you? Don't you remember the loaves and the fishes? I'm not talking about groceries. I'm talking about the doctrine that these evil rulers are teaching all the time, that they've replaced the word of God with the traditions of men. And so we're, you know, this is not what it's about. So I don't think it's about the food. I mean, it might be, but I don't think so. I think the Lord, I think I agree with Marcella on this, that the Lord was probably showing off. Yeah. Now we look at, hey, what do they say in Texas? Now I'm not agreeing with this, but what do they say in Texas about bragging? Is that right? It ain't bragging. It ain't bragging if you can do it, basically. Well, as I said, I don't really agree with that, because it is bragging, even if you can do it. But when you're God, you know, I mean, if there is one somewhere that has the right to do some bragging, I believe so, it's Jesus. He's the one, he's the one. John and Trish just experienced it. Yeah. He is the one, he is the one that has the right, that has the right to brag. As you're saying that, and I'm reading this scripture right here, I'm saying I hear five disciples in the background saying, you can't touch this, you can't touch this. Something like that, yeah. But gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the barn of those. Why 12 baskets? That's simple as can be. If there had been 14 disciples, there would have been 14 baskets full. I mean, there was 12 disciples, you got 12 baskets. And one of the disciples was thinking differently than the rest. You know which one and what he was thinking? Well, one of them was Judas that was thinking differently than the rest, and he's thinking, now how much can we sell these for? I mean, that was his theme through the whole deal. The love of money had its place in Judas. He was very taken with the love of money, as we know from many scriptures. Now, I want to know what you think If anything, this event has to say about tithing and giving. Because for many, many years, I have associated in my personal Bible study, in my personal life, I have associated this passage of Scripture with my giving. So what, if anything, do you think that this kind of thing has to say about tithing and giving, Marcel? I don't know so much about, well, the tithing, that's a command from God to tithe, but the giving, I don't know the address, but it says when you give that the Lord blesses you and your cup overflows. Luke 6.38, Luke chapter 6, what does it say? Running over, shaking together, pressed down, Taken together, pressed down, running over, shall the Lord give unto your bosom. Shall men give unto your bosom. It's not the amount that matters because God's going to multiply it to provide for his needs. Anybody else? Anything that this has to do with this principle? Let me read the tithing command from Malachi. Verse 10 chapter 3 verse 10 bring you all the ties into the storehouse that there may be meat in my house The tithing is about What you do bring it to God's house? Improve me now herewith saith the Lord of hosts if I will not open you the windows of heaven And pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it and I Will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, that devourer, that's a word that's hard to say. Sounds like you're trying to growl or something. The one who devours it up all the time, for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. Who is the Lord of hosts? Jesus Christ. That's right. It's Jesus. Same one. Same one who took the loaves and the fishes, the five little loaves, and they're little loaves, by the way. You can buy them on the street in Israel today. Same loaves, same barley bread, same stuff. Good stuff. Lisa, you had your hand up. I did. So the young man, however old he was, who had the five barley loaves and two small fishes, I mean, they didn't have to take it away from him to share it. to do what God wanted to do with it. He gave it and it's just an example of when you're willing and you know it belongs to God and it's for his purpose, he always, always does over and above what you can even imagine that he's going to be able to do it. Sitting above all that we can ask or think. What happened? What happened to the 12 baskets? Who ended up with those 12 baskets? Who do you think ended up with If I know Jesus, and I do know Jesus, that little kid ended up with those problems. Yeah, I think. Yeah, I think. But Lisa, you know, it doesn't say that the boy gave it. Well, it doesn't say they took it away from him, so I have to think that. But they might have bought it, because they had $200. Well, they might have. They might have, but then he was also willing to sell it because it was needed if he sold it. If he had five barley loaves, he'd probably plan on selling something. No, not really. They're little. They're not. Now, that's a normal amount for somebody to take, taking food with them. Yeah, we'd have a couple meals. And he probably was there with his mom and dad. Anyway, he was carrying a lunch basket. And I don't think, you know, Look, with Christ there, with 5,000 people together to hear Him, and the disciples said, Son, the Lord has needed your loaves and fishes. But I will guarantee you that, I can't guarantee it, but I tend to believe with all my heart that little boy ended up with those 12 baskets. because it was his fish and his loaves. I mean, he was the one that used it. But still, we've not arrived at what the Lord showed me with this and what's impressed me for many, many years. Wes, go ahead. Oh, yeah. All those thousands, they were actually in boats in the Sea of Tiberias. And upon the shore and Jesus was up in the mountain with the disciples sitting there looking down upon him. And that's when he spoke. And of course, the his voice bounces off the water. It's called skip. So hello, guys. Name was skip. No, the way the way your voice will bounce off the water so they can be on even on the other side. I just had I just had to mess with you. I'm sorry. It was that's that's my place. All right. All right. Now, let me let me let me let me just ask you about this. Okay. This Lord of hosts that we're reading about in Malachi. Same same one. This is Jesus. He is the Lord. He's God. Some time ago, I realized that when I tithe and when I give, that I'm not just honoring the Lord by what I bring, although that's primary. It is primary. And it is to be done with love and because of love, and it's to be done to honor the Lord. It's not about the money. But I learned something And I actually saw it from this passage of Scripture many years ago. I learned that when I give and when I tithe, that by doing that, based on what it says in Malachi 3.11 and 3.10, when I do that, I then place the Lord of hosts in charge of the 70 or 80 percent, whatever it is that's left over. Now do you, after reading what he did with those five loaves and two fishes, does that not impress you to realize that you're handing your loaves and fishes over to the same one to handle it for you? I just have to tell you, this is like, this is like, you know, this is not some promise here that says I'm going to do with what's left exactly what I did with the loaves and fishes. That's not there. But the promise that's in Malachi and the promise that's in Luke 638 and a whole bunch of other places, the promise, very similar promises are made are just like that. Are they not? True. There were 5,000 devourers here that he multiplied. 15,000 or 17,000. That's who those people are. OK, now, thank you. I got that. There were 5,000 devourers. And they could not destroy the fruit of what was given. How about 17,000? Let's say you tie. OK? Let's say you tie. All right? And I'm not suggesting this. The Bible says, Let every man purpose in his heart what he's going to give. So I'm not telling you what percentage, I'm not telling you anything other than just giving you a hypothetical. Let's say you tithe, that's the first tenth of God. And that's not yours, according to the Bible, it's His. Does everybody understand that? Okay, we all on the same page? Okay, man, let's say that you then give the Lord another 10% as your offer. What? What was that for? Are you reading something on your phone? No, he's playing with his life. Okay, let's say well, give him another don't you know, don't you know anybody that doesn't? There are a lot of people that do that. There are a lot more than you might think. Let's say that you, let's say that you tithe and then you give the Lord another 10% as your offering because you want to honor him. Now, provided you're not doing something really stupid with your money that God, you know, that's hindering God's promises to you. You know, I could name a lot of stupid things you could be doing with your money that would certainly put a wall in front of God's promises. Let's say that you did it, what might God do with the money that's left if you did it? Multiply. Multiply. Make it sufficient to get your needs. And do you know, do you know anyone, or maybe yourself, I'm not asking for names here by the way, Who has actually tested God on this? Over maybe a long period of time. Who's actually tested God, done this, practiced this, continually, to see what the answer would be. Yeah, John. I knew a man that started out, in his later years, he started paying tithes at 10, and then he tested and said, I want to do more. I want to live off of 10. And so he gradually increased 5%. And after two years, he was living off 10%. And he was given 90%. And he said that God gave him more, it was coming in faster than he could get it out the door. Well, and God didn't promise to do that for everybody. He didn't put any specific percentages. Well, you do this, and I'll do this. And That's kind of that deal-making thing with God, which I do not recommend you do. But you meet the conditions of His promise, and then what you're able to stand, what you're able to do well with, what God can trust you with, in other words, is what it's gonna end up being. Denise. I have an example of my dad. He raised five children, and we were always, I didn't know it, but we were poor. And he always gave, he always gave above and beyond. He'd make sure the lights stayed on at the church or the pastor had groceries or whatever he needed to do. And when he retired, having no retirement, God blessed him with an income of more than my mom and dad could spend. That's awesome. This, this is the kind of thing that I want you to start getting a hold of it. I want you to start thinking about what God can do, and what God's willing to do, and what God wants to do, instead of just what you think you can do. You need to turn this from a, well, I can't this, and I can't that, to what God can do. This may sound a little bit like feel-good preaching and I will tell you this once you see God do what God can do it will feel good But God is not he does not kid around about this stuff now. I'm I want you to understand This is provided. You don't do something stupid with it Okay, when God blesses you When God multiplies, you know, we're used to addition, but God works in multiplication Okay, just like the loaves and the fishes. I mean, this example that we're reading about is a wonderful, you know, it's an object lesson for us. But you understand that we are prone to do really stupid things when we have more money than we need. We are prone to get in trouble with it. Now, if you can do with it what God gives it to you for, There is no limit upon what God will provide. You are the limitation. You determine the ceiling by what you're willing to do with it. And I'm not placing judgments on anybody or I'm not telling you what you need to do. I just want you to get a hold of the idea. Get it planted in your soul to start thinking about what God can do instead of what you can't do. Is that okay? You okay with that? Can you live with that? Yes. Yes, go ahead. I was gonna say God shows us when God tells us that he's going to give us abundantly. His plan isn't you go sock it in the bank and sit on it. Every example that he has is that you use it for his kingdom. You use it for good works. I do know a few people who have a bunch of money socked in the bank, but not very many. But when he blesses us, he blesses us with abundance, that we can abound to every good work. That's what he says. But you do have to use discretion instead of emotion when you're abounding in good works because faith, because you can get caught up in feeling sorry for somebody and wanting to help them and interfere with God disciplining them financially. There's a world of different ways to misuse money. I mean, a myriad of different ways to misuse money, and you're not going to get it all right. You will you just did nobody here smart enough to do that. Just no one. I mean, you're going to mess up some of it. Francis and then Marcel. Yes. I don't know if Bill Gates is a Christian or a believer, but that man gives money, especially to Africa, you know, so much so I wonder, and the more he gives, the more he gets back from his business and keeps giving and giving. You know, Francis, I've noticed something, and just by observation, when lost people practice biblical principles, they get biblical results as well, because it's the principles themselves that produce the result. It's like the law of gravity. I mean, the law of gravity is not Sir Isaac Newton's law, it's God's law. Okay, he may he might have been one that noticed it and wrote it down at some point. But this is where these are God's law. And and people who who throw a rock in the air are gonna see a rock come back. That's right. unless there's somebody in a tree catching the rock. I mean, unless there's some weird thing that's happening, God's laws are always going to produce what God says they'll produce. And so I understand that. But but we as believers, we operate under a whole different set of rules than the whole world out there. God does things for us. And he has promises for us that the world can't even get in on. And this that we're talking about here is one of those. And I don't want to make this about giving today. But I want you I want you to start seeing I want you to get a hold of the mentality of what replace what I can do or I can't do with what God can do. I want to see I want to if we get that changed in our head. Let me tell you something. You're going to see blessing that is usable for the kingdom. Blessing that will promote the kingdom. Blessing that will further the kingdom all over the place. You're going to see things like legal decisions for a little James. You're going to see things like money to take care of medical bills that overwhelmed you. You're going to see things like no retirement, but there it is now out of the blue sky. You're gonna see things that can't be explained. When I had cancer in 1981, I had no money, I had no insurance, I had no nothing. I didn't even, we didn't even have enough groceries. And when I left the hospital, I went to the window. And the lady says, I said, I'm checking out. And she said, that's wonderful. Wish you the very best. You have a great day. I said, what? I said, what about the bill? She said, it's all been taken care of. I don't know to this day who took care of it. Well, yeah, I do, but I don't know the human instrument. I don't know, I know the doctor that I led to Christ, I know he didn't give it to him, because he told him to give it. But other than that, I don't know who took care of him. But, same deal. Same deal. God is going to take care of you, if you will trust him. Denise, and then... In giving over and above your time, can that include giving of your time and talent or is that still under reasonable service well i consider it reasonable service but yeah i don't know that it's not i mean giving is is giving and serving and serving and both are kind of hand in hand so i don't really I'm not going to be your judge on that. I'm just going to let you and the Lord figure that out. Marcella. I was just going to agree with Lisa. I feel like that when you are tithing and you're giving, that God does, He does bless us and He does bless us, you know, more than what we expect. But it's funny that every time that that God has blessed us financially, let's say, with that extra money. He tells us what to do with it. It's like, no, this extra money, you're not taking vacation. You're going to give it to this person or to this ministry or to Brother God's kingdom. I think it's incredible because if you're giving and tithing in hopes that you're going to be rich one day, it's not going to happen because that abundance is for God's work. And you know what? You get the joy out of it. You get the joy. And to be able to help, to be the instrument to help something or somebody else. Let me, Frances, I'll let you finish up and then we've got to get out of here. Denise, let me go back and correct something I should have said. Sowing and reaping has a principle attached to it. And that principle is proportion, but it's also in like kind. When you sow a seed of apples, you're going to get an apple tree. Wheat, you're going to get wheat. Money comes back as money. Service comes back as service. Sowing and reaping principles also have the principle of sowing and reaping in kind, as well as the productivity, the multiplication of it. Francis. Tithe and offering. Isn't it like sowing a seed with tithe and the offering is watering the seed? Something like that. You water the seed of tithe with the offering that you give. Could be. I don't probably need to understand it any deeper than I do. I just know I'm supposed to do it and I've been doing it a long time. And God has blessed it every time, never fails. And that's, that's what I like prophecy. You know, when Jesus comes, I'm gonna be there. That's all I need to know. Amen. I'm pretty well set. So someone else was there. Did I miss a hand? Okay. All right, prayer time. Well, this has been fun. We got started late and we should have been on time because we'd had more fun.