Turn in your Bibles to John chapter 6. I'll try to move quickly. How's that? And I appreciate you folks that are here this morning and a willingness to get out on a somewhat cool day, windy day yesterday. My wife and I raked leaves yesterday and got up this morning and realized we have to start all over again. That's kind of the way it works, isn't it? And try to get that work done and get them burned quickly, I guess, is the way to go. In John chapter 6, I want to speak to you for a few moments about a story that is probably as familiar as any biblical story that there is. And so let me read my text very quickly. And I think the point this morning is something we can get to. Hopefully it'll be a blessing to you. I like preaching this message. And I like preaching this message because I believe it has a twist to it that very often we don't pay any attention to it. I think let me read the text and then we'll get on. How's that? 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 diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? And Philip answered him, 200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, 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, 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 set 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 set down, and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he saith unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 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. 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." I suppose everybody knows the story. I remember singing it. I don't remember singing it, but I remember learning it, I suppose, as just a boy. I started my career in church at about two weeks of age, I am told. I don't recall being there, but I grew up in Sunday school. And, of course, being in the children's ministries and Sunday school, everybody learns the little choruses. And this is one of the choruses that we sing about the little boy and one of the stories that we hear prominently about the little boy. And it's a story that really is catered to a young person. And because of that, it's sung about, it's preached about, it's told again and again. And the idea here is what a great thing that God can use just a little boy. And I agree with all of that. However, may I say to you, this is one of the stories that occurs in each of the four Gospels. Not every story occurs in each of the four Gospels. As a matter of fact, not very many of them. Some stories are told in Matthew and some are told in Mark or in Luke, but not in all four. It is a unique thing and there are some stories, but I say that puts them in a place, at least in my thinking theologically, that gives them a little bit more preeminence. God must have wanted us to make sure that we get this story if he put it in each of the four Gospels. And very often you hear the story, if you're going to paraphrase it or give it a title, you talk about the little boy that brought his lunch to Jesus. However, that's a misnomer. You realize the little boy is only mentioned in one of the four accounts? Would it be safe to say that maybe it's not just about the little boy that gave his lunch to Jesus? I'm not saying that's not important, I'm not saying that's a great story and a great connection, all those things are true, but to make it only about the little boy would be kind of absurd when he's not mentioned in the other three accounts. So while there is a little lad, and I'm thankful he's there, and while there's great stories and connections that we can make about that little boy, I think the story must be about something else. Let me run quickly through just the synopsis of each of the accounts in Matthew chapter 14. Verse 15 to 21 tell this story, and in that story we have mentioned for us five loaves and two fishes. By the way, that occurs in each of them, so must have some impact. I find that in verse number 19 of Matthew 14, the Bible says that Jesus blessed and break that before he gave it to the disciples to give. So that bears an important part of this story. I find in chapter 20 it is the disciples that take the food to the masses. I think therefore that stands, because it occurs in each of those accounts, as an important part of the passage. And then I find in verse 21 that the Bible tells us there were 5,000 men plus women and children. So, all those things. Mark chapter 6 again, five loaves and two fishes in verse number 38. Verse number 41 says, He blessed and He break. Verse 39 and 40 says, They sat in groups on the grass. So, some new information. Verse 43 tells us that there were 12 baskets collected as did the account in Matthew after everything was over. And then Mark tells us that there were 5,000 men. Luke chapter 9 tells us 5,000 men that they sat in companies as they were assigned. Luke verse number 16 says there were five loaves, there were two fishes, which again we understand. The Bible says in verse number 17 they collected 12 baskets of fragments after that they had fed them. John chapter 6 tells us that there was a lad. First time we find out about him is here in the gospel account we just read. There's a lad. We find out there are 5,000 men. We find that at the end there are 12 baskets that remain. So again, I say to you, the lad is only mentioned in one of four stories. So to make the story about a young boy would be a little bit inaccurate, wouldn't it? If it's about a little boy, and I'm not trying to take away from his importance here, and we'll look at it in a few moments, but if it were just about the little boy, if it was an act of his heroic faith, or whatever it was, if it was a spotlight on the little boy, he's not even found in three quarters of the account. Which then raises the question, well, what is it about then? I'll tell you what I think it's about. I think it's about a basket. the baskets are mentioned in every account. You say, well, what is that about? Well, we're gonna talk about it this morning. Did you ever hear somebody referred to as a basket case? I think sometimes the Lord has great teaching and I'm not nullifying the participation of the little boy and certainly it is a great story to encourage young people and even some of us older folks to be involved and to be available to be used by the Lord. I'm not trying to undercut that. I think the story is about the baskets. Did you ever wonder where the baskets came from? The Bible tells us that they've gone a long journey out into the wilderness here and it is because of that long journey, it is because of the long time spent out in the wilderness and the obvious determination that people would get hungry because of such a long time spent away from the availability of food and sustenance and things of that nature that the Lord called upon his disciples and said, these people are hungry, feed them. Probably at that time, about 11 of the 12, or maybe all 12, decided, I'm not sure I want to be a disciple. But that story has to do with them making their trek out into the wilderness area, spending a great deal of time, listening to the preaching and teaching of Jesus, and then His notice that they needed to eat, His calling upon the disciples to feed them. And again, we understand that there are five loaves and two fishes that show up, but if it were not for John's account, we would not know the little boy was the one that had it. But in each account, we're told that when they were finished, they collected 12 baskets full. Well, my question is this, where did the baskets come from? If they've journeyed a long distance out into the wilderness, I don't suppose as they were getting ready that morning, and if your house was like our house when we were getting ready and the kids were small, it is pandemonium. I think that is probably the reason that word was invented for Christians. God's people getting ready to go to church. That's the only place I've seen absolute pandemonium. You're looking for the kid, and he comes out, and he doesn't have his belt on, or he doesn't have his pants on yet, or she needs to have something fixed, and she can't find one of her shoes, and then she's got her purse, and she drops her purse, and the stuff comes falling. All of those things take place. Am I telling the truth? If you've got a family, it's just pandemonium chaos. And so having seen that over the course of the year, we've seen some unusual things that ended up going to church with us. I have a son, and obviously boys are probably a little worse than girls for just picking stuff up and deciding they're gonna take it to church. And so I would tend to look at it along that line, but the question is, how in the world do you get 12 empty baskets eight miles out into the wilderness through the course of the, who carried a basket out into the wilderness? I think it's about a basket. I think the truth of the story is simply about these baskets. Now, I have an explanation. I believe that probably that there were some people that were smart enough. These were probably Presbyterians. They were not the Baptists in this crowd. Presbyterians tend to have a little more, you know, foresight, understanding. And I believe in some of the Presbyterian homes that morning as they were getting ready, one of the fathers said, well, you better pack a lunch. You know, Jesus takes a lot of time. And so, I just have to believe somewhere along there, somebody said, let's take a little bit of food with us, but the problem is, I guess, that when they got out there, they didn't take enough and very long they've got an empty basket. And so there ends up being 12 baskets that they can utilize to disperse this food, and they take up at the end of all things that are done. I believe the 12 was a good number because there are 12 disciples, each of the disciples serving people. And at the end, the key is that they end up with 12 baskets full. In each of the accounts, we're told, you realize they ended up with more than they started with. I don't care how you deal with it, five loaves, two fishes, be a hard time, fill 12 baskets. And then the feeding of 5,000, which again is just a reference by count of the men. There are women and children present, and so I would assume, and I've said on another occasion, there may have been as many as 15, 20,000 people around in this thing. And some of them may indeed have brought a basket, at least 12 maybe, brought a basket for their family, but they've long since devoured whatever was in the basket, and now it's just an empty basket. The story's about a basket. We're all baskets. We're all basket cases every once in a while. But I think in this passage, if you look at this, and the connection I think is great when it comes to missions. We've talked over the beginning of the week about the call to missions, about the need for missions. We talked the other night about supporting missions and being a help to missions. But I want you to know this morning I'm preaching to a bunch of basket cases. We're all basket cases. And you say, what in the world? A basket was designed to carry stuff. It was designed to facilitate ease of transport. It was designed to hold things that are precious or need to be kept together. It has a purpose and yet a basket is not really fulfilling a role unless it's got something in it. Now I said that and I understand we're in this weird warped society today where we buy baskets to hang on the wall. Okay? But if you've ever been really hungry and I offered you 12 baskets with nothing in them, you would realize the worth of a basket. If it doesn't have something in it, okay, maybe you should hang it on the wall. Maybe it's pretty. Maybe it's got a decorative flow to it. And, you know, maybe you got a good deal on it at the home store. And all of that's wonderful. But that's not what a basket was designed for. Okay? If somebody brought me a basket for my birthday and I unwrapped it and there was a basket, I would look to see what was in it. I would expect maybe that the gift, you know, it's got to be here somewhere because I'm not really interested in just getting a basket. But in the truth of the passage we're looking at and in the truth of our lives, the course of our lives really consists of a vessel. The Bible said we have this treasure, speaking of the gospel, in earthen vessels. We are, you know, the intellect, the laughter, the joy, the sorrow, all that makes up life have occurred in this vessel. We're not the same. We're completely distinct. There are different things in the vessel that you are than the things that are contained in the vessel that I am. We're just a bunch of baskets. We say that woman's a basket case, or that guy's a basket case, and we're telling the truth. We're all basket cases. And I think sometimes we tend to elevate mankind way higher than he is. We tend to think God is just kind of a notch or two up man. He's a human being, he's just a little higher than a human. But let me be honest with you, we're probably worth as much to God in His omniscience and in His omnipotence as an empty basket. Simply put, God doesn't need us. He functions just fine without us. But in this passage, these baskets show up. And this little lad brings his lunch. I tend to teach that he had it in a sack. I can't imagine what he had filled a basket. I don't believe that five loaves and two fishes would fill a basket. Maybe they were. Maybe one of the baskets was a basket that he carried his lunch in. I don't know. Maybe it looked a little bit like a fishing creel that you wear on your side. But a basket nonetheless. It was designed to hold something and all at once we've got 12 empty baskets now that can be filled with the remains of this miraculous provision of food. They got out there somehow and they got out there for some purpose. It could be. that there were just 12 kids that morning that were tooling around the house and mom's yelling from the back room while she puts her makeup on, are you ready to go? And the little kid, yeah, I'm ready. And he's got a basket in his hand. Do you have your Bible? Yeah. But he left his Bible and he brought his basket. I don't know how they got there, but I know out in the wilderness, miles away from nowhere, there were 12 empty baskets. You say, why is that important? It's incredibly important. Because the Lord uses sometimes the things that we think are the least important. Sometimes the things in our life, I've seen people that had things and instances and events occur in their past, in their youth, and I've had them sit in tears in their eyes and say, why did this have to happen to me? Why was my life like this? Why did I have to go through this? If there was one thing I could eliminate, and then I've seen God turn that around and seen that very cursed thing become a blessing. that thing that maybe not a curse, but something we would say was non-essential. I didn't need that. I was laughed at in school or whatever it might be. I struggled to get good grades. Maybe it wasn't something that was horrible that happened, but something that will always stand in your mind as not a pleasant reminder of the days gone by. And I submit to you, God knows all of those things. He knows how to provide even before the need becomes apparent or before the use becomes apparent. For whatever reason, 12 kids, maybe, 12 moms and dads, maybe, 12 conscientious ladies packed something in a basket, or maybe they just picked it up and took it with them. We've had our kids before, we've told them, don't you dare take that in the church house. You tend to look over into the back seat and you think, oh my Lord, what have you brought in the car? Maybe it was one of those scenarios. Are you following me? I don't know how the baskets got there, but it's peculiar that someone would take a basket from their home to go out into the wilderness. I often thought maybe they were like the Chinese that wear the big broad brimmed hats. Maybe they weren't baskets, maybe they were hats, but I believe the Holy Spirit knows the difference between a hat and a basket, and He didn't say they were hats. So I have to believe they were baskets. They were designed to hold something. And apparently they didn't hold anything. Maybe they had, but at the time they were necessary, they were empty baskets. I think everybody here this morning is a basket, and I'm going to really reduce the value of our lives. If we're not careful, we can make a whole lot more out of our lives than they are. But I think that your life, my life, we, our existence, makes us very much like a basket. Let me talk about that for a few moments. I'm going to be brief this morning. How's that? Will that work? There are three kinds of baskets. There are baskets that are basically that are empty, that need to be filled. There are baskets that are filled and need to be empty, correct? And there are baskets that are broken and need to be mended. I've watched people weave. I don't have the talent to do that, but I've seen them take the reeds and the things that are utilized in making a basket. I'm not a basket weaver. I don't know anything about it, but I marvel at it. years ago when Dr. Cecil Neese, or Brother Cecil Neese, I don't think he was ever a doctor, he only spent about 60 years on the mission field, but I've seen him come out of the jungles of South America where he dealt with the Yanowamo tribe of Indians, the first ones that they ever saw outside of their own tribe was a missionary. And they came home, and I remember they would bring a little basket that had been put together by the women that were there. And we have one in our home, beautiful, absolutely gorgeous, how they can take the different colors of the woodwork that they use and weave them together to form a pattern. I mean, beautiful, and in that sense, maybe a basket is okay just to display, but it displays not just the value or not only the value of the reeds, because there is no value. It displays the talent that it took to design those things and put them together. But I find that you and I are very much the same. And I realized this morning I'm preaching to three different kinds of people. I'm preaching to some people this morning that some of you are empty and you need to be filled. You know, it's a sad place in life and we've all been in those areas in our life where we just kind of get in a place of despair. I think that our entire culture as a society, as America, is one that is almost suicidal. I believe there is so much despair in America, more than I've seen in all of my lifetime. I think that people are just down. I think COVID has really, I don't think it created it. I think it just accented it to the point we realized we were miserable people. I think what COVID has done is taken away from us the side peripheral things that we utilize to distract us from the morbidity of our own existence very often. We could get into sports, we could get into this, we could get into that, we could get wrapped up in these things, and now all at once those things have been taken away from us, and now it's just us, and we realize how empty we are. We never realized it before. I think sometimes if you look at us as Christians, and I mean Christians are struggling. I've had people say, preacher, what do you do? What do you do about your services? I like what you're doing here with a service, an option. You say, are you against wearing masks? No, no, I'm not against it. I'm not for it. I think that let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind, and I'm glad you're here, and I'm glad there's a provision for that. My wife and I talked about it this morning, a great idea provided. It's not for us to ridicule one or the other. As soon as somebody ridicules that you are wearing a mask, they'll probably get COVID. and then they might not ridicule so quickly. You know what I'm saying? Someone who doesn't wear a mask and there's a different story. It's all down there. It's let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. But very often is the case is we find ourselves just in a place of despair. We find the emptiness that's there. And even Christians. have found a place where when we back away, I've had people tell me, I miss getting together, I miss the singing on a Wednesday night, I miss just hanging around after church and talking, I miss all of that. We find ourselves kind of empty, kind of empty. I think our world, our country at least, is just at a place of grave danger. Simply put, because we have been brought down to what we really were without all the fluff and without all the feathers, and all at once we realize, you know what? Life cannot be always what it has been in the course of our, we find ourselves just empty, just empty. People are running now, you find, don't go here, don't do this, don't associate, and then you go to a college campus and find, what was it, the other night, 124 people in a room, as small as a small house, having a party. You say, why would they do that? I'll tell you why, they're empty. They're empty. The same thing that compels a man to put a needle in his arm and pump his body full of drugs, the same thing that compels a man to sit at a bar and douse glass after glass after glass after glass is that emptiness. And somehow because we weren't tipping the glasses or putting the needles in, we thought we were just fine. And God came in and took some of the fluff out of our lives and we find out we were addicted to just fluff like anybody else. We're morbid. You say, well, that's a horrible thing. It's a horrible thing to be empty. But the good thing about being empty is you can be filled. There's hope and a possibility. And I believe this morning that there are people here and people in our community and Christians primarily who I'm addressing, that your basket, you can carry, you could bear, you could hold things that you don't hold. You may be empty, but that doesn't mean you have to be empty. There are baskets that are empty and needing to be filled. Boy, you know, I think about the things that we could fill our world with. I would hope, I would hope that through COVID, you find that maybe your Bible reading has improved. I know it's quiet. I want it to be quiet for a moment because I want us to have to think about that thought. Maybe when it first happened, maybe when you first found yourself at home, you began to read your Bible. And I hope you're still keeping up with that. I think COVID has been good because we found ourselves empty and we didn't have all the fluff to fill us up like it normally did. And so we've been reduced to just a few things. And maybe it's helped us sort through the issues of life and Think about the times we promised the Lord, I'm going to try to spend some time reading my Bible, and we never did. And now maybe we've turned to the scriptures. You say, what is that? That's a good thing for an empty basket, because it realizes it needs to be filled. There are people here that are just in touch. Maybe it's enhanced your prayer life. I'll tell you, if you've had a loved one and someone has telephoned or called or gotten word to you that they have been diagnosed with COVID, that'll enhance your prayer life. That'll enhance your prayer life. Maybe you thought back years ago, well, you know, I don't have time to pray and I'm not, I don't pray like I should and well preacher, you know, it just takes a lot of time and now then, because we've been emptied out, God's been able to fill us up with some other stuff. There are people that are empty needing to be filled and filled needing to be emptied. We find ourself in a place as baskets today that it is the purpose of a basket not to hold forever. A basket is a utility device. It is a means to convey. It is a means to keep things together so that they may be utilized. And maybe you're a basket this morning that is just empty, needing to be filled. Maybe you find yourself saying, God, please do something in my... That's a good thing. That's a good thing. Be cautious with what you allow yourself to be filled with. Then I say again, there are baskets that are filled needing to be emptied. Some of us have realized without the opportunity to talk to other people, we go berserk, we go nuts. We're not inside people, we're not people that are good to be shut up. I hate to say this, it's going to sound horrible, it's going to sound sinful, but in some capacity, we've learned to thank God a little bit for a cell phone. At least you can talk to somebody. At least you can be around somebody. At least somebody's still out there. You almost feel like everybody's gone away and life has ended. And sometimes it's good to be able to contact other people. And sometimes it's good to be an encouragement to other people. Sometimes it's good to be filled and have the ability to help other people with what God's given you. I find people have enjoyed preaching much more in these days and times. You know why? Because they just come to church hungry. uh... that crowd that used to show up you know five minutes late with all kind of stuff going on and i'd looking at their watch i gotta be out here i gotta be gone i gotta go i got things to do that's kinda gone away now we're not forced to go twelve different places at one time Those inability to stand around and talk a little bit or to talk on our phone with other people. It was always, you know, I got to go, I got to go, I got to do this, I got to do that. We were just moving helter-skelter here and there. And I find that sometimes it's good because we have the opportunity now to spend some quality time with other people. We have the ability to talk to some old friends and people we've always said, you know, I need to talk to. Now we've got some time. And that's good. You know, I find neighbors have talked to neighbors a little more. You say, why? Because they're not in such a hurry to get somewhere else. I find that parents have talked to children a little more because they're not rushing out the door to get to school. And children have talked to moms. I find that teenagers are actually talking to their parents a little bit. And parents are talking to their teens. Sometimes it's good because we can find ourselves empty needing to be filled and filled needing to be empty. And I don't know where you are in any of those cases today, but none of that's the course of my message. The course of my message is about that other kind of basket, and that's a basket that's broken, needs to be mended. You know, a basket that's broken can't hold anything very long. It is a waste of time to try and put anything into a broken basket because it just flows right through. I think that this has been a good time for us because, in honesty, it helps some folks to realize, you know, my whole life is broken. I've talked to people over the course of this thing, not many, but some who've said to me, you know, I realized how empty my life was because I'm here now. And I've recognized the fact that I've got to go back and sit down and work on my spiritual walk with the Lord. Somebody said one time, you never know how wonderful the Lord is until you're in a place where you really need Him. And sometimes, God, we can talk about Him being our friend, but He's like a distant friend. I have one brother. He lives 900 miles away. I've seen him probably once in the last two years. If there's a phone chat, it's usually brief because he's going there. And I love my brother, but boy, it's not the same as it was when we were kids, Brother Walt. And I think sometimes life is just like that, if we're not careful. We begin to realize that things are broken that need to be mended and need to be fixed. You know, as a Christian, sometimes a Christian can be filled with the gospel and never take the chance to empty it out, and that's detrimental. And sometimes a Christian can be empty and just needs to be filled with the joy of the Lord, and that's detrimental. But very, very, very often, if we're not careful, we can be broken as a vessel and not even recognize it. Did you ever find yourself through the preaching of the Word of God? I have. Preachers say something and I've had preachers say, I don't even know why I'm saying this and immediately I knew why they were saying it because my basket, me, my life was broken in some capacity and it needed to be mended, needed to be fixed. And so I submit to you today that you're a basket case. But what kind of a basket are you? Are you a basket that's filled with so much and yet you refuse to submit to trying to empty it out for somebody else, to be a blessing, to be a help, to be kind, to give direction, to boy, all of those things that we can sit down and we're legends in our own mind. We can sit down in the chair, and it doesn't matter whatever's on TV, you know, you get John Wayne ambling in, you know, and we get up and we walk to the kitchen like John Wayne, because we drop into that, we're so much into that kind of thing, and the truth is, we have the capacity to become a lot of things that God would utilize us for, but we just never are willing to be emptied out. And then sometimes we can set and woe is me and corner and say, I don't know, God didn't give me this and he didn't give me that and life's unfair. It's just not the way it is. And we can complain and we can murmur. We can look at other people and say, well, they have all the advantages and I don't have any advantages and I didn't get this and I didn't get, hey, help me out with that. Shut up and ask God to fill you up. If you're a full basket, then do something with what God's given you. If you're an empty basket, ask God to fill you with some things that can be utilized. Well, we don't have to worry about saying, here am I, send me, because here's about the only place we can be with COVID. We're not hurried and distracted going here and there. We could honestly say, God, I'm here all day if you've got anything for me. I'm here for the long haul. I'm here. Give me something that I can pass to others. Or help me pass what I've already gotten to others because I've held it in for so long. But I think sometimes we might need to say, Lord, I'm just broken. I need to be fixed. You know, I find a lot of unsafe people during this thing with COVID have come to a realization that the spiritual side of mankind is more important than they thought it was. They're open. They're open. They're unsafe people that you work with, unsafe people that live next door to you and down the street, unsafe people that played around with your kids, whose lives have been touched by the loss of someone they did not think they would lose. They have learned what it is to harbor themselves because of fear. It is not normal what we're doing for Americans. And you say, well, that's okay. Maybe it's the judgment of God. Maybe it's just God showing you that your basket's broken and it needs some repair. If you can sit back and realize that these people lost a loved one to COVID and now then they've lost another to COVID and they're dealing with somebody in the hospital, do you realize there are people in nursing homes that can't even see their own families through all of this? We're in a place where we, I think, have been humbled to admit that we're broken and need to be fixed. That we're full and we need to spend some time emptying and helping other people. Or that we're empty and we need to find those that can help fill us and get back to the Lord who is the ultimate source of all things worthy in a Christian's life. So there are folks that are empty needing to be filled. There are folks filled that need to be empty. There are folks that are broken needing to be mended. We're just baskets. I'm encouraged by this story because those 12 baskets are there, and I don't know whether you've thought about it or not, there were 12 baskets, maybe people brought food into the wilderness for their family, at least 12 of them, maybe, I don't know, but they ate the food because they were all hungered, the Bible said, so maybe they packed a lunch and they ate it, you know, at nine o'clock. That's kind of the way it works. When you fix food, And you start to wrap it up, why bother? Let's just eat it right. I don't know, but for whatever reason, those 12 baskets are out there, and those 12 things, there's a need and a necessity, but a basket that's empty needs to be filled. They came to the Lord, you know, and they said, we need food. And at that point, the idea that there were 12 baskets wouldn't have meant anything. They needed the Lord to provide something, and He did. He provided the food. He brought those things miraculously to those folks who were in need. But now everybody's sitting back, and I believe they had more than enough. I think it was one of those meals where you pat yourself on the belly. You say five loaves and two fishes. Don't focus on the minuscule part. Focus on the Lord Jesus Christ and recognize that when it's all said and done, they're just patting their bellies saying, boy, that's the best meal. That's better than Cracker Barrel. I mean, they're just talking about it. And now then, everything's gone and there are baskets that are empty sitting there because all the people have eaten. And then someone raises their hand and said, Lord, you know, I have to be honest with you. I can't eat anymore. I probably took more than I should. Is there somebody that has it and they found out that everybody had eaten enough? And now then we have a new problem. And that is we've got leftovers. The Bible says they began to collect the leftovers. And what was left over was 12 baskets full. What a thought. But you know, I'm peculiar. I tend not to just look for the theological depths and the meaning of ancient and archaic words. I tend to scratch my head and say, that's just weird. You came out there, somebody brought some food, probably, ate it out of the basket, the basket was empty, the Lord took five loaves, two fishes, broke it up, 5,000 men plus women and children, by the way, I did the math one time, that would take 20 railroad cars to provide enough food for everybody to have one Big Mac. But let me help you with that. One Big Mac won't help me. But the Bible says they all ate and were filled. Everyone there ate and was filled. That's the majesty of the miracle. But now it's absurd. We didn't have any food. Now we got too much. And they begin to collect it. And they find there's 12 baskets full of the fragments. That's what the Bible said. What's left? Leftovers. If you've got 12 baskets of leftovers, you had a pretty big meal. Did you ever wonder what happened to that? You think the Lord would let that go to waste? Okay. I'm going to give you a little something from the RSV this morning. It's a Rick Sal's version. I think the Lord looked around and the disciples said, Lord, what are we going to do with this food? We don't want to carry this. What's going to happen? We got to get rid of it. Nobody out there wants it. I think the Lord looked out of his corner of his eye around over here and here's a little old fella that brought five loaves and two fishes and gave everything he had to Jesus. And Jesus blessed it and break it and fed the multitude. And Jesus said to give it to him. You know, when you put what you have into the hands of God for His use, you will never ever, I stand today to be corrected, you will never ever suffer because God can't meet your need. But now we got another problem. We got one little boy and we got 12 baskets of food. How's he going to get it home? I think the Lord said, And 12 guys said, we got five loaves and two fishes, but what are they among so many? Peter, James, John, get a basket. I think there was an entourage that day as they headed out of those Galilean hills. Little boy chasing the bugs and the flowers and playing all the way home, picking up rocks and throwing them out in the field, and right behind him comes a stately apostle with a basket full of food, and then another basket by another apostle carried by... You say, what are you saying? I'm saying that the 12 baskets, they got to get back. And so, all at once, I believe mama looks out the front door. How many of you mamas, if you looked out the front door and saw 12 men coming behind your child, would say, oh no, here we go again. What's he been up to now? And I think she was worried. She probably called her husband and said, you've got to get in here now. This is not going to be good. He's got the religious leaders behind him. He's got all of Jesus' disciples have brought him home, and they're carrying baskets of broken things. This is not good. I told you we should have gone with him. And here he comes, and they bring those 12 baskets. And she looks at that little boy. She said, what have you done now? And he said, Mama, I just did what you told me to do. Jesus needed some food and I gave him my lunch. And now, Mama, you need to call all of our neighbors, all the kinfolk. You need to call everybody we know in town because we got more than we started with. Can I say to you that's the way it is when we take our meager resources and put them at his beckon? God can take one empty basket and He doesn't have to fill it because He can fill 12 other different baskets and supply the needs that we need. God has a means of taking care. What does that have to do with missions? I'll tell you what it is. These missionaries have spent their lives, they've been on their knees, they're doing their best to facilitate climbing onto an airplane or a boat or whatever it is and going to boola boola land. And all they've got is just a little basket called a Bible. And they've got in that Bible, though, enough to meet the needs of all those other people. Somebody's going to have to come up, though, with some more. Given to missions to me has always been a privilege. A privilege. You say, why? Because it means I have. I'm thankful I'm not living in a grass hut somewhere halfway around the world, worrying about the marauding tribes that have come through in the last four days, carrying drugs and shooting innocents. Listen, my heart goes out to them, but I'm glad I'm not there. You say, that's horrible. Then you go. I'll pay your way. We can get real arrogant in our safety. I'm glad for my safety. Do you understand that? I'm thankful that I'm safe. But because of that, I recognize I need to be a help to get some of these people where they're going. I need to be an encouragement to get the gospel to some of those people around the world. And truth of the matter is, I find that when you and I get on board, somebody said, well, you know, I don't like missions conferences, they're always about money. Well, what else would they be about? Food? The idea is to get people to the mission field. You say, well, I don't want to give my money. Then you pack up, we'll pay you to go. As long as you promise never to come home. We want our missionaries to come home. You can stay. We get so arrogant. We get so aloof. Well, you know, they're just here to get our money. They can't work in a foreign country. It's against the law. They can't get what your money can get for you here in America. I've known missionaries in the jungles of New Guinea that had to pay $4,000 or $5,000 for an emergency helicopter to get a child out of the jungle that had been hurt because they were going to die of gangrene. And listen, you've never had to do that. You understand? Well, aren't you glad that when somebody out serving the Lord, winning people to Christ, has an accident, that there's enough to get them where they need to go? Sometimes we just don't make sense. We're to give. You say, well, I only have so much. I know you only got so much in your basket. And these missionaries come through and let me help you. These that are here be gone next week. And next month, there'll be another one. Oh, yes. Don't miss this. It's not how many come through. It's the facts that every time I empty my basket, I empty it, end up with 12 more baskets. Every time I give what I've got, every time I part with my lunch, I see God do something miraculous. I see God do something wonderful. And in reality, I see in the end result that God provides for me as much as I need while he provides for others. Would you bow your head just for a moment this morning? I want to ask you a question. As an individual, just me and you, is that all right? What kind of a basket are you? Just look at your own life. Let the Holy Spirit, ask God if you're not sure. Lord, am I a basket that's way too full because it's not willing to be emptied? Or Lord, I'm just an empty basket. I need the touch of God in my life. Scripture says, restore to me the joy of thy salvation. Maybe you're empty. Maybe you're broken. Maybe you'd say, Lord, I haven't known any fellowship. I haven't known any rejoicing for a long, long time. Something has broken that relationship. But whether you're empty, full, or broken as a basket, The truth of the matter is, there's a God that can remedy all of those situations. I'm going to turn the service back to the pastor. I know we're finished and need to go. But might I encourage you, don't leave this morning without spending some time with God to remedy whatever the situation is in your life. If you're broken, let Him fix you. If you're empty, let Him fill you. If you're filled, do something to spread what you have, to be a blessing and an influence.