John 6, or the feeding of the 5,000. And if you need a church Bible, there's church Bibles back there to be able to look up the passage. And I hope you have it in front of you. You know it's important, I haven't said this in a while, but it is important when we study the Bible that you have it in front of you, all right? Because it is not just what the preacher says, or the pastor says, or whoever gets up here says, it's important that we look into the Word of God and see what God says. And so we do want you to be able to do that. And you know, it just shows respect, doesn't it? We talked about the value of the Bible in Sunday school, what God's given to us, you know, and it shows respect to take this book out and to have it open and to be listening to it and not just opening it, but opening our hearts to it as well. And trust that is your desire this morning to let the spirit of God speak to you. All right, let's pray. And then we'll get into the word of God here. Father, we need your help this morning. We thank you, Lord, for the things that you allow to test us and try us to see what's in our hearts. And Lord, we got to keep our eyes on the battle. And so I pray this spirit of God give us grace to look up to heaven this morning for a blessing. We need it. And Father, we don't deserve it. I don't think anyone here this morning would say, you know, I deserve the blessing from God because I am so spiritual or I'm so godly or anything like that. We're just before you. Lord, as sinners saved by grace, I trust saved, and if not saved, I pray God that that decision to obey the gospel would be made today. But Father, as believers, we come before you together in prayer, united in heart, just asking right now that you'd undertake to minister truth to our hearts today. Satan would have us to be distracted. Lord, he doesn't want us to listen. He doesn't want us to get your truth. He doesn't want us to grab hold of it and obey it, believe it, and guard it like we saw in Sunday school. And so I pray, Father, in the Spirit of God, help us to do just that. And I pray he'd be disappointed today, but I pray that the Son of God would be encouraged in what he sees taking place in our heart and in the hearts of those that are gathered together here this morning. And so may you bless, may you guide us in Christ, and we pray, amen. All right, so verse one of John chapter six, it says, And after these things, Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is a sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him because they saw his miracles, which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. and the Passover feast of the Jews was nine. So the setting is the Sea of Galilee. When I was on my trip in Israel, I've said it before, but my favorite place was the Sea of Galilee. I like Jerusalem. There's obviously some neat things about Jerusalem. You stand there at the Mount of Olives looking at the eastern wall of the city, realizing that Jesus Christ is triumphal entry. He's gonna go through that gate up to that Temple Mount. He's gonna take his rightful position of authority, okay? here on Earth and it's going to rain in the millennium for a thousand years. And that's exciting. So that was fun. But as far as a setting that is an enjoyable setting, it's the Sea of Galilee for me. And it was very calm when we were there. I didn't get to see like a storm in the Sea of Galilee or anything like that. Very calm, very beautiful, actually very similar, I guess, to our weather that we're having now, because it was later in the year, so not as much sunlight. The first day at the Sea of Galilee, I walked down by myself to the edge of the Sea of Galilee and I watched the sun rise. You know, and it was beautiful. And standing there at the Sea of Galilee, looking across it from the... I was on the west side, looking towards the east side, seeing the sunrise across the water. To the south is a village, Tiberias. Okay? Here in our text, it talks about the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias. Same thing, all right? It's a freshwater lake, by the way. If you didn't know that, it's not salt water. It's a freshwater lake. It's like a lock and it's big, but it's not immense. I don't know the dimensions of it. I didn't look it up, but just several miles across, several miles wide, but you can easily see the other side and you can see the hills on the other side. So what Jesus did, he took his disciples, he went across the Sea of Galilee, to the other side. Well, what's on the other side is not villages. It's basically more of a wilderness. It's on that side that the Gadarian Demoniac was over there. It's the Golan Heights area or towards what would be Jordan, all right? And so you're looking across that way and somewhere over there, as Jesus went over, he went up into a mountain. So it's a solitary place. Most of the villages are on the West side. And so anybody that has come to see Jesus, which by the way, when it says 5,000, it's not just, I don't think it's just the population of Magdala and, and, Capernaum and these other villages that were along that side. I think it had to have been almost, you know, people from Jerusalem that had been in the area to see Jesus because that's a large number, isn't it? And so they've come around the Sea of Galilee. There's no way they took boats because, I mean, how many boats would there be on the Sea of Galilee? There wouldn't be enough boats to take them across. The boat that we saw for the time of Christ was probably you know, about from here to the wall, and, you know, maybe one and a half my arm's length wide. That's the boat. You could fit, I don't know, maybe you could fit a dozen people in it if you could do that. And so they didn't take ship across. Jesus did with his disciples. They got to the other side, but the other people had to walk around. And so it's not immediately that the people are coming. He's over there first, and then the multitude followed him. They saw the miracles that he did. He goes up into a mountain. He sits with his disciples. And it says the Passover feast of the Jews was night. I think it's interesting that it mentions this feast. It mentions a feast just before it mentions famine, you know, it mentions the fact that Jesus is going to have compassion on the multitude because they're hungry. But I mean, they're there at the calendar. The Passover is coming. So a feast is coming. But right at this point, there's a great need. Now they've come because Not because they necessarily believed in Jesus, but because they wanted to see a miracle. You know, you and I would be very similar, people in our community would be very similar. If there was something remarkable happening, whether or not anybody believed in God, they'd want to see it. And so, a lot of these people are just thrill seekers. And so they've come a long ways, and apparently they didn't think about food, because we know from the story, they take count of what everybody has, and it's basically nothing. So I don't know what they're thinking. I don't know if they got so caught up in the frenzy or they end up being further to get to Jesus than what they thought. And they just encourage each other, let's just keep going, keep going. But they get there, they don't have food, and they want to see miracles. Well, they're going to get to see a very remarkable miracle of God's provision, aren't they, as God meets the need. And so we're just going to look at this story this morning, and it's going to challenge our faith. just like Jesus meant to challenge the faith of his disciples, specifically Philip and Andrew, as they're mentioned here in our story. And so we'll just start with what Jesus starts with here in verse five. And the point I'd like to make first is that sometimes doubtful thoughts have divine origins. Sometimes we might face a question in our life, and rather than being something from Satan, there's times certainly Satan will test us, and try us, and attack us, and attack our faith, and we'll have to come up with faith answers to stand against the devil, like we talked about in Sunday school, that we uphold the shield of faith. There's gonna be other times where God, in his wisdom, his providence, takes us into a place that The question that is being asked is being asked by God. It's one that has a divine origin, and we'll see that here in our story. Have you ever maybe watched the film that we've talked about at different times, the film of the crossing of the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aqaba? It's something that you watch online, but it shows that when Israel came up out of Egypt to come into the Promised Land, as they got to the Red Sea, the supposed route that they believe they would have come down is a dry riverbed. And as that dry riverbed is winding its way down towards the Red Sea, it's got high cliffs on either side. And so we know from the story, when Israel got to the Red Sea, they got there, they panicked, because why? They've got Egypt behind them, and they've got the Red Sea in front of them. But what also appears to be the case from if this is correct, that they were on this dry riverbed, which would have made sense, and there's other reasons why they believe they crossed there. But they've got huge cliffs on either side. So God has brought them down what appears to be, in their minds, a dead-end road. They get there, they can't go forward, they can't go to the side, and they can't go back. There might be a time, a situation like that, that God has brought us to, and even today you might be at a point of faith, you know, a place where it's a tight spot, and God, I don't feel like I can go forward, I don't feel like I can go back, I don't feel like I can go to either side, where we've got to, like Israel, look to God for God's provision. And so there's a situation kind of like that that is in front of Philip, as the Lord brings his attention to it, it's a divine situation, a doubtful thought, but a divine origin. And it's an impossible situation for Philip. But as Jesus looked at his disciples, he looked at the multitude, Jesus saw with his eyes an opportunity to strengthen the faith of his disciples. And so verse five says, when Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, He's Seth unto Philip. The master teacher never stops, does he? It's a perfect opportunity that is coming as they're out there. And I preached on this to the kids at the Holiday Bible Club this summer, this story. And I actually watched online a two minute or two and a half minute video, and I forget how I came up with it. that visualized this, and it was real people, it wasn't a cartoon, and it shows Jesus and the disciples there on the grassy hillside, just like the Sea of Galilee, and I've seen it. And all of a sudden, over the hillside comes this huge multitude. So picture it in your mind, there they are, he's teaching, there's the multitude arriving. And Jesus, rather than just miss the opportunity, points at them, he sees an opportunity to strengthen the faith. of Philip. Now, as Jesus sees it, who also sees it? Philip. I mean, his eyes are looking at what's taking place. Do you know sight is one of the greatest hindrances to faith? If you think about it, there's two that we're gonna talk about this morning, but sight would be one of those. What I can see, after all, what do we say? Seeing is? Believing right? I mean that's a very common statement seeing is believing. We all know there's things like mirages We know there's things that sleight of hand, you know Magicians that aren't really doing magic. They're doing illusions. They're doing sleight of hand it and so our sight Can deceive us and so the Lord knows that And so Jesus sees the multitude coming, Philip sees the multitude coming, but he's trying to prepare Philip for a time where he's not going to be able to rely on physical sight. On our study on Sunday nights, we're studying the book of John, we know that Jesus isn't going to be there anymore. At the point we're at, I mean, he's preparing the disciples for his departure, and so he's telling them about the Holy Spirit, but are they going to be able to see the Holy Spirit? No. So at that point, especially before that, as he goes to the cross and he dies, he's crucified. It's a very spiritually dark time, isn't it? And so he's preparing his disciples to walk by faith. Maybe you've seen night vision things that the military has. There was a guy in our church in Michigan that worked for Raytheon, a company that is in Michigan that would make equipment for the military. And he couldn't really tell us what he did, all right? But he did tell us he worked with infrared technology. And so it's basically goggles that you put on. You can't see anything. You put those goggles on. All of a sudden, it's very clear. I don't know how they work, OK? I'll just tell you that. But what the Lord is doing is he's taking Philip and he's giving him an opportunity to get beyond what he can see with his physical eyes so that he could see spiritually, because they're going to, again, be plunged into darkness. And sight wasn't going to be enough, was it? Even the man that we call Doubting Thomas, as he wanted to see it, to believe it, Jesus said to him in John 20, verse 29, Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed, blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. Thomas, it's a greater thing for those that are just going to accept by faith the fact that I've risen from the dead. All the disciples, remember, they all struggle. Again, our study of John, we saw that as the women come and they say he is risen, and they're uncertain what's about, and they're running to see him, and the two men on the road to Emmaus. So it's not just Thomas that is struggling, they're all struggling. And Jesus says, Thomas, you believe because you saw it. But Thomas, blessed are those that have not seen and yet have believed. You know, today, God doesn't want us to walk by our sight. There's a lot of things that Philip could see that we're going to make him struggle to come up with the right answer to what Jesus wanted to do. And that can be a problem for us as well. So he's preparing them to walk by faith. Secondly, Jesus asked a logical question that had an illogical answer. He asked a logical question that had an illogical answer. As he said to Philip, when shall we buy bread that these may eat? Again, they're out in the hillside. It's kind of, if it's the same as it is today, it's kind of a desert area. There's no villages close by on that side. And so when shall we buy bread? I mean, imagine even if there was a Asda or a Sainsbury's or something like that, would that be enough for 5000 people? I don't know. You know, if even our current modern supermarkets would have that kind of volume, but certainly back in the day where Jesus lived, I mean, they're not going to find anywhere that can supply immediately food for 5,000 hungry people. So he asks them, it's a logical question, but it has an illogical answer. And if Philip could have found a place that would have provided, I wonder if he would have passed the collection plate or something like that. Hey, let's take an offering, right? Let's try to get it done. Let's try to figure it out. See, there's the answer. The answer is right there. But there wasn't anything like that that he could look at. So our failure could be, when it comes to faith, it's our reasoning getting in the way. William MacDonald. Writing about the verse in Philippians 4.11, not that I speak in respect of one. It's where Paul says, hey, I'm so thankful for your provision. Not that I speak in respect of one, for I have everything, right? But in speaking about that, William McDonald said, it's noteworthy that Paul never made his own financial needs known. His was a life of faith. He believed that God had called him into his service and was utterly convinced that God pays for what he orders. C.H. Macintosh took a dim view, he's using this illustration, C.H. Macintosh took a dim view of publicizing one's own personal needs. To make known my wants directly or indirectly to a human being is departure from the life of faith and a positive dishonor to God. It's actually betraying him. It's tantamount to saying that God has failed me and I must look to my fellow for help. It's forsaking the living fountain and turning to a broken cistern. It's placing the creature between my soul and God, thus robbing my soul of rich blessing and God the glory due to him. You know, this person comes into a tight place, and he's using the example of Paul saying, Paul never made his needs known. Why? Because didn't God know his needs? Didn't we just look at that as we looked at Matthew chapter six or seven where, Sermon on the Mount, where he says, my father knoweth what things ye have needed before ye ask. So somebody that says, I've got needs and I've got to let other people know so that they can help meet my needs. It's like saying, I could trust God or I could trust man, but it's reasoning, isn't it? It's saying, I'm going to figure this out. I'm going to try to come up with the answer. The answer is logical. And so I'm just going to run to my thinking and thought and try to figure my way out of this problem that I'm in, a predicament, rather than trusting God. really kind of where the Lord's put Philip, hasn't he? By asking a question to make him think. Where are we going to get bread to feed the multitude? And his reasoning is going to lead him astray, and it does for us as well, many times. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. What did the verse say? It said, trust in the Lord with all thine heart. And lean not to what? Thine own understanding. See, it might be for you young people someday, hey, God's called me to Bible college. God wants me to go to a Christian university where I could study in a Christian environment. But that costs money. And over here, if I stay right here, education's paid for, it's provided. How could I possibly pay my bills if I go to Bible college? How am I going to work it out? But listen, do I need to know how I'm going to work it out, or do I need to know that God called me to do it? I just need to know God called me to it. I don't need to lean to my own understanding. In all my ways acknowledge Him, and what? He'll direct my paths. God will provide. Hudson Taylor, before he went to the mission field, purpose that he was going to learn to trust God alone for his needs, and he gave away a significant amount of his income, and he lived off a very meager amount. And there was a day, you may know the story, where Hudson hadn't been paid by his doctor employer because he was very forgetful, but he decided rather than remind him, he was just going to pray about it. But it was time for his rent to be due, and he had to pay his landlady. And he's in the office working with the doctor. And the doctor says, oh, Taylor, by the way, isn't your money due? And Taylor said, yeah, it's been due for quite a long time. And the doctor said, I wish you had told me. If you had only told me this morning, I could have paid you out of the money that I had. But I sent it all to the bank. And Hudson went from excitement that the employer had remembered to disappointment. because he thought, oh, no, now I can't pay my landlady. And he said he was thankful the beaker he was working on overflowed at that time, and he could run out of the room. But later that night, the employer came in laughing, said, the funniest thing just happened. This man that owed me some money, he couldn't sleep. And he came running up to me and said, he's a very wealthy man. He could have paid me at any time, but he just had to pay me this money. And Hudson thought, well, that's an interesting story. And the doctor said, well, don't you see, I can pay you now. And God provided. See, why can't you and I trust God in the same way? So often we lean to our own understanding, our logic or our sight. God, how's it gonna work out? Wait a second, God's called us to act by faith as he desires us to. And so Jesus has got a teaching point here. It's a point of faith for Philip because it says in verse six, this he said to what? to prove him. Do you know there are times that God is going to test you as a believer? Just like we talked about already before I sung this morning, God took Israel out into the wilderness for 40 years, the Bible says, to prove what was in their hearts. See, it might be that God takes us through what we look at, man, it's a really, really tough time, but that God is revealing to us and showing to himself what is in our hearts. And so that word to prove, it means to make trial of, to test, for the purpose of ascertaining his quality or what he thinks or how he will behave himself. And so as God brings those tests into your life, how do you respond? How do I respond? As I look at my life, I'm 41 now, and it hasn't been that long. Life goes very quickly, by the way. I'm thinking about it today. I remember when my parents turned 40. But I look back at my life, and I think, I've not really gone through some Very tough times compared to other people, but I mean there have been some tough times Especially you know in our lives that something that's tough for us may not be tough for somebody else, but there's been times. I've been tough like when God called us into missions and I I After praying about it. I decided God want us to start deputation But I was a youth pastor, and so my job was preaching and teaching on Sundays and ministry nights. So it's not like I could say, well, on the weekends, I'm going to go represent what God's called us to do at churches, and during the week, I'm going to work. For me to start out doing what I was going to be doing, it was stop my job and start doing that. And that may seem like not a big deal to you. It's a big deal to me, because I wasn't going to have the income to provide for my family. But Katie and I, again, praying about it, we decided that's what God wanted us to do, even though our mission agency said, don't start full-time deputation, they call it, until you've got 20% support, because then at least you have an income, a little bit, that you can draw a salary from, right? But we didn't have that. What we did, we started immediately in January of 2011, traveling and going to churches. We didn't even get paid for the first month was any love offering we got. We didn't actually get it, actually went to our mission agency into account for us. And then we get paid later the next month. I mean, so it wasn't even instantaneous. And I won't share the whole story right now, but God provided. God totally met every need. My family had another time on that first year of deputation. We're traveling. And Logan had his head surgery. And you know the story. I thought I had one medical bill for $29,000 back then. But it was actually two medical bills, one for $29,000 and one for $30,000. They were about identical, so I thought they were the same. But they're two different things. So I had a $60,000 medical bill 12 years ago. That's a lot of money. And we're praying about it, asking God, God, what do we do about this? I mean, it's an opportunity for us to exercise faith. And I think a lot of times that what God takes us into, it could be financial, it could be physical. But it's gonna be a rock and a hard place that God puts us in, and it's gonna be to prove us and to test and to see what's in our hearts. And so God's doing that in a small way with Philip. As Philip's there, Jesus says, you know, I'm asking this question. The Bible tells us to prove him. He's not asking for information. He's not asking for an idea. He's asking to see what is gonna come out of Philip's mouth. And so as he asks him the question, Philip doesn't know what to say, but Jesus never doubted what he was gonna do. And so the Bible says, for he himself knew what he would do. For he himself knew. See, Philip didn't have a clue what was going to take place, but Jesus never wondered what was going to happen. See, you and I might be in a place where we feel like, I don't know, I don't know. How's it gonna work out? But the fact is today, God knows the answer. I was thinking about this with regard to the house God's provided for us to buy. I'm gonna keep praising God for a long time because every time I walk around here, I just think, wow, God, you have been exceptionally good to my family. We've prayed for 12 years that God would provide a house for us to buy. We sold our house 12 years ago, or put it up for sale 12 years ago. We sold it 12 years ago this coming March, or somewhere around that time. But we've been praying for 12 years, believing God wanted us to buy a house when we got to Scotland. And it seemed impossible. I mean, I can't, I could go through the ways in which it's impossible, and it's just, it is impossible. But what's the Bible say? With God, all things are possible. And I think the first time I was over in the area of Auchindinny, I think, Alec, it was with you, we were going down to your friend's property down Firth Road, the same road that we live on, and we drove past a house. And I just think God in heaven was thinking, I wish I could tell him, you know? I'd really like to tell him. You know, here I am. I mean, there's been times I wept in prayer asking God to provide a house for us to buy. And I think God would have said, you know, I'd like to tell him, but that would, you know, somehow take away the opportunity that I have to exercise faith. He himself knew what he would do. And that's the second point about what we're thinking about. The answer is who? God. Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do. Back in the States, they have them here as well. I saw one. And the states are called a corn maze. You've got the standing corn. I guess here they'd be called a maize maze, right? Corn is maize. But anyway, it's this cut into the standing corn is a maze. Well, the corn in the States, I don't know about here, but it's very tall. You can't see, all right? It doesn't matter how short you are or tall you are. You can't see. But sometimes in those mazes, they have a place where you can get up on a platform. And from that raised platform, you can look down and you can go, ah, I see the way, right? You know what it is a lot of times is that we're walking and it's like we've got ourselves in a maze. We can't see, but guess who's above it? God. God can see. God knows the way. As we look up to him, God directs us, doesn't he, to the way that we should take. Job 3.23, Job said, why is light given to a man whose way is hid and whom God hath hedged in? Job's saying, God's given me light, but it's like God has hedged me in. It's like God put the hedges up, the blinders, I can't see, I wanna see, I wanna know, but I can't. But listen, who put it there? God. And so it's a point of faith for Philip. Jesus knows exactly what he's gonna do, and there's nothing too hard for him. Jeremiah 32, 27, behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me? Raise your hand this morning if you've got a problem God can't solve. Nobody. God can do anything. I mean, we've got stories about it, don't we, in the Bible? We can see what God has done. There's nothing too hard for God. Does that mean necessarily that God's going to do everything absolutely that we ask him to do? No, it might be like Paul's thorn in the flesh, that God allows us to keep and continue in that situation because it's for God's glory. But the point is, God is able to do anything. He's not hindered today. And so Jesus knew that, all right? Sometimes doubtful thoughts have divine origin. Secondly, sometimes there are no human answers to God's question. Sometimes there is no rational answer. There's no logical answer. And so Philip tries, you know, he's going to answer with reasoning, as he says, there are too many people. It's his thinking as he's looking around, Too many people, as he says in verse seven, Philip answered him, 200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may take a little. Okay, what's he doing? He's thinking. Lord, 200 days wages of food isn't even enough to give a little bit of food to the multitude. It's not just 5,000 men, it's 5,000 men, women, and children. Okay, 5,000 men plus women and children. It's a huge crowd that is there and he says, you know, even thinking about it, Master, you know, just take too much money to give even a little bit of food to all these people. Remember the spies when they went into the Promised Land, they failed with the two ways that we're talking about. They failed with their reasoning and they failed with their sight. That's why they didn't believe God. Because of what they saw and what they thought. Here's what they thought. They said in Numbers 13, 33, and there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants. And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. Now they're speaking about sight, but they're reasoning. Think about it. They're saying, you know, In our sight, we can't see ourselves. We're small, right? And so we were in their sight. Well, how do you know that? Because I'm thinking, right? It's reasoning. It's saying that based on my reasoning, we can't do this. We can't. Remember that lady, that widow woman that Elijah came to, and he said, she's starving with her son. She's got a little cruise of oil, and she's got a little bit of meal, and she's going to make a cake for she and her son, and then they're going to die. What's Elijah say? Give me first. That's illogical, isn't it? Give me first of this, and it's not going to fail. It's not going to fail. It defies logic. And so often faith, I think, is like that, isn't it? It defies logic. Faith defies sight, secondly, because we see sight as well in our story coming into play again as Andrew answers There's too little food, okay? He's looking at the little lunch, the little boy, the big multitude. We'll talk about that in a second. He's saying, based on my sight, it won't work. And we're going to look at that. But remember the spies? The spies reasoned, but then they said this, Numbers 3, 28. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land. The cities are walled and very great. And Moaber, we saw the children of Anak there. How did they know the walls were big? because they looked at them. How'd they know that the giants were there? Because they looked at them. You know, are you standing today in your Christian life and experience saying, God can't work because of what I see? That's unbelief, isn't it? You know, God may have something great for us to do individually as a family, as a church. And we go, I can't. Why? Because of what I see. I can't. Why? Because of what I think. two hindrances this morning to our faith. And so Andrew's eyes saw little ability on the part of the man or the boy. Verse eight, it says, one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, there's a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes. All right, where's the food? Master, here's a small boy. He's got a small lunch. He's not really suggesting that this is the answer. He's just saying, that's all I see is very, very little. And if we're honest, and again, go back to the message I preached on the oil. A lot of times we look at our house and go, there's just a little oil. And if we're honest, that's not dishonest, is it, to say that. But it's not right with God to say, well, when God's desiring to do something great, to look at something limited and say it's limited, it's small. Now wait a second, there's a little boy here, a little lad with a little lunch that God can use. Charles Finney, when you read his biography, he speaks about when he got saved, he was going to a church prayer meeting, and every time they get together to pray, they're praying for a Bible. And Charles Finney says, you know what? Their prayers were never answered, and I wish I could talk to him, because I'd like to stop him and say, wait a second, Are you telling me their prayers weren't answered? When a great revivalist was sitting in the prayer meeting, they're praying for revival and God saved you? And God called you into the ministry that God gave you? And I don't know the prayer meeting like he did. He said their prayers weren't answered, but I look at it and go, their prayers were answered. There was a little lad there, in a sense, not really. He was not even born again. So in a sense, spiritually, yeah. but he's gonna get saved, and God's gonna use him in a remarkable way. I believe their prayers were answered, but it might not have been something that they looked at, that lawyer sitting in their church service that's unsaved and thinking someday God's gonna use this man in a remarkable way. So Andrew's eyes saw little ability on the part of the boy, and then Andrew's eyes saw total inability on the part of man. Okay? As he looked at the boy, he saw little ability. As he looked at the crowd, he just saw inability. He said, but what are they among so many? Did Andrew really believe that that little boy was the answer? No. But was he? Yes. See, that's interesting, isn't it? See, you could be disappointed. If only I had you know, a big man with a restaurant, a big man with a grocery store. All I've got is a little boy with a lunch. You might look at your talent closet and go, God, I wish I had, you know, I wish I had something better on my CV. You know, I wish I, if I had this, then God, then you could, because God, you need me. No, it's not it, is it? It's that God has the ability today to do whatever God wants to do. But it goes back to kind of what Pastor Flanders reminded us of. You have not because he asked not. One of the reasons we ask not is because we don't really believe that God is able to do what God desires to do because of our lack of faith. What are they among so many? Remember Sarah? When the Lord came to visit she and Abraham, and the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I have a surety bear a child which am old? You're going to bear a child, Sarah. Been praying all these years. You knew it. Son of promise. I mean, Abraham knew that God had said that of your seed, I'm going to make this mighty nation. He knew that God had to provide a child. And so did Sarah. But as God said to Sarah, you're going to have this baby, her heart just laughed. And I guess we would probably laugh too. So this human response of shock, unbelief, And the Lord says in verse 14, is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed, I will return unto thee according to the time of life and Sarah shall have a son. She's going to have a baby, Isaac. I mean, the nation of Israel is born through a woman that God did something possible for. You know, when, Samuel came to choose from Jesse's children the next king. King Saul was a big man. And so Samuel looked at Eliab, one of Jesse's boys, and Eliab was not just a strong man, he was a proud man. Remember when David came to the battle, Eliab's the one that said, I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thine heart. You've come to see the battle. No, he's not. He's come because Jesse sent him. But it shows Eliab's heart. Eliab was this proud, strong soldier. And Samuel looked at him and thought, ah, the next king is standing in front of me. But the truth was, he had to ask, do you have any other kids? And, oh yeah, I got this one little guy, he keeps the sheep. He's a shepherd boy. Good kid. And he comes, and it's David. David's a mighty man. I mean, who is like David? Saul slaying his thousands, David's his ten thousands. But he takes a sling and a stone and goes out to fight a giant. You know, Samuel didn't look and go, oh, there he is. Hey, listen, we might not look with our eyes and think with our mind and think, ah, there it is. But listen, God is able. And we gotta stop, we gotta get away from those ideas of unbelief so that we can act by faith. So doubtful thoughts at times have divine origin. Sometimes there are no human answers to God's questions. And then sometimes we just have to act by faith. Sometimes we just have to act by faith. Now, here they are on the hillside. Jesus has said, where are we going to get the food? I want to feed them. I've got compassion. They need to eat. And so where are we going to get it from? And they've answered him, wow, 200 penny worth isn't enough. Andrew says, Lord, there's a small boy. And Jesus says, OK, it's mealtime, is what he says. He said, it's time to set the table. Have everybody get ready for the meal. Imagine this. And so they had to announce the meal with no prepared food. Verse 10, and Jesus said, make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down in number about 5,000. The Bible elsewhere says he sat down in groups of 50. Okay, so he got divided into these smaller groups where they could take the food to them. But the disciples surely have to be looking at themselves going, what are we doing? Master, what do we tell them when we say sit down? They're hungry, you know? Hungry people get upset quickly. Lord, do you really kind of know what's going on here? Sit down. You know, sometimes that's what faith is. Faith is acting without provision, if that's what God wants us to do. I mean, we gotta be careful, because we don't want to jump off the temple. We don't want to cast ourselves down, wrongly interpreting the word of God and tempting God. But when it's something that God desires us to do, it is right for us to say, God wants me to do it by God's grace, so I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it in dependence upon God. And guess what? God is going to what? Supply all my need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus because I've obeyed him with my finances. I'm obeying him in my heart and my life. I'm right with God. God will surely meet my need because I'm seeking first the kingdom of God. I mean, there are biblical principles we can go to and say, God is gonna get it done because God is God, if we're right with God. And so it's faith, though. It's like George Mueller. We just listened on an audio book to the story of George Mueller. And George Mueller had a little girl that was playing at his house. It was, I think, an employee's child that was there. And that little girl was there on a day that they came in and said, Mr. Mueller, we don't have any food, and we don't have any milk. No bread, no milk. And so he goes, he says, little girl, come on, you're gonna get to see God do something awesome. They walk into the dining hall. All the kids are sitting there. He said, we're gonna pray and thank God for his provision. He does that and there's a knock on the door and it's a baker. And he said, I couldn't sleep last night. I just was burdened to bring bread. Do you guys need bread? So I got up early and I baked all these trays of bread. A milk truck knocks at the door. So I broke down outside. My load's gonna be lost, and so I just would like to give it to the orphans. And so if you'll just come out and get it and collect the cans, I gotta take them off, because I gotta get them off to get the wheel fixed anyway. And so you might as well have it. Listen, God provides. And so often, it's a question of, are we gonna step up by faith so we get to see the answer? What if they said, Lord, no, I'm not gonna do that. And I understand God's gonna take care of it. Jesus is gonna get it done. But they've got to act by faith and say, you know what, sit down. The master's going to do something. The priests, as they stepped out into the Jordan River, overfloating its banks during the flood, the Bible says that the waters parted when the feet of the priests that bear the ark were dipped in the brim of the water. How would you like to have been the first priest? Flood time, all right, time to go, here we go. And they're gonna step out by faith, basically putting their foot down into water to have it part dry land. Yeah, that takes faith, doesn't it? What's God asking you to do by faith this morning? It might take faith for you to obey God and say, I'm gonna stop listening to my friends in their ideas about what life's all about, and sinning, and wickedness, and I'm going to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I'm going to obey the gospel. It takes faith, doesn't it? It takes courage to step out and believe God. No, God said Jesus Christ died for me. It doesn't matter what anybody else thinks. Doesn't matter, whatever. I'm gonna let go of all that other stuff. I'm just by faith gonna say, you know what? That's what I need to do. I need to take that step of faith and obey God. It could be as the young person saying, God, I'm gonna take hands off my life. And if you want me to be in missions, if you want me to be in ministry, if you want me to go to Bible college, whatever you want me to do, God, that's what I'm gonna do. That's a step of faith, isn't it? I know when I, in my own life, surrendered my life to preach, or to do whatever God wanted me to do, that wasn't an easy decision because I meant it. And so I was promising God, God, I will do it. Listen, the Bible says, be not rash to vow unto God. If you make a vow to God, the Bible says to keep it. And so that's a big thing, and it might be today, the Spirit of God speaking in your heart, you know, you need to make that decision. It may be as an adult, you need to dedicate your life to God and say, God, I've been fighting against you, please forgive me, I'm surrendering my life to you, and I'm stepping out by faith to do that. It could be vocational, it could be locational, it could be whatever the Spirit of God is speaking in our hearts about, but it's gonna take faith to do that, isn't it? But the disciples, as they did that, as they obeyed God, The disciples had the best view of the miracle. Verse 11, it says, And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had 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. Okay, can you stand this morning and tell me how it is that Jesus broke bread and there was still more? Can you explain it to me? Can you describe it? or how he, you know, broke the fish. Can you tell me why there were five loaves and two fishes instead of one of each? We can't, can we? I mean, we can guess or we could have ideas of how it worked, but guess what? Who knew how it worked? At least by observation. The disciples. All I know, you know, they might say, all I know is, you know, his hands went down and broke it and there was two. Broke it, there was two. Broke it, there was two. Broke it, there was two. Broke it, there was two. I mean, they can describe it. Why? Because they got to see it. Listen, when you step out by faith and obedience to God, when you get rid of the reasoning against God, and isn't it that way about salvation? So many times, people are struggling with what they think instead of obeying what God says. They're struggling with what they see instead of believing what God says. Okay, set it aside. Step out by faith. Guess what? You get to experience it. Taste and see that the Lord is good. All of a sudden, you're in the miracle, and I believe in miracles. I've seen a soul set free. Miraculous, the changing one, set free at Calvary. Yeah, if you've been saved, you've got to experience a miracle. Why? Because you obeyed the gospel. I mean, that's what it's about, isn't it? It's not that, why is the Lord asking such a troubling question to Philip? Does he want him to have a migraine? Does he want him to have a tough day? Well, it was a tough day. The Master really asked me a tough question. Is that what God desires? He takes us into a trial, us to go, oh, wow, what a burden God put on me today. What does God want to do? He wants us to get us to the point of the miracle so that we can go, wow, look at what God did. I'll tell you, I didn't enjoy for the years I was over here burdened about God. I just, I don't see any way possible that we could buy a house. It just seems impossible. You know, but God, allowed that to strengthen my faith. I hope it encourages your faith too to say, wow, God did something there. It's not something we did. Every time with the house situation, when I watched the financing be accomplished, I watched the offer be accepted and the purchase price accepted. The different things that God did. You know what I realized? God has authority over solicitors. God has authority over estate agents. God has authority over tax people. God has authority over financial matters. God has authority. Right? What do we see today in our life? Listen, God has authority. And when you go through a situation and get to see the answer, you get to experience it. So don't be grudging and go, God, why did you give me this trial? Listen, God gave you an opportunity to experience his grace in a way other people haven't experienced it. You have a place of privilege if you respond correctly to the burden or the trial that God's given. And so, two more points very quickly. One, God's provision was exact. Verse 12 and 13, when they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. You say, wait a second, you said it was exact, but there's 12 baskets left over. What's that about? Listen, I don't know what it's about, but I know this, it's exact. Why? Because Jesus said, guard all of it. Don't waste it. Why? Because it's provided according to God's perfect plan. Now we can think about, why was it? Was it for the boy's mother? Was it for the disciples? Each one got one. Was it for others that were late, you know, coming to the feast? What was it for? We don't know. But it was exact. And so it is today, you know, God at times, He might give you extra, don't waste it. My mom would say, listen, you get the extra money put in the bank because something's coming. God knows and he's providing ahead of time. You know, that's very likely the case. A lot of times we get to the future and go, why don't I have what I need? Well, how did you use what you were given? Did you waste God's provision that he had for you to provide for that future opportunity to meet a need? You know, because God's provision is exact. The manna, when the manna came, what happened on Friday? They gathered twice as much. What happened on Saturday Sabbath? It didn't rot. Why? Because they needed it for that day. They weren't to work to collect it. And so God gave them twice as much on Friday to provide for Saturday Sabbath. And so God's provision is exact. We need to guard what he gives when he gives it. And then men's faith was established because of God's miraculous provision. Verse 14, then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, this is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world. Men looked at it and said, this has to be the Messiah. Because look at what God did. You know, it could be today that the trial God's taking you through is for all those unbelievers that are about you to look at it and go, there's gotta be something to it. because I know God did that. There's a ton of unbelievers, and I've been able to say to some people with regard to the house, to unbelievers, praise God, God is so good, God just worked out every detail. Listen, we closed on our house from the offer accepted to closing in 21 days. In Britain, three weeks. You know, the internet says you can have your house closed as quickly as 30 days. That's what it says. I asked Andrew, our solicitor, how often has this happened? Not very often. Why did it happen? Because God did it. There's so many ways I can look at it and say God did it. And I have that testimony now to share with unbelievers and say, you know what? God is real. God is good. This is not because of our intelligence and whatever. It's because of the grace of God. And I know you have those testimonies as well. And we do, as God takes us through a trial of our faith, so that we look at it and say, you know what? God's going to get it done. God's going to get it done. God's going to get it done. As a church, we're praying for a building. As a church, we're praying for God to shut down the pub. As a church, we're praying for people in our community to be saved, that God would send revival. Listen, it's a burden, but let's keep praying. Because God answers prayer. And the answer is not logic. The answer is not sight. The answer is faith. And God is able. And so let's keep our faith in Him this morning. Let's pray. Father, I don't know this morning what it is that you're speaking to others' hearts about, but Father, you reminded me to be on guard against those things that hinder my faith. And Father, I pray if there's somebody this morning that if in the honesty of their heart, they'd say, you know what? has been keeping me from salvation is what I think. What's been keeping me from salvation is what I see. Then I pray, Spirit of God, they just decide today they're going to believe God instead of their reasoning or their sight. Father, maybe a believer has just been unwilling to step up by faith because they think something or they see something. And I just pray the spirit of God to give him grace to obey by faith, because we have an excellent example before us this morning of your ability to do anything. And so I pray God, anchor these truths in our hearts, even today, it's in Christ's name we pray, amen.