for joining with us live stream from Little Sandy Baptist Church, Greenup, Kentucky, on Route 3307. We are in John chapter six, our ongoing saga, through this most wondrous of books called the Bible, and specifically, this latter gospel of the four. It is a synoptic gospel, our Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John wrote that we might know that Jesus is the Christ, and we might have life by believing in his name. That's the purpose of his book. John chapter six, after these things, Jesus went over, let's try it again. After these things, Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is in 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 the mountain and there he sat with his disciples in the Passover, a feast of the Jews was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company coming to him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? And this he said to prove them, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred 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 land here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes, but what are they amongst so many? And Jesus said, make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down and numbered about 5,000. And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were sat down, and likewise of the fishes, as much as they would. And 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 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. And the Lord's blessing to the reading of his words. Pray for a moment, Heavenly Father, I pray that you'd be with those teaching downstairs. Thank you so much for many who work in the children's ministry. I pray that you'd help us up here this evening, this morning, that we would listen carefully, help to think clearly. I mean, we put aside so many other things that may be going on in our lives and so many things to get ready for, and sometimes we're just too busy, Lord. We're just too busy. and the wrong thing, not to say even wrong things, but just too busy. May we think about you. That's why we're here. Prayed earlier. Nothing we say or do would bring dishonor to you. I pray, Lord, you help me this morning. Forgive me of sin, empty me of self, and fill me with your spirit, please. May this wonderful, wonderful miracle, John adds, may we see that he is truly God of very God. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. This is quite the miracle. It's interesting, those who want to say there's no supernatural things in the Bible say that when the young man opened his lunch and started eating his five barley loaves and two sardines, that everybody else got their lunches out, and they started eating, and that way all of them were fed. That's those who just want a discount. The Bible says clearly, though, that there were just five loaves and two fishes, and Jesus, God, made it available. And by the way, there were 12 baskets left over after everyone had simply, we call it, pigged out. And there was 12 left over even, so we know it is certainly, well, the Bible says, regardless of what you think or I think, the Bible says. It was a wonderful miracle. John even records it for us. It is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. And it's mentioned nine times in the Gospels altogether. It's the only miracle that John records that the other Gospels record. So it's a significant miracle. Again, the only one mentioned in all four Gospels. Spurgeon says that it is in all four Gospels that we won't forget how much the Lord can do with little things that are yielded to him. First of all, we see the traveling multitude, and we see the setting in verse 1. After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Now, this is on the eastern shore. If you're thinking with me now, the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 7 miles wide, 13 miles long. On the western shore is Tiberias. Herod the Great, Herod Antipas built that city. It's become a thriving city. On the right-hand side at the very end is Bethsaida, where we are on today's text. far right-hand corner of the Sea of Galilee. The Jews, the religious Jews, wouldn't even go to Tiberias because it was a more than half pagan city. It was on the west side of the lake, built by Herod about the time of our Lord's birth and comparatively a modern place in our Lord's time. Josephus says that 40 years after the Lord's crucifixion, it is the one city that the Romans did not tear down because it was sort of associated with the Roman empire, if you would. They had adhered to the Roman cause. So we'll let that city, let that city stand. This same lake is called the Sea of Galilee by those perhaps in the province, Lake Gennesaret by the plain, and the city called the Sea of Tiberias. Three names, one lake. Very prominent lake in the area of Israel, as you well know. The Jews even called it Chinareth because it's a harp-shaped, so Chinareth. So it lies 600 feet below sea level, so there's all kinds of storms. If you've ever been to the Sea of Galilee, I think it's sort of like in a bowl place, and the storms come up quick and rapid. Matter of fact, John Phillips says it's a demon-haunted lake because of the 2,000 pigs that ran down the hillside and jumped. I mean, they probably didn't jump. They fell into the lake, and the demonic spirits were indwelling them. So a demon-haunted lake. So the people see Jesus departing in verse two and three. He's departing and they follow him. It's about a five mile, now where, I was looking this morning, Gadara, the Copolis, the 10 cities, which is right, if you look at the lake, it's right in the middle eastern shore of the middle of where he comes from. It's about a five mile boat trip up to Bethsaida, where they are for this sermon here, this Bread of Life sermon. And so, remember the demoniac of Gadara? They have been cast. And so that's the area. They're going five miles. It's about a six to seven mile by foot. And so they see him leaving and they follow him along. So there's a great multitude. We find that Christ is very direct about the reason they are following him. As a matter of fact, the Bible says, what does the Bible say in verse two? They saw, they saw his miracles. That's why they were signs and wonders. They were attracted by that. So he had a huge following. So the setting is, now this region, it says here that it was these things, a desert place by some, it's not so much desert as it is a place of solitude. Matter of fact, in Mark, it says there was green grass there, and in our own text in 610, it says there was much grass there. So we think of a desert as barren. This is more of a, maybe, it's a big field on a hillside is where they're meeting. Can you imagine putting 5,000 people in your yard? You got a big yard, but I'd take a big, big, big yard. Maybe perhaps a field across from you. I don't know, but I'd take a lot of, a big field to hold 5,000 people. And that's just the men. So it could have easily been 15,000 or more people. We just know about the men. They're sat down in 50s. We understand that. So it's a place, a desert place belonging to Bethsaida, Luke says. A place of green grass, much grass, and slowly reclined. That is the setting. And then, secondly, is the seeing. Verse two, and a great multitude followed him because they saw the miracles. The saw is an imperfect tense. Over and over, they've been holding Jesus, beholding what he's doing, and saw the miracles, and they were attracted to that. They weren't necessarily attracted to what he was saying, per se, but we say, often, seeing is believing. Well, not so much in the spiritual realm because they saw over and over and over and over. Matter of fact, even his enemies could not persuade people that he had not done miracles because remember Lazarus? They even wanted to kill Lazarus because he'd been raised from the dead. So it was a great attestation to Jews had raised Lazarus from the dead. It's all in miracles. Interesting, we get our word from understand, we get our English word theater from this word, this word see. It's apropos for the crowds. They wanted to see what next big thing is going to happen. Isn't it so today? You attract a crowd by something's going on. Well, let's gather around and see what's happening here. And they'll start gathering around, et cetera. Same way in Jesus today. They had gone from reservation and hesitation about Jesus to outright rejection in chapter five. Remember, they looked for ways to kill him in chapter five because he healed someone on the Sabbath day. They couldn't go against that. So we, well, we just got to kill him because he's not following our rules. And Christ gives it in chapter five at the end. You know, you just, you won't come to me. I searched the scriptures for even me thinking I have eternal life there. They would testify of me, but you won't come to me. I wonder this morning, have you come to Christ? Have you come to Christ? And so by the time we get to six, he's going to talk about the bread of life. And in seven, there's absolute hostility to opposition to Jesus. It's going from, we call it, maybe the first year was a year of popularity for Jesus. He's not going to be so popular in a short time. So they're thronging him. He heads to the mountains. If you were looking at the land of Israel today, where there are, in our text, is the Golan Heights today, if you were to look in Israel and see, look at a map for Israel today. Why? Because they saw the miracles that he had did on those that were diseased. It was immense, like this, an immense assemblage. It testifies to the excitement. There was almost like a hero worship, and Jesus was the hero. We want to see more of this. Do they want to hear about Jesus, not necessarily. See, we're up, we're just about 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 days from a time where even, even maybe the most pagan a person might admit that there was a baby in a manger somewhere because it's very Christmassy up there. We see it all. Even that is waning. And so they were following for the miracles, but they didn't want to really know the truth. Well, and it's the world today. We don't care so much about the baby in the manger, but we do not want to hear about a returning king of kings and lord of lords, who we will one day have to stand before, who we are accountable to. We don't want that. We'll take the baby. Maybe. So I would bet you put your babies out the night of Christmas and don't put them out too long. If you have outside manger, I don't know, but you know, even that has been taking things from there. There seems to be no reason for this multitude, really. I like what Ryle says. There was no reason to suppose this multitude followed our Lord for any but low motives. They saw the miracles. They're going to get a free lunch. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Well, there was today for them. And they want to follow. They want to see these good things. So you see, later on, he's going to talk about the bread of life. And by 666 of John, many. Well, look what it says. Look for yourself. The same chapter, 666. It says for us here. Even from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. Wow, so we're coming to the whole purpose here. We're going to sort of weed out those who are not interested really in following me. You're just following me and we see the weeding already in America? Those who are just sort of nominally giving lip service to being a Christian, they've already started fading from the scene. And it's going to keep getting tighter and tighter as they ratchet up more and more. I think if we're not careful enough, we're going to get more and more ratchets against those who want to stand for what the Bible is. If there's a couple of laws even that have already passed one of our houses, if the second law, if H.R. 5 is passed, It's going to be the end of Christian liberty as we know it, unless someone gets a judge to put it on stay. We have to stand for what is right. So Jesus is doing that even now. So there was the setting, there's the seeing, and there's the sitting. And Jesus went up then to the mountain, and there he sat. The Lord found a suitable spot where the crowds could also hear him and find a place to sit down. I think he probably was tired. The kids were hungry. And the people were despondent, or the disciples were maybe despondent, we're not sure, but it includes these 12 where they sit down and he's going to preach and teach to them and feed them, yes. Many are gonna show themselves at the end of the chapter that they truly were not true followers. Practically speaking, it is wise, the sitting, for the most active servant, someone has said, of Christ, cannot be always upon the stretch of business, but have bodies that require some relaxation. That was Matthew Henry. And Vance Havner said very famously, if you don't come apart and rest awhile, you'll come apart. Come apart and rest a while, or you will come apart. So Christ sits down to teach. So that was the traveling multitude. Secondly is the teaching moment, starting in verse four, the teaching moment, and there's the problem. In the Passover, a feast of the Jews was nigh, and when Jesus lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he said unto Philip, whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? Interesting, one man said the Passover's not so much a chronological thing as an thought process. The Passover's coming. The lambs are gonna die to pay for our sins, et cetera, and so there's gonna be, if you would, there's gonna be eating of the lamb, et cetera, so the unleavened bread. So that's in the back of their mind. They're still waiting for another Moses to come along and relieve them from the Roman overthrow. The Lord's heart then went out in tenderness for the strong. 5,000 men alone, women and children. Imagine the children are already tired, perhaps some are already napping, disciples are impatient, everybody's getting hungry. And that was too. Christ was hungry, but he never performed a miracle, if you would, to satisfy his own needs. And like what Lockyer says, sympathy prevailed over the quest for solitude. The Lord was all about always healing people and helping them. People would come to him. It wasn't like the Lord where, you know, I've got to visit such a church, I've got to be here, this synagogue, this synagogue here, and I've got a timetable, and I've got to get here, and I've got to get there. It wasn't like he was going places. His ministry, most of the time, if you went on one, was with interruptions. Interrupt here. Interrupt there. Interrupt here. And he always had time. Time for people. Don't you think he was a little bit busy? I mean, he's upholding all things by the word of his power. He's upholding our solar system and the countless other zillions of solar systems. He's holding us together. And he has a time for a lady with an issue of blood, or time with a man whose daughter's dying, or time for this, or time for that. And the crowds are like, I don't know if you get the heebie. You know what the heebie-jeebies are? I don't know if that's a good word or not. But I get people like, it's like if I go to a certain store, and it's like close to Christmas. There's people, I can't, I don't know where, I don't find any aisles that are empty. You know, I want to go down an aisle that has no one else in it and go to the no one else in it. And then people get crowded and I get in line and there's like... That was Jesus all the time. People were thronging Him and pushing against Him. Probably it wasn't for God, Him being God, etc. He may have gotten trampled. It was that all the time. Can you imagine that? Some actor I read, I don't follow him anyway, but he said, I didn't realize when I became famous I'd give up my freedom. Well, that goes with territory. Jesus was famous in that era at that point in time, and he had no quiet time to himself. That's why he would have to go to the mountain, et cetera. So he did that. He cared for others. The problem is there's a lot of hungry people. And we find that he asks of Philip, whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? Now to add to our consternation, it's the end of the day. If you read the other context, it was going toward evening, and there's probably not anybody, all the bakeries are probably closed by now, and they can't buy food anywhere likely, and how are we gonna buy this bread? And so there's four solutions. Disciples say, get rid of them, just send them home. Philip says, well, we can't buy enough. It'd take 200 penny worth of bread to buy all that. Andrew says, I've got five loaves and two sardines, but why are they among so many? And Jesus said, I'll just take care of it myself. He feeds the multitude. So that was the problem. Secondly, as in verse six, is the purpose. Look what he says in verse six. And this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do. One man says, God allowed the test to occur, not expecting failure, but placing the person in a situation where his or her faith might grow stronger. It's the two on the road to Emmaus. It's the disciples in the boat during the storm that our faith may grow. God sometimes and often allows things into our lives, not expecting failure. He's expecting us to turn to him. Lord, I can't do it. Please help. He knew exactly what he was going to do, which means he's not only in control of the situation, but he's several steps ahead. It's like Bobby Fischer was, I don't even know what his era was, but he was like his only grand chess champion I've ever heard of, Bobby Fischer. And so I imagine in his mind when he started the chess match, he probably had like 50 different scenarios with every single move. What he's going to do, he's thinking about 10 moves down the road. If he gets that far, 10 moves down the road, sorry. If he gets that far, he's thinking about that. Jesus. Has it all. That's all. He knows the end from the beginning. He sees it all at once. And so he knows why he's going to ask Philip this very question. He knows. A commentator, Barton, said this. As he did with Philip, Jesus sometimes tests us by putting us in difficult circumstances with no easy answers. At these times, we feel frustrated as Philip did. However, frustration cannot be God's intended result. Can I repeat that? Frustration cannot be God's intended result. The wise disciple always keeps the door open for God to work. When the first or second look at a problem yields no solution, do you trust God to work or assume it's hopeless? I'm sure like on the 10th, the 10th door, that's not working either. I'm just gonna, no, shall we not give up? We shall not give up, we must keep trusting. It's not really, and I like what A.B. Bruce says, it's not really an act of mercy per se, it's an act of judgment. He's mercifully going to feed these 5,000 men and possibly their wives and families, he's gonna feed them at one time, but the whole purpose really is to separate the spurious from the true disciples. So that's what happens at the end of the chapter. If you read it for yourself, he's going to talk about the bread of life. I am the bread of life. I've just have fed you, but really I am the bread of life. Either going to follow me or not. Same question for you and I, he's the bread of life. Have you chosen to follow him? I trust that you have. If you have not, you need to make that decision. If those thousands of all genuine disciples were all genuine disciples, it'd be well. But if not, he says, if the greater number were following Christ by misapprehension, the sooner that became apparent, the better. To allow a large mixed multitude to follow him any longer without sifting would have been on Christ's part to encourage false hopes and to give rise to a serious misapprehensions. So we find here that he's going to He's going to offer them the choice to believe or to continue on to reject him, and many reject him. There's the teaching moment involves the problem and the purpose, and the seventh thing, verse seven there, thirdly, is the procurement, verse seven. Philip answered him, 200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them that everyone may have a little or take a little. Bill estimated the best part would be this, it's gonna be two thirds of your yearly salary. Can you just imagine now, you're getting two thirds of your yearly salary. to buy bread for one meal, two-thirds yearly salary. So a person makes $33,000 a year, $22,000 right there, one pop, to buy for the entire multitude. And where are they going to get that much bread? There's nowhere even sells that. There's no Amazon to dial into. OK, we want 500,000 loaves of bread, or 3,000 loaves of bread. And we want some tilapia. We want 50 cases of tilapia. Here comes the Amazon van down the road now. It's here, right here, right now. See, that's just imaginatory. At least it is now. It wouldn't happen. So he calculates. He gets out his calculator. Wow. It'd take two-thirds of my year's salary to buy all those things. That's the solution I can come up with. The best thing I can do. And while his batteries are running out on his calculator, Andrew says, oh, I'm gonna go find somebody, see if there's anybody, any other possibilities. Listen, if we leave Jesus out of your calculations, you're gonna come up short every time. If you leave Christ out, I'm gonna come up short every single time. It's, in our day, I have to say, maybe it's just me, but I think we have lost so much, even in our own churches, the living by faith. There's nothing wrong with being prepared for the future, you should be doing that. But my generation has heard so many times that if you don't have your retirement all lined up, you are just miserable and you just are failure, complete failure. Well, you don't know what I've had in my life. But I don't care what you had, you have got to be prepared. So if we're not prepared, we're ready for retirement, we worked all of our lives to retire and we get there and a lot of people have no enjoyment while they're retired. It's only hard to live during your retirement. You see what I'm saying? Where is my faith? Missionaries, that's what required of missionaries is a faith, to go by faith. It's not just missionaries. If you are a child of God, without faith it is impossible to please Him. Without faith, you're not pleasing Him. So He's, where's my faith? I've got five loaves and two fish, but we don't have the money for that. If we did, could we even find it? He wants to teach them to trust the Lord. Is there a seemingly impossible task that you believe God wants you to do? Don't let your estimate of what can and can't be done keep you from taking on the task. God can do the miraculous. Trust Him to provide the resources. And we as pastors have told our missionaries over and over, well, just trust God. Just go out there and start going to different churches and trust God. He'll provide for you. And we're at the same time, I don't know what's going to happen to me. I've got to have this. I've got to have a 401, 403, 502, 503. I've got to have all these different things. I've got to have my social security. I'm waiting to get 70, because I've got more social security, like 70. And wait just a minute. Just back up for just a minute. If we leave God out of the equation, you've lost it. You missed it. If I leave God out of my future, Even here on earth, I'm really missing the best part, am I not? I am, I am. The problem, the purpose, the procurement, the presentation. Number four under this, the teaching moment, four, presentation. And one of his disciples, Andrew Stoneman Peter's brother, said unto him, there is a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes, what are they among so many? Olga Butler says, when we focus on our circumstances, we can easily be discouraged. And I put, repeat. When we focus on our circumstances, we can easily be discouraged. Our resources and ability are often not enough to do what God tells us to do. We need to keep our eyes on him. As Wiersbe says, the first step is not to measure our resources, but to determine God's will and trust him to meet the need. What does God call on us to do? We've got to, I don't have it, it doesn't add up. That's what he loves about it. It doesn't add up with you and me. We got to say, Lord, I imagine that in 2012 when we came here, If we knew in 2012 as a church what we were going to spend and the time it was going to take to get this building finished, we'd say, no, no, I just can't handle it. I don't know if you've done that or not, but I do that. Trust the Lord in his time. He makes all things beautiful in his time, he says. Another songwriter said, in the harvest field now ripened, there's a work for all to do. Hark, the master's voice is calling, to the harvest calling you. Does the place your call to labor seem so small and little known? Is it great if God is in it? It is great, it is great if God is in it, for he'll not forsake his own. And when the conflict has ended and our race on earth is run, he will say, if you've been faithful, welcome home, my child. Well done. For little is much when God is in it. Labor not for wealth or fame. There's a crown and you can win it if you go in Jesus' name. Little is much if God is in it. But little remains little if we think it's got to be all of us. So in the meantime, back at the hillside, while they're discussing the bread, Andrew comes up with the five loaves and two fishes, and this little boy, evidently he had gone and been allowed to go, perhaps his mother was there, I don't know, that she sent him with his relatives to hear the rabbi preach, and he had five, now you were thinking, I got five big loaves of bread. No, it's these little round little things that are flat as a pancake, flatter than my pancakes probably, flat as a pancake, and the little sardines. It would have been like a quick meal for a boy and hardly even get a grown man started. And so that's what he had. But he was willing to give it. In spite of the fact that this boy was so obscure, the Lord knew who he was. The Lord knows all your email addresses. He knows all your Twitter addresses. He knows all your Instagram hashtags. He knows where you are on Facebook. He knows where you are on TikTok. And he knows where you are on all these different social media things. And he also knows your name, by the way. But most important thing is, are you his child? This misnomer that every single person ever born is God's children. They're God's creation, yes, but the children of God have received Christ as their very own personal Lord and Savior. Then we are sons of God, John chapter one. So, the barley loaves are there. I was thinking, I don't think I've ever, I've had the Hungry Man frozen dinners. You know, most frozen dinners are just, I'm wanting another one, you know, after that. So, I don't know if the, does the Hungry Man frozen dinners really give you all that you want? Maybe it does. I don't know. But this was like one of those little skimpy lean cuisines, lean cuisine dinners I have. That's all I'm going to get. Do you have five of those maybe? That's the whole purpose. You're supposed to just eat one. Okay. All right. I bought five. But when Jesus does it, everybody gets as much as they want and there's leftovers. Can you imagine how much 5,000 hungry men and families could eat? Wow, a lot. I held the pancake championship at Camp Lewis for three weeks. I ate 14 pancakes one morning. And then three weeks later, I don't even know what his name was. I'm sure he's going to live in infamy, whatever his name was, ate 17. For three weeks, I was the pancake champ for three weeks. 17 pancakes. Now, they weren't, like, about that big. Was it like six inches in diameter? That's about how big they were. That's a lot of pancakes, but no matter how you slice it, that's a lot of pancakes. And this is little smiley face pancake things. What are they among so many? And that's, what are so few among so much? And we can say that unless we say, Lord. That over there is all of you. And when we move into that building, we start using that building, not moving it, but we start using that building, we're gonna say all of God's grace. And Lord willing, the moment we step into it, start using it full time, paid for. Paid for by God's grace. And we don't have this hanging over our head. Praise the Lord for that. So we're moving right along. The traveling multitude, a teaching moment, and finally the tremendous miracle in verse 10. And Jesus said, make the men to sit down. Now, there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down and number about 5,000. They sat down in fifties. And so that was the dimensions. It's a whole lot of people, as you well know, utterly inadequate. If they had had five loaves of barley and two small fishes per person, still would have been inadequate for what was needed. It's interesting, all the evangelists, the four gospel writers relate the miracle in such minuteness and with such graphic detail. They had to have been there. I mean, they're not exactly the same, but that just proves more and more and more that they were there and they saw what was going on. The bread of life is going to soon be preached to them. The dimensions, how about the distribution? Verse 11, we find it, and Jesus took the loaves and when he had given thanks, The Talmud says, he that enjoys all without thanksgiving is as though he robbed God. I wonder come Christmas morning or whenever you have your gift unwrapping, are we going to be thankful for the God who makes it all possible? Thanking God, we honor Him. It's noteworthy that Jesus fed the people through the agency of the disciples. He could have snapped his fingers, boom, wow, wow, I've got a lunch, what's inside this box? I could have done that if he wanted to do that. He didn't. He gave it to his disciples, and the disciples distributed it, and the disciples took it back up. Aren't you glad we have the privilege of serving the Lord? He's given us that, and that is a privilege. It's not a, oh man, I've got this big, big ball and chain hanging around my neck. The Lord, no, it shouldn't be, You may have come to feel like that. It shouldn't be like that. What a privilege to serve, to give, to go, to teach. But it mentions the distribution and the directive. And when they were filled, verse 12, he said, and disciples go or gather up the fragments that remain. May nothing be lost. Therefore, they gathered together and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. What an amazing thing, Spurgeon says, the disciples distributed the bread and the fish as quickly as they could. And the people began to eat. They all ate of the provision, and they all were filled. Now what should every soul conclude but this? If Jesus provided spiritual meat, He's not provided for it to be looked at. He's provided the spiritual meat for us to eat. He's provided God's Word, and by the way, we are so blessed to have God's Word, multiple copies. I have on my Christmas list the apologetic Bible. Maybe I'll get that for Christmas, I don't know yet. I might get it for Christmas, I might not. I might get that for Christmas, I might not. We don't know yet, we're hoping. But it's provided there for us to read, not simply to, Sunday morning. Here I go to church. Look at me. I'm Mr. Billy Bible. Look at me go. I used to do that Tennessee Temple, and the husbands would be walking down, and 10 feet later comes the wives and the kids. Man, that's just not, you're not reading the Bible you're holding, I'm afraid. I'm afraid. The Declaration. Nothing be lost. By the way, God's method is conservation. Matter of fact, the first law, you know what the first law of thermodynamics is? Nothing now is being new, created, or destroyed. The energy of the matter, nothing new being created, nothing new being destroyed. God on creation, we created it all. Now, water changes to vapor, changes to ice, changes to et cetera. But the amount of matter remains the same. First law of thermodynamics. Finally, there is the declaration. And then these men, when they had seen the miracles that Jesus did, said, this is of a truth, that prophet. If you go back to Deuteronomy chapter 18, 15, the Lord thy God shall raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren, like unto me. Unto him ye shall hearken. This is that prophet. And they were spot on. It's that prophet prophesied. Yeah, we're exactly right. But they were looking for an overthrower of the Romans, not one who will come and bury our sin at Calvary. They had it right, and they had it wrong. Interpretation was wrong. The right person, the wrong interpretation. So in conclusion, what must we yield? We must yield what we have. He is not asking for us to give things we do not have. He wants us to use what God has given to us. We need to be done with the excuses. I don't have this. I don't have that. He's not asking for that. Well, if I had more money, I'd start giving to the church. No, you wouldn't. Most likely, you wouldn't. If I had a million dollars back, yes, I know you'd get a million dollars, and you'd be going, we'll never see you again if you had a million dollars. Most likely, you can get half a million dollars. If I just had, if I had the gift of evangelism, I would, you do what? I tell people about Jesus, would you really? You've had 60 years to live, Tim. If I had, if I had, if I had, if I had, he didn't use what they, he didn't use the bread from Bethsaida. He used five loaves, two fishes that the person had. That's what he used. There was a country preacher, went to the farmer in his church, and he said, Mr. Farmer, sir, if you had two farms, would you give one to the Lord? Oh, preacher, I tell you what, if the Lord would give me two farms, I most certainly would give another one of the two to the Lord, yes. And the pastor said, well, now, Mr. Farmer, sir, if you had $20,000, would you give, oh, yes, oh, I just wish the Lord would give me $20,000, and I would give $10,000 to the church. We could finish the building. And then he, Farmer, if you had two pigs, that's not fair. You know I've got two pigs. You know that. Would you give it to the Lord? He's not asking. He's asking for what you have. And I tell you what, we struggle with giving Him what we have, let alone what we don't have. And we're under some kind of misconception that if we had this, we would be doing differently. If you were doing differently, you'd do it now. If you were going to give, if you had a minute, you'd be giving now. Don't fool ourselves into some kind of elevation of our, oh, if I would have had this, I would do that. If I really wanted to witness, I would witness now. I would witness now. I really wanted to be an example of what the Lord can do in a person's life. I would do it now. Not wait to become a pastor, a missionary, or a high school teacher. I would do it now, right? If he really meant business. He doesn't ask you for what you don't have. To be used of God, is that your desire? Let's pray. Lord, I'm thankful for your patience. Patience with me. Patience with all of us. Lord, you are not asking for what we don't have. You're simply asking for our five loaves and two fishes. May we be willing to give that. Lord, if there's a need this morning, if you spoke in the hearts, may we respond. Most of all, if there's any person on the side of my voice that does not know his personal savior, may they receive you even today. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.