WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.639 Originally we were going to preach this message 00:00:01.639 --> 00:00:05.299 on June 8th. That was not a possibility. And 00:00:05.299 --> 00:00:07.419 so now we are circling back to it. But while 00:00:07.419 --> 00:00:10.300 I've been gone, Mike preached on the second half 00:00:10.300 --> 00:00:14.679 of John 6 as we saw Jesus walking on water. And 00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:17.059 then we also saw Dennis preach out of John 9 00:00:17.059 --> 00:00:19.940 talking about the man who's born blind who is 00:00:19.940 --> 00:00:23.320 miraculously healed by Jesus. And now this week 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:25.160 we're jumping back to John chapter 6, verses 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:28.500 1 through 15, and we are going to see the single 00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:31.559 greatest picnic in human history. I don't know 00:00:31.559 --> 00:00:33.380 about you, I love a good picnic. One of my first 00:00:33.380 --> 00:00:35.079 dates with Hope actually was a picnic. It was 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:37.539 our third date. We went to a park in Laramie. 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:39.960 We actually drove by the park when we were up 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:42.100 there a few weeks ago, and we went and we walked 00:00:42.100 --> 00:00:43.500 around. We had this great picnic. It was super 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:47.210 sweet. But as good of a picnic as that was, It 00:00:47.210 --> 00:00:49.630 was absolutely nothing compared to what we see 00:00:49.630 --> 00:00:52.909 in John chapter 6. And what makes John chapter 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:56.850 6 the best picnic in human history is this simple 00:00:56.850 --> 00:01:00.630 fact. This picnic shows us that Jesus is our 00:01:00.630 --> 00:01:04.790 perfect provider. John 6, 1 through 15 shows 00:01:04.790 --> 00:01:07.849 us that Jesus is our perfect provider. And that 00:01:07.849 --> 00:01:10.989 is our main point today. That Jesus is our perfect 00:01:10.989 --> 00:01:17.840 provider. And so... As we dive back into John 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:20.680 6, let me just go ahead and kind of make sure 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:23.079 we're all on the same page of where we've been. 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:26.340 See, in John chapter 5, Jesus goes down to Jerusalem 00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:29.219 for the Passover. He goes down and he heals a 00:01:29.219 --> 00:01:31.819 man down at Bethesda. And then afterwards, he 00:01:31.819 --> 00:01:33.780 goes around and he teaches in Jerusalem. And 00:01:33.780 --> 00:01:35.900 later on, he leaves Jerusalem, goes back to Galilee, 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:38.599 and begins to travel teaching people what's going 00:01:38.599 --> 00:01:40.439 on, teaching people about the truth, about the 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:43.340 way to go to heaven. And then as we dive into 00:01:43.340 --> 00:01:45.879 John 6, we're going to see kind of the context 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:48.260 of this specific passage in verses 1 through 00:01:48.260 --> 00:01:51.579 4. We read this. After this, Jesus crossed the 00:01:51.579 --> 00:01:54.900 Sea of Galilee, or Tiberias. And a huge crowd 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:56.920 was following him because they saw the signs 00:01:56.920 --> 00:01:59.000 that he was performing by healing the sick. Let 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:00.459 me just stop us there for a second. Notice that. 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:03.659 A huge crowd is following Jesus, but why are 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:05.140 they following Jesus? They're following Jesus 00:02:05.140 --> 00:02:09.419 because of the signs that Jesus is doing. Verse 00:02:09.419 --> 00:02:12.379 3, Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there 00:02:12.379 --> 00:02:14.560 with his disciples. And now verse 4, now the 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:19.120 Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. So as 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:21.580 we look at this passage, first we see where Jesus 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:23.939 is. See, at the end of chapter 5, Jesus crosses 00:02:23.939 --> 00:02:26.379 the Sea of Galilee, and it ends with Jesus teaching 00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:30.900 the Israelite people who he is. And Jesus teaches, 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:32.439 and he heals, and he does all sorts of things, 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:35.599 and here he is across the Sea of Galilee, or 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:37.419 across the Sea of Tiberias as the Romans called 00:02:37.419 --> 00:02:39.650 it. And then verse 2 tells us that this crowd 00:02:39.650 --> 00:02:41.430 has formed. Like I just stopped us to point out, 00:02:41.509 --> 00:02:43.930 why has this crowd formed? There's a very specific 00:02:43.930 --> 00:02:47.050 emphasis there. The crowd has formed not because 00:02:47.050 --> 00:02:49.169 of faith, not because they're so attracted to 00:02:49.169 --> 00:02:51.370 the teaching of Jesus. The crowd is formed because 00:02:51.370 --> 00:02:55.750 of the signs. They like the signs that they see 00:02:55.750 --> 00:02:59.009 Jesus do. They don't have real faith at this 00:02:59.009 --> 00:03:00.409 point in time. They just want to see another 00:03:00.409 --> 00:03:02.629 sign. It's another example, actually, of how 00:03:02.629 --> 00:03:05.449 Jesus rebuked them in John 4, 48. In John 4, 00:03:05.509 --> 00:03:08.280 48, Jesus says this. Unless you people see signs 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:12.139 and wonders, you will not believe. And this is 00:03:12.139 --> 00:03:14.400 just another sign of that. Here they are. They're 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:16.979 following Jesus around. Jesus is teaching them. 00:03:17.379 --> 00:03:19.360 And it's not the teaching that makes them believe. 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:22.060 It's the signs that make them continue to follow 00:03:22.060 --> 00:03:25.580 Jesus. Day after day after day, they choose to 00:03:25.580 --> 00:03:28.000 follow Jesus because of that. The people are 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:30.520 really on the lookout for signs. That's their 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:33.159 focus. They want to see one thing. They want 00:03:33.159 --> 00:03:35.669 to see one more sign. one more cool sign, one 00:03:35.669 --> 00:03:38.750 more cool thing that Jesus did, one more thing 00:03:38.750 --> 00:03:42.129 that only Jesus could do. They're locked in on 00:03:42.129 --> 00:03:44.189 that one part of what Jesus came to do, and in 00:03:44.189 --> 00:03:47.090 turn, they're missing the bigger picture. That 00:03:47.090 --> 00:03:50.189 should be a warning for us. Like I mentioned 00:03:50.189 --> 00:03:51.930 earlier, Hope and I were just in Laramie over 00:03:51.930 --> 00:03:53.990 our vacation, visiting the University of Wyoming, 00:03:54.169 --> 00:03:55.669 which is where we went to college, where we met, 00:03:55.750 --> 00:03:58.150 where we got engaged, all of the fun stuff where 00:03:58.150 --> 00:04:00.990 I asked you on our first date. And we went out 00:04:00.990 --> 00:04:02.610 to one of our favorite restaurants in Laramie, 00:04:02.669 --> 00:04:04.729 and there in the corner of the restaurant was 00:04:04.729 --> 00:04:06.990 basically a little shrine that was built to Josh 00:04:06.990 --> 00:04:09.150 Allen. Now, if you know Josh Allen, now he is 00:04:09.150 --> 00:04:10.870 the Buffalo Bills starting quarterback. He's 00:04:10.870 --> 00:04:13.629 one of the highest paid players in the NFL. But 00:04:13.629 --> 00:04:15.689 I remember Josh Allen when he first transferred 00:04:15.689 --> 00:04:18.870 to Wyoming. See, my freshman year of college, 00:04:18.930 --> 00:04:21.790 our football team went 2 -10. We lost our week 00:04:21.790 --> 00:04:23.589 one game against the University of North Dakota. 00:04:23.709 --> 00:04:25.089 Not North Dakota State, who's actually good at 00:04:25.089 --> 00:04:27.129 football. The University of North Dakota, who 00:04:27.129 --> 00:04:29.209 had just had their mascot taken away from them. 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:31.680 It was awful. And then in week two, we played 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:33.420 Eastern Michigan University. Now, if you know 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:35.120 much about football, you know that Eastern Michigan 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:37.379 University is not a football school. They are 00:04:37.379 --> 00:04:39.319 absolutely awful at football. In fact, to try 00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:41.199 to keep their program alive, they changed their 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:43.120 field to being a gray football field just to 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:45.860 try to make the news. It did work in the end. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.279 But anyways, in week two against Eastern Michigan, 00:04:48.379 --> 00:04:49.779 our starting quarterback was hurt. And so we 00:04:49.779 --> 00:04:51.220 started this brand new kid on campus. No one 00:04:51.220 --> 00:04:53.220 had ever heard of him. He was super big. He was 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:56.079 from California. His name was Josh Allen. And 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:57.819 in that moment, a legend was born. See, on our 00:04:57.819 --> 00:04:59.279 first drive of the game, you went three for four 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:03.300 passing for 32 yards and two rushes for 16 yards, 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:05.680 and there's a third and five on the Eastern Michigan 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:07.819 44. For the record, I don't remember all these 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:11.439 details. I did look this up. But I do remember 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:13.980 this part. It's third and five, and Josh takes 00:05:13.980 --> 00:05:15.839 off scrambling, and he's running straight at 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:18.319 the student section. And if you've ever seen 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:20.259 the Buffalo Bills play, you know that Josh Allen 00:05:20.259 --> 00:05:22.660 does not slide to avoid hits. He always takes 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:26.410 every hit head -on. And right in front of where 00:05:26.410 --> 00:05:28.629 I was standing in the student section, he met 00:05:28.629 --> 00:05:31.889 a strong safety. And Josh decided he was going 00:05:31.889 --> 00:05:34.629 to run through, but it did not work. Instead, 00:05:34.790 --> 00:05:36.410 Josh broke his collarbone and he was out for 00:05:36.410 --> 00:05:39.810 the season. Great, we're going to be good? Never 00:05:39.810 --> 00:05:42.029 mind. So we proceeded to rotate through some 00:05:42.029 --> 00:05:44.129 other quarterbacks. We lost a ton of games. Football 00:05:44.129 --> 00:05:46.149 season just was not very fun. For instance, the 00:05:46.149 --> 00:05:48.550 guy who came in after Josh that game went three 00:05:48.550 --> 00:05:53.589 for 13 passing for exactly zero yards. That was 00:05:53.589 --> 00:05:56.199 our football season. We lost by 20 points to 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:58.220 Eastern Michigan. Somehow it got worse from there. 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:00.699 But in the offseason, there was a tangible vibe 00:06:00.699 --> 00:06:02.680 in my friend group. See, we didn't really care 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:04.980 about how bad our defense was or how we were 00:06:04.980 --> 00:06:06.740 losing some key pieces of the offensive line. 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:09.019 We would say things like this. I don't even care 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:11.420 if we're bad next year. I just want to see what 00:06:11.420 --> 00:06:13.399 Josh is going to do next. What is Josh going 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:15.759 to be like next year? Like with another year 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:17.480 of work in the weight room, another year of learning 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:19.759 the playbook, with it being his team, what is 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:21.980 he going to do next? Because that was the most 00:06:21.980 --> 00:06:25.199 fun five minutes in. five seconds of our football 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:27.939 season. And that's all we could focus on was 00:06:27.939 --> 00:06:29.980 just this one position, this one quarterback. 00:06:30.620 --> 00:06:32.500 When we were watching that team that year, our 00:06:32.500 --> 00:06:34.000 focus wasn't on the big picture that we were 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:36.879 a terrible football team. Our focus was on one 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:38.660 thing, that we're going to get a better quarterback 00:06:38.660 --> 00:06:40.699 next year. In the same way, the Israelites were 00:06:40.699 --> 00:06:42.839 fixated on one thing. They were missing the big 00:06:42.839 --> 00:06:45.000 picture. They were fixated on Jesus is giving 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:48.000 us this sign. Jesus can heal your sick friend. 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:50.930 Jesus can do this miracle for you. And they were 00:06:50.930 --> 00:06:53.290 missing the big picture, that Jesus didn't just 00:06:53.290 --> 00:06:55.329 come to heal the sick, that Jesus came bringing 00:06:55.329 --> 00:06:59.089 eternal life. And that is why we have to know 00:06:59.089 --> 00:07:02.470 Jesus. It's this bigger picture, not just a sign. 00:07:03.329 --> 00:07:05.389 So there's this crowd there following Jesus, 00:07:05.430 --> 00:07:07.290 and Jesus goes up this mountain in Galilee. Galilee 00:07:07.290 --> 00:07:09.629 is a very mountainous area. And Jesus sits on 00:07:09.629 --> 00:07:11.029 the side of this grassy mountain, believed to 00:07:11.029 --> 00:07:12.389 be a place called the Golan Heights. You might 00:07:12.389 --> 00:07:15.790 have heard it in the news recently. And John 00:07:15.790 --> 00:07:18.370 doesn't tell us exactly where Jesus is or exactly 00:07:18.370 --> 00:07:20.829 who all Jesus is with. John doesn't list 5 ,000 00:07:20.829 --> 00:07:24.509 names here. Instead, John tells us when. And 00:07:24.509 --> 00:07:26.709 John says that it happens when the Passover is 00:07:26.709 --> 00:07:29.209 near. Now, the Passover, if you remember, has 00:07:29.209 --> 00:07:32.069 just happened in John chapter 4. So if you're 00:07:32.069 --> 00:07:34.550 thinking like, hey, John 4, there's the Passover, 00:07:34.790 --> 00:07:36.649 so is John going out of order? What's going on 00:07:36.649 --> 00:07:39.379 here? Well, here's the really simple. Simple 00:07:39.379 --> 00:07:41.680 truth of this. At the tail end of chapter 5, 00:07:41.939 --> 00:07:44.759 John gives a summary of what Jesus does. And 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:47.220 that summary encapsulates one year of Jesus' 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:50.079 ministry. And so Jesus is now going to be returning 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:52.740 to Jerusalem for the Passover. And in all likelihood, 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:54.600 this crowd of people was actually also headed 00:07:54.600 --> 00:07:57.139 to Jerusalem for the Passover. The Passover was 00:07:57.139 --> 00:07:59.600 celebrated with a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. So 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:01.300 these Galilean Jews are like, hey, we can follow 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:03.779 Jesus, see what cool signs he'll do. And also, 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:06.000 he's on our way down to Jerusalem to go celebrate 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:08.850 the Passover. Let's look at verse 5 with me and 00:08:08.850 --> 00:08:10.290 6, and we'll kind of see what's going to happen 00:08:10.290 --> 00:08:13.250 here. So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge 00:08:13.250 --> 00:08:15.850 crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, where 00:08:15.850 --> 00:08:18.589 will we buy bread so that these people can eat? 00:08:19.129 --> 00:08:21.709 And he asked this to test him, for he himself 00:08:21.709 --> 00:08:24.850 knew what he was going to do. So after sitting 00:08:24.850 --> 00:08:26.490 down this hill, Jesus looks up, he sees this 00:08:26.490 --> 00:08:29.649 huge crowd coming towards him. I actually love 00:08:29.649 --> 00:08:31.149 how John says this. It's literally translated 00:08:31.149 --> 00:08:34.210 as, Jesus raised up an eye singular, and saw 00:08:34.210 --> 00:08:38.139 a multitude of people coming to him. That same 00:08:38.139 --> 00:08:40.200 word for multitude is also seen in Luke chapter 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:42.639 2 when the shepherds see a multitude of angels, 00:08:42.740 --> 00:08:45.080 a multitude of heavenly hosts come to announce 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:47.899 Jesus' birth. And so picture this with me. There 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:50.320 are people everywhere. It's 5 ,000 men plus all 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:51.779 the women and the children who are with them, 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:53.659 and they're coming to Jesus to see who he will 00:08:53.659 --> 00:08:55.759 help and who he will heal next. What is the next 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:58.679 thing he's going to do? They need to know, they 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:02.139 want to know, what will Jesus do next? And as 00:09:02.139 --> 00:09:03.860 Jesus sees all of this, he turns to one of his 00:09:03.860 --> 00:09:06.139 disciples, Philip, and he asks him a question. 00:09:07.180 --> 00:09:08.679 Now before we talk about that question, let me 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:10.559 just remind us that Philip actually starts following 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:14.399 Jesus in John 1. Philip brings Nathaniel to Jesus, 00:09:14.500 --> 00:09:16.379 telling him that they found the Messiah. Philip 00:09:16.379 --> 00:09:18.460 has seen all of the signs that Jesus has done 00:09:18.460 --> 00:09:20.480 at this point. Remember that first declaration 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:22.600 I just mentioned? Philip even says, this is the 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:24.879 Messiah, Nathaniel. This is the promised one 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:27.360 we've been waiting for. And so Jesus now asks 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.580 him a question to test him. Jesus asks him, where 00:09:30.580 --> 00:09:32.860 will we buy bread so that these people can eat? 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:36.129 But Jesus already knows the answer to this. So 00:09:36.129 --> 00:09:37.730 I think we leave that part out a little bit when 00:09:37.730 --> 00:09:40.750 we teach this lesson in Sunday school. But don't 00:09:40.750 --> 00:09:42.610 miss this. Jesus already knows what the answer 00:09:42.610 --> 00:09:45.029 is. It's a rhetorical question really that he's 00:09:45.029 --> 00:09:47.370 asking Philip. He's saying, hey, Philip, where 00:09:47.370 --> 00:09:49.149 are we going to get bread for all of this? Because 00:09:49.149 --> 00:09:50.690 Philip knows the truth. There's no Schnucks down 00:09:50.690 --> 00:09:52.389 the street. There's no Walmart nearby. There's 00:09:52.389 --> 00:09:54.509 no Aldi they can go get bread for, for all these 00:09:54.509 --> 00:09:55.710 people from. And they don't have the money for 00:09:55.710 --> 00:09:59.110 it either. But Jesus already has a plan. Instead, 00:09:59.210 --> 00:10:02.470 Jesus is trying to prove a point here. So look 00:10:02.470 --> 00:10:05.470 at John 6, 7 with me. It says this. Philip answered 00:10:05.470 --> 00:10:09.190 him, 200 denarii worth of bread wouldn't be enough 00:10:09.190 --> 00:10:11.789 for each of them to have a little. So see, Philip 00:10:11.789 --> 00:10:13.090 does not know what's going on here. So Philip 00:10:13.090 --> 00:10:14.769 looks at Jesus dead in the eye and says, listen, 00:10:14.850 --> 00:10:18.350 200 denarii or 200 days wages is not enough to 00:10:18.350 --> 00:10:22.149 feed all of these people. But notice he doesn't 00:10:22.149 --> 00:10:23.929 say 200 denarii isn't enough to give everyone 00:10:23.929 --> 00:10:25.549 a full meal or for everyone to eat as much as 00:10:25.549 --> 00:10:29.750 they want. He just says a little. It's not enough 00:10:29.750 --> 00:10:32.700 to give everyone even a little. The word used 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:34.460 in that phrase paints a picture of every person 00:10:34.460 --> 00:10:36.799 just having one or two bites. He's saying, Jesus, 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:38.179 we don't even have enough money to give every 00:10:38.179 --> 00:10:41.460 person one bite. Jesus, we can't even give like 00:10:41.460 --> 00:10:43.179 the small amount of bread that we take for communion. 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:46.139 We just can't do it. It's nowhere near enough 00:10:46.139 --> 00:10:47.860 money to buy food for everyone who's been traveling 00:10:47.860 --> 00:10:52.480 all day. And he's not wrong. There's 5 ,000 men 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:54.960 plus women and children. 200 days wages is in 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:57.000 no way, shape, or form enough to buy everyone 00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:01.000 food. And Philip does not see the solution here. 00:11:02.420 --> 00:11:03.940 Philip's sitting here in the face of this impossible 00:11:03.940 --> 00:11:08.179 situation and all he sees is impossibility. And 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:10.480 sometimes I think we do the same thing. We find 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:13.559 ourselves in a situation that seems really difficult. 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:16.720 We say, well, God, I'm looking at this from every 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:19.759 different perspective and I don't see a way through 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:22.639 this. But we forget the most important perspective, 00:11:22.919 --> 00:11:28.360 which is God's perspective. See, Philip looks 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:30.700 at this situation and he sees no hope because 00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:33.639 all he sees is a problem. But what do we learn 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:36.559 in John 2 and John 4 and John 5, later on in 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:38.639 John 6, even in John 9, like we'll see next week 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:43.960 in John 11? Miracles always address a need. A 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:46.259 miracle never just happens. Jesus did miracles 00:11:46.259 --> 00:11:49.279 to proclaim who he is and to bring glory to God. 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:52.059 Jesus used miracles to show us who he is and 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:54.460 that nothing is impossible for him, much like 00:11:54.460 --> 00:11:57.840 the angel said in Luke 1 .37. The miracles remind 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:00.759 us of the fact that Jesus is in fact God. So 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:02.539 for Jesus to do a miracle, there's going to need 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:05.159 to be something that seems impossible. But Philip, 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:07.000 despite seeing all of these things, despite being 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:08.700 at the wedding and seeing them run out of wine, 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:11.100 despite seeing the man who's been paralyzed for 00:12:11.100 --> 00:12:13.600 38 years, despite seeing all of these things, 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.899 still doesn't see it. He just doesn't understand 00:12:16.899 --> 00:12:19.120 what he needs to do. He's looking at the bank 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:20.769 account. And he's saying, we don't have enough 00:12:20.769 --> 00:12:22.730 money for this. He's looking at the local vendors 00:12:22.730 --> 00:12:24.110 and saying, they don't have enough bread for 00:12:24.110 --> 00:12:29.549 this, Jesus. What are we going to do? Now, before 00:12:29.549 --> 00:12:30.970 we move on, let me just address something. It's 00:12:30.970 --> 00:12:32.389 kind of the elephant in the room when the disciples 00:12:32.389 --> 00:12:35.950 come up around a miracle. I don't know about 00:12:35.950 --> 00:12:38.190 you, it's really easy for me to look at the disciples 00:12:38.190 --> 00:12:41.190 and just want to, like, grab them by the shoulders 00:12:41.190 --> 00:12:43.870 and start shaking, like, how do you not see this? 00:12:44.490 --> 00:12:47.070 How do you not understand after traveling with 00:12:47.070 --> 00:12:49.529 Jesus and seeing him heal people for a long time 00:12:49.529 --> 00:12:51.629 and seeing him make water into wine, how do you 00:12:51.629 --> 00:12:54.809 not get this, that Jesus isn't held back by our 00:12:54.809 --> 00:12:58.210 limits? But in all honesty, this is where I think 00:12:58.210 --> 00:13:01.389 we do need to make a very real heart check. We 00:13:01.389 --> 00:13:04.710 do the same thing all the time. All the time 00:13:04.710 --> 00:13:10.490 we do the same thing. We look at that situation, 00:13:10.690 --> 00:13:14.480 we say, it's too hard for me, God. God, why would 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:16.220 you put that in my life? Because there's no way 00:13:16.220 --> 00:13:19.600 I can get through that. God, why wouldn't you 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:21.200 work this out the way I want it to be worked 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:23.620 out? Because God, I don't have a solution to 00:13:23.620 --> 00:13:27.860 that. All the time we look at things and we say, 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:33.980 God, this is impossible. And from a human perspective, 00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:35.580 a lot of times it does feel pretty impossible. 00:13:38.620 --> 00:13:42.320 But so often, so often, if we just would take 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:46.740 a step back, and bring that thing to God, we 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:48.620 would be reminded that this is not impossible 00:13:48.620 --> 00:13:52.120 for God. And so Philip here in verse 7 is really 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:54.600 caught up with this idea of what are we going 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:57.639 to do? Jesus, this is not something that adds 00:13:57.639 --> 00:14:00.960 up. You know, and there's situations we're going 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:03.679 to deal with in life like that. Hey Jesus, my 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:07.179 rent comes due next week and I don't know what 00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:10.360 we're going to do for food next week. Hey Jesus, 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:12.600 I just... lost my job, and I don't know how we're 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:15.440 going to get through this season. Hey, Jesus, 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:17.460 I just lost this loved person. I'm really missing 00:14:17.460 --> 00:14:21.440 them. What am I going to do? Let me challenge 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:25.340 you. Slow down and look at verses 8 through 15 00:14:25.340 --> 00:14:27.460 with me and see how Jesus meets Philip in this 00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:30.039 need. And the first person who responds is actually 00:14:30.039 --> 00:14:32.480 not Philip. It's actually Andrew, or actually 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:34.679 not Jesus, it's Andrew. It says this, one of 00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:36.700 his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:39.009 said to him, There's a boy here who has five 00:14:39.009 --> 00:14:41.230 barley loaves and two fish, but what are they 00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:44.289 for so many? So Andrew has some more information 00:14:44.289 --> 00:14:45.870 here in the picture. He knows that this one boy, 00:14:45.929 --> 00:14:48.889 this one child has five loaves and two fish. 00:14:49.830 --> 00:14:51.590 These loaves are not super big. Loaves at this 00:14:51.590 --> 00:14:53.070 time were about the size of like a pita today, 00:14:53.190 --> 00:14:55.590 so it's not enough for a grown adult to just 00:14:55.590 --> 00:14:57.830 eat these five loaves and two fish. It's not 00:14:57.830 --> 00:14:59.450 going to go very far. Maybe a few people can 00:14:59.450 --> 00:15:01.850 have a light snack, but not many people. These 00:15:01.850 --> 00:15:03.350 are small loaves, these are small fish. A little 00:15:03.350 --> 00:15:06.470 boy is carrying this. And understand barley loaves 00:15:06.470 --> 00:15:09.080 were not exactly a choice food. Barley was seen 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:11.179 as cheap. It was seen as the poor person's food. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:14.580 In some ways, this would be like if someone came 00:15:14.580 --> 00:15:16.720 up to you today and said, listen, I've got five 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:19.159 cups of ramen, and I've got two little bags of 00:15:19.159 --> 00:15:20.799 ramen, and we're going to make a meal out of 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:22.639 this thing. So that's not enough for our entire 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.320 church to eat. That doesn't add up. It's that 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:27.460 same type of a thing. It's poor people food. 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:30.919 And he says, listen, Jesus, this is what we have, 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:32.600 but it's not enough, so what are we going to 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:36.919 do now? What are we going to do? Let's real talk 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:39.440 for a minute. How many times have the disciples 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.299 seen Jesus do something incredible, but they 00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:44.559 don't get it yet? They don't see the hope here. 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:48.039 To them, everything is impossible. Jesus is asking 00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:49.620 them to do something that's not possible for 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:52.899 them. But all hope is not lost, because when 00:15:52.899 --> 00:15:55.360 everything seems impossible, Jesus is going to 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:57.779 move. And so Jesus is using these questions to 00:15:57.779 --> 00:16:00.139 show the disciples that without him, everything 00:16:00.139 --> 00:16:02.779 in this situation is impossible. but that what 00:16:02.779 --> 00:16:05.220 he's about to do is more than possible because 00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:08.600 of who he is. See, Jesus is using John 6 to show 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:12.100 that he is God, that he doesn't need someone 00:16:12.100 --> 00:16:15.259 else to bring him bread, that he is God, the 00:16:15.259 --> 00:16:17.899 creator of all things. So let's see what Jesus 00:16:17.899 --> 00:16:20.440 is going to do in verses 10 and 11. Read this. 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.059 Jesus said, have the people sit down. There was 00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:24.700 plenty of grass in that place, so they all sat 00:16:24.700 --> 00:16:27.740 down. And the men numbered about 5 ,000. And 00:16:27.740 --> 00:16:29.440 then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:31.039 thanks, he distributed them to those who were 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:33.960 seated. So also the fish, and notice this last 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:38.340 phrase, as much as they wanted. We go from Philip 00:16:38.340 --> 00:16:40.480 saying, listen, 200 denarii, I can't even give 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:43.039 the people a little, to now we see that Jesus 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:44.519 has done something, and all of a sudden they're 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:48.539 eating fish and bread as much as they wanted. 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:52.259 See, in verse 10, Jesus takes charge, and his 00:16:52.259 --> 00:16:54.179 first step is to have all the disciples sit down. 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:56.620 Everyone sits down. All of the people around 00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:59.000 sit down. And John tells us there's a lot of 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:00.259 grass. There's plenty of room for people to sit. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:02.299 It's a comfortable hillside. So everyone sits 00:17:02.299 --> 00:17:03.519 down because they're all waiting for the next 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:05.819 sign, right? Who's Jesus going to heal in front 00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:10.740 of us next? But now all of a sudden, Jesus is 00:17:10.740 --> 00:17:13.460 going to feed them. The 5 ,000 men plus the women 00:17:13.460 --> 00:17:15.680 and children who are all hungry. They've been 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:17.900 traveling all day. I don't know about you, but 00:17:17.900 --> 00:17:19.779 if you go for like a long walk, like a hike. 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:22.609 We did some hiking in Colorado. And after you 00:17:22.609 --> 00:17:24.650 go for a nice long hike, there is nothing that 00:17:24.650 --> 00:17:27.450 sounds better than eating a lot of food. And 00:17:27.450 --> 00:17:30.009 that's this crowd. They want to eat a lot of 00:17:30.009 --> 00:17:32.769 food. They've been walking all day long, and 00:17:32.769 --> 00:17:36.009 they want to eat. They're hungry. And Jesus takes 00:17:36.009 --> 00:17:38.609 these five loaves. He gives thanks, and he begins 00:17:38.609 --> 00:17:40.910 to break them. And assuredly, the crowd, when 00:17:40.910 --> 00:17:43.250 he takes five little barley loaves, is thinking 00:17:43.250 --> 00:17:46.490 to themselves, this is insane. What is going 00:17:46.490 --> 00:17:49.829 on here? This isn't going to work. And these 00:17:49.829 --> 00:17:53.269 loaves begin to get... get passed out. That person 00:17:53.269 --> 00:17:54.450 in the back saying, well, that's cool for the 00:17:54.450 --> 00:17:56.150 people up front. They get to eat that bread that 00:17:56.150 --> 00:17:58.069 Jesus gave them, but there's not going to be 00:17:58.069 --> 00:18:00.509 any left for me. And then Jesus does the same 00:18:00.509 --> 00:18:02.630 thing again with these two fish. He prays and 00:18:02.630 --> 00:18:04.549 he starts giving out the fish. And as everyone's 00:18:04.549 --> 00:18:05.990 eating, the food's getting passed around and 00:18:05.990 --> 00:18:08.809 every single person has as much as they want. 00:18:09.230 --> 00:18:12.130 Not just the first 50 people. You know, there's 00:18:12.130 --> 00:18:14.349 a great pizza place in Laramie that was there 00:18:14.349 --> 00:18:16.130 when I was in college. They did this giveaway 00:18:16.130 --> 00:18:18.710 at one point where if you camped overnight, they'd 00:18:18.710 --> 00:18:21.150 give the first hundred people in line free pizza 00:18:21.150 --> 00:18:25.130 for a year. It was a pretty good deal. I did 00:18:25.130 --> 00:18:27.470 not do it. I should have done it. But this is 00:18:27.470 --> 00:18:30.029 not one of those, like, toppers, pizza, first 00:18:30.029 --> 00:18:33.950 hundred people get pizza free for a year. This 00:18:33.950 --> 00:18:37.549 is different. Every single person has as much 00:18:37.549 --> 00:18:41.160 as they want, and they eat their fill. Philip 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:43.259 doesn't see how there's food for one or two people, 00:18:43.339 --> 00:18:45.759 but Jesus comes through with plentiful food so 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:47.339 that everyone can eat until they're satisfied. 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:50.160 And how much food do they start with? Five little 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:53.980 barley pitas and two fish. That is not much food. 00:18:54.099 --> 00:18:56.980 This right here is a miracle. Jesus takes the 00:18:56.980 --> 00:18:59.839 impossible situation and makes it possible in 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:02.460 John 6. Jesus takes a light snack and makes it 00:19:02.460 --> 00:19:06.059 into a feast in John chapter 6. Only Jesus can 00:19:06.059 --> 00:19:12.769 do that. Friends, this is an impossible situation. 00:19:13.609 --> 00:19:15.109 I'm going to put this into another form of modern 00:19:15.109 --> 00:19:18.670 day context for us. I love grilling. I love grilling. 00:19:18.890 --> 00:19:20.549 I've got my smoker, I've got my blackstone, it's 00:19:20.549 --> 00:19:23.170 beautiful. But if I was to stand here in front 00:19:23.170 --> 00:19:24.690 of you and pull out one pound of ground beef 00:19:24.690 --> 00:19:25.869 right now and say I'm going to make everyone 00:19:25.869 --> 00:19:28.509 a quarter pound burger, you're going to laugh 00:19:28.509 --> 00:19:30.910 at me because that's not possible. I can get 00:19:30.910 --> 00:19:33.769 through the front row almost. Sorry, Josh. I 00:19:33.769 --> 00:19:36.109 can almost make it through the front row. And 00:19:36.109 --> 00:19:41.289 then I run out of food. It's impossible to do 00:19:41.289 --> 00:19:44.210 that, but not for Jesus. See, Jesus does far 00:19:44.210 --> 00:19:47.390 more than that. For Jesus, this miracle is nothing. 00:19:47.470 --> 00:19:50.210 This is just another day. For Jesus, nothing 00:19:50.210 --> 00:19:54.549 is impossible. Understand that. Understand that 00:19:54.549 --> 00:19:56.970 this passage in John chapter 6 is emphasizing 00:19:56.970 --> 00:20:01.690 the divinity or the fact that Jesus is God. Understand 00:20:01.690 --> 00:20:04.109 that that's what the miracles of John's gospel 00:20:04.109 --> 00:20:07.430 record, is how Jesus is God. And each one of 00:20:07.430 --> 00:20:09.250 these miracles shows us the divinity of Jesus 00:20:09.250 --> 00:20:12.009 in a different way. And in John 6, we see how 00:20:12.009 --> 00:20:15.109 Jesus is the great provider. And it's so cool 00:20:15.109 --> 00:20:17.029 that Jesus shows us with food because one of 00:20:17.029 --> 00:20:19.589 the greatest examples of God's provision for 00:20:19.589 --> 00:20:23.309 anybody comes in Exodus chapter 16. In Exodus 00:20:23.309 --> 00:20:26.069 chapter 16 we read this, the entire Israelite 00:20:26.069 --> 00:20:28.430 community departed from Elam and came to the 00:20:28.430 --> 00:20:31.470 wilderness of Sin, which is between Elam and 00:20:31.470 --> 00:20:33.650 Sinai on the 15th day of the second month after 00:20:33.650 --> 00:20:35.930 they had left Egypt. And the entire Israelite 00:20:35.930 --> 00:20:37.930 community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in 00:20:37.930 --> 00:20:39.730 the wilderness. That is the theme of Exodus if 00:20:39.730 --> 00:20:41.069 you read through the Bible with us this year. 00:20:41.670 --> 00:20:44.750 The Israelites said to Moses and Aaron in the 00:20:45.500 --> 00:20:47.640 The Israelites said to them, if only we had died 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:49.619 by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when 00:20:49.619 --> 00:20:51.839 we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:54.539 we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this 00:20:54.539 --> 00:20:56.559 wilderness to make this whole assembly, all the 00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:00.359 Israelites, die of hunger. So it's like people 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:01.799 who have been slaves are now saying, could we 00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:04.200 just go back to being slaves? At least then we 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:06.839 had meat and we had bread. We had plenty to eat. 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:10.819 And God hears this. In verse 4 we read this. 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:15.329 Then the Lord said to Moses, I am going to rain 00:21:15.329 --> 00:21:17.890 bread from heaven for you. The people are to 00:21:17.890 --> 00:21:19.970 go out each day and gather enough for that day. 00:21:20.329 --> 00:21:22.410 This way I will test them to see whether or not 00:21:22.410 --> 00:21:24.769 they will follow my instructions. On the sixth 00:21:24.769 --> 00:21:26.869 day, when they prepare what they bring in, it 00:21:26.869 --> 00:21:28.410 will be twice as much as they gather on the other 00:21:28.410 --> 00:21:30.569 days. That's to cover over the Sabbath. This 00:21:30.569 --> 00:21:34.269 bread is called manna. And God provides food 00:21:34.269 --> 00:21:35.849 for the Israelites until they are in the promised 00:21:35.849 --> 00:21:38.970 land. Just as God can provide food for the Israelites, 00:21:39.109 --> 00:21:44.250 Jesus provides food for this crowd. Was Jesus 00:21:44.250 --> 00:21:46.829 concerned about the dietary impact of one single 00:21:46.829 --> 00:21:51.509 missed meal? Absolutely not. Jesus wasn't really 00:21:51.509 --> 00:21:53.690 concerned that skipping bread one meal might 00:21:53.690 --> 00:21:56.750 be the problem. Jesus does this miracle to bring 00:21:56.750 --> 00:21:58.950 glory and honor to God. Jesus does this miracle 00:21:58.950 --> 00:22:00.990 to bring our attention to something that he is 00:22:00.990 --> 00:22:03.609 the provider, that he is the Messiah, that he 00:22:03.609 --> 00:22:08.430 is the Savior. And we'll talk about this more 00:22:08.430 --> 00:22:10.869 in a minute because Jesus doesn't just provide 00:22:10.869 --> 00:22:15.319 food. Jesus provides us with eternal bread. And 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:18.339 that's significant. Because see, in Greek, bread 00:22:18.339 --> 00:22:20.039 was another way to say that someone was alive. 00:22:21.619 --> 00:22:25.119 Jesus provides life for all of these people on 00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:27.920 the side of the mountain in John chapter 6. As 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:29.660 Jesus is doing this miracle, don't miss this. 00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:33.960 Jesus is really saying, I give life to you. I 00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:37.539 am the giver, the provider of life. He's making 00:22:37.539 --> 00:22:40.579 a statement of who he is and showing the crowd 00:22:40.579 --> 00:22:43.740 his power all at the same time. Now look at verses 00:22:43.740 --> 00:22:45.400 12 through 14 with me because there's something 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:47.319 super cool that goes on in here. It says this, 00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:49.680 when they were full, he told his disciples, collect 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:52.279 the leftovers so that nothing is wasted. So he 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:54.039 collected them and filled 12 baskets with the 00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:55.700 pieces from the five barley loaves that were 00:22:55.700 --> 00:22:57.960 left over by those who had eaten. And when the 00:22:57.960 --> 00:22:59.900 people saw the sign he had done, they said, this 00:22:59.900 --> 00:23:02.579 truly is the prophet, notice the capital letter 00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:05.380 there, the prophet, singular, who is to come 00:23:05.380 --> 00:23:08.400 into the world. Looking at these next verses, 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:10.059 we see that Jesus tells the disciples to pick 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:12.319 up these baskets. And I have always thought that 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:14.259 it's interesting there's 12 baskets left over. 00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:15.519 I want to give you two reasons why I think it 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:18.519 matters that there's 12 baskets left over. Do 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:20.279 you remember what I just read in Exodus 16? God 00:23:20.279 --> 00:23:23.140 provides for the 12 tribes of Israel perfectly. 00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:27.559 And here is Jesus providing 12 extra baskets. 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:30.559 Very similar to how God provides for 12 tribes 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:33.759 of Israel. Jesus comes as the fulfillment of 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:37.000 Exodus 16, bringing us true life and the true 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:39.160 bread that we need. And secondly, Jesus provides 00:23:39.160 --> 00:23:42.259 12 extra baskets. One for each disciple is a 00:23:42.259 --> 00:23:45.759 reminder of what they just saw. They have just 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:48.380 seen this miracle. Now, each one of these disciples 00:23:48.380 --> 00:23:50.240 is going to be carrying this basket of food as 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:53.140 a reminder of what Jesus just did. That Jesus 00:23:53.140 --> 00:23:56.220 took five humble little barley loaves and two 00:23:56.220 --> 00:23:59.420 small fish and turned into a feast. They went 00:23:59.420 --> 00:24:02.339 from just one basket. to 12 leftover baskets 00:24:02.339 --> 00:24:05.539 after feeding 5 ,000 men plus women and children. 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:08.140 And so often when we read this passage, we just 00:24:08.140 --> 00:24:11.779 kind of stop there. I remember that really clearly 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:13.500 actually from Sunday school as a first grader. 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:16.859 And then they all picked up 12 baskets of food 00:24:16.859 --> 00:24:20.759 and now let's go do our worksheet. But when we 00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:24.180 do, we miss something. See, the crowd realizes 00:24:24.180 --> 00:24:27.359 in these later verses that something is different 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:31.079 about Jesus. They call him the prophet, capital 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:34.000 P. See, the crowd's realizing that something's 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:35.619 so different about Jesus, they're on the verge 00:24:35.619 --> 00:24:38.500 of using the fabled M word in the gospel, of 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:41.759 using the word Messiah to describe Jesus. There's 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:43.960 a progression of faith throughout John's gospel, 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.180 and here the crowd realizes that Jesus is more 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:48.700 than just some other man. But what they don't 00:24:48.700 --> 00:24:52.880 understand is who Jesus is. They don't understand 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:55.980 who Jesus is yet. To them, he is still just the 00:24:55.980 --> 00:24:58.759 prophet. who has promised to come into the world. 00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:01.559 Now look at verse 15, because this is the other 00:25:01.559 --> 00:25:03.619 part we leave out. And this sets up verses 16 00:25:03.619 --> 00:25:05.640 through 24, and what happens when Jesus walks 00:25:05.640 --> 00:25:08.140 on water. It says this, Therefore, when Jesus 00:25:08.140 --> 00:25:09.940 realized that they were about to come and take 00:25:09.940 --> 00:25:12.900 him by force to make him king, he withdrew again 00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:15.539 to the mountain by himself. So Jesus sees that 00:25:15.539 --> 00:25:17.599 the people of Israel don't understand who he 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:20.599 is, and he leaves. Why? Because Jesus knows that 00:25:20.599 --> 00:25:22.500 they want to take him to Jerusalem, basically 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:25.319 throw a coup, start a revolt, and make him the 00:25:25.319 --> 00:25:27.930 king of Israel. The crowds, and frankly the disciples 00:25:27.930 --> 00:25:30.029 too, just think of Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane 00:25:30.029 --> 00:25:32.369 when he cuts off somebody's ear. They all want 00:25:32.369 --> 00:25:35.509 Jesus to be their earthly king. To them it was 00:25:35.509 --> 00:25:37.589 awesome. It was a great thought to have a king 00:25:37.589 --> 00:25:39.609 who could multiply barley loaves and feed them 00:25:39.609 --> 00:25:42.170 every meal of the day. It was a great thought 00:25:42.170 --> 00:25:43.890 to have a king who could heal them when they 00:25:43.890 --> 00:25:46.569 got sick. Oh, you've got a fever? Let's take 00:25:46.569 --> 00:25:47.910 you down to the king because he'll go heal you. 00:25:48.809 --> 00:25:51.190 It sounded great to them to have a king like 00:25:51.190 --> 00:25:54.809 Jesus who could rule over Israel. But Jesus didn't 00:25:54.809 --> 00:25:57.390 come for an earthly kingdom. Jesus came to earth 00:25:57.390 --> 00:26:00.470 to be the king of our hearts. And that's really 00:26:00.470 --> 00:26:02.170 the key difference we see in this passage. It's 00:26:02.170 --> 00:26:04.609 a paradox, really. We see it throughout John 00:26:04.609 --> 00:26:07.369 chapter 6. The Israelite people and the disciples 00:26:07.369 --> 00:26:11.109 see one thing and they want one thing. They see 00:26:11.109 --> 00:26:13.529 that they're hungry, they want food. They just 00:26:13.529 --> 00:26:17.730 want the bread. Or they see somebody who's doing 00:26:17.730 --> 00:26:19.829 great signs and they say, you should be our king. 00:26:19.910 --> 00:26:24.890 You'd be a better king than Herod. But then Jesus 00:26:24.890 --> 00:26:28.109 comes bringing something else. See, the people 00:26:28.109 --> 00:26:30.250 of Israel just want food to eat for dinner. But 00:26:30.250 --> 00:26:32.009 Jesus comes bringing not only dinner, but also 00:26:32.009 --> 00:26:36.490 the bread of eternal life. The crowd wants Jesus 00:26:36.490 --> 00:26:38.990 to come as king of Israel. And Jesus doesn't 00:26:38.990 --> 00:26:41.910 come as king of Israel. Jesus comes as king of 00:26:41.910 --> 00:26:45.009 the world who will reign for eternity. And in 00:26:45.009 --> 00:26:47.809 John 6, 33, the crowd catches up to Jesus finally. 00:26:48.710 --> 00:26:50.789 Listen to what he tells them in John 6, 33. I 00:26:50.789 --> 00:26:53.359 think this is... Such a perfect link right back 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:56.440 to what happens in verses 1 through 15. He says, 00:26:56.519 --> 00:26:59.420 the bread of God, notice that language, the bread 00:26:59.420 --> 00:27:01.099 of God, much like the bread he's just fed them, 00:27:01.299 --> 00:27:03.920 the bread of God is the one who comes down from 00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:08.700 heaven and gives life to the world. Right there 00:27:08.700 --> 00:27:10.980 he's making that link. He is the bread of God 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:13.980 who comes down from heaven and who gives life 00:27:13.980 --> 00:27:20.039 to the world. Even in the interim between the 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:23.160 crowd catching up to him. We see Jesus' perfect 00:27:23.160 --> 00:27:26.299 provision. We see how Jesus is in total control. 00:27:26.819 --> 00:27:28.819 We saw how the disciples said, Jesus, you know, 00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:31.460 just help us get through this storm okay. And 00:27:31.460 --> 00:27:35.680 Jesus does far, far more than that. There's an 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:40.240 emphasis throughout John 6. Here it is. The people 00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:43.000 of Israel and people in general want Jesus to 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:47.599 fit their box. They want Jesus their style. They 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:51.440 want Jesus done their way. Hope and I were talking 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:53.079 about Burger King yesterday. It was a weird conversation. 00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:56.019 But one of the things Burger King is known for, 00:27:56.099 --> 00:27:59.440 right, is have it your way. However you want 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:01.599 your burger, just let them know and they'll do 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:08.160 it your way. The people of Israel want God done 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:11.539 their way. They want Jesus done their way. They 00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:13.779 want the Jesus who comes giving them healing. 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:17.000 The Jesus who multiplies bread. The Jesus who 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:18.880 makes the really, really good wine at the weddings. 00:28:21.289 --> 00:28:23.109 But they don't want the Jesus who calls them 00:28:23.109 --> 00:28:26.069 to live differently. They don't want the Jesus 00:28:26.069 --> 00:28:27.809 who tells them they need to die to themselves 00:28:27.809 --> 00:28:32.029 and follow him. See, what they're trying to do, 00:28:32.109 --> 00:28:34.630 what they've done in essence, is they've turned 00:28:34.630 --> 00:28:37.549 their version of Jesus into an idol for themselves. 00:28:38.829 --> 00:28:40.450 See, an idol is something that's made in our 00:28:40.450 --> 00:28:43.450 image. It fits what we are looking for. And we 00:28:43.450 --> 00:28:45.150 do this all the time with all sorts of different 00:28:45.150 --> 00:28:48.529 things. Anything that gets in place of God. And 00:28:48.529 --> 00:28:50.589 we take things all the time and are making them 00:28:50.940 --> 00:28:56.000 idols. But God is not like that. So think all 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:57.559 the way back to Genesis. We see instead that 00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:00.519 we are made in the image of our provider, the 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:04.059 image of our creator. We don't tell God, now 00:29:04.059 --> 00:29:06.480 God, you're going to give me this food. Instead, 00:29:06.579 --> 00:29:09.920 God says, I've already provided. You'll notice 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:12.720 in John 6 that nowhere in here is there somebody 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:15.200 who stands up and says, Jesus, I don't eat barley 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:18.900 loaves. I just don't like the look of them. Jesus, 00:29:19.019 --> 00:29:22.759 do you have some jam for me over here? No, they're 00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:26.339 just happy to be provided for. But friends, at 00:29:26.339 --> 00:29:28.059 the same time, it is so easy for us, just like 00:29:28.059 --> 00:29:29.619 the Israelites, to start to slip into this other 00:29:29.619 --> 00:29:32.579 side. We start to look at God's provision and 00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:34.099 say, that's not what I expected you to give me. 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:37.140 You know, God, I prayed for a new car. I was 00:29:37.140 --> 00:29:38.839 looking for a Lamborghini. I wasn't looking for 00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:41.599 a Toyota Camry. Like, God, I didn't just want 00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:44.740 the family suburban. I wanted, like, the tricked 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:48.299 -out Rolls Royce. We have to check ourselves 00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:50.660 on that. We have to make sure that we're not 00:29:50.660 --> 00:29:52.880 like this crowd trying to fit Jesus into their 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:56.220 box or into our own box of Jesus. But instead 00:29:56.220 --> 00:30:00.019 that daily we are being conformed closer and 00:30:00.019 --> 00:30:02.539 closer to God. And that brings us into our first 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:05.119 point of application. And that is that Jesus 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:10.579 is our provider. We live in a fallen and broken 00:30:10.579 --> 00:30:14.480 world. A world with a lot of pain. A world with 00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:16.849 a lot of heartache. A world where, if we're honest, 00:30:16.910 --> 00:30:19.210 things don't always seem fair. Just to be totally 00:30:19.210 --> 00:30:21.470 honest. It's not fun to say. It's just the truth. 00:30:26.829 --> 00:30:30.250 But all that brokenness has a purpose. See, all 00:30:30.250 --> 00:30:31.769 that brokenness, all that pain, all that hurt, 00:30:31.849 --> 00:30:34.329 it shows us that we have a need for something 00:30:34.329 --> 00:30:37.910 different. We have a need for something more. 00:30:38.470 --> 00:30:40.450 But why do we struggle with this brokenness? 00:30:40.470 --> 00:30:41.970 We struggle with this brokenness because of sin. 00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:44.740 We struggle with brokenness because sin is in 00:30:44.740 --> 00:30:47.039 the world, because there is evil in the world, 00:30:47.059 --> 00:30:50.039 because we don't live always according to what 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:53.519 God has designed. Sin is anything that we have 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:56.859 done that is not perfect in God's eyes. Anything 00:30:56.859 --> 00:30:59.680 that's a thought, an action, a word that is not 00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:03.039 perfectly holy, perfectly in obedience with God. 00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:07.220 And that sin leads us to brokenness, and we need 00:31:07.220 --> 00:31:09.539 some form of a sacrifice in order to be saved 00:31:09.539 --> 00:31:13.779 out of that. And friends, that is why Jesus came. 00:31:15.500 --> 00:31:18.259 Jesus came bringing eternal life by being our 00:31:18.259 --> 00:31:22.640 sacrifice. By paying the price for our sin. Because 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:25.299 sin has a price. It's not like going to Walmart 00:31:25.299 --> 00:31:28.019 where you see the price on the tag. It's a little 00:31:28.019 --> 00:31:33.240 different. The price for sin is death. But Jesus 00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:36.059 came and he gave his life as a sacrifice that 00:31:36.059 --> 00:31:38.920 we could be saved. But salvation is not just 00:31:38.920 --> 00:31:42.069 some far off thing that we see someday. I think 00:31:42.069 --> 00:31:44.349 we've probably all seen some comedy movie or 00:31:44.349 --> 00:31:46.869 some sketch or something at some point where 00:31:46.869 --> 00:31:48.390 somebody's like showing up to heaven and they're 00:31:48.390 --> 00:31:51.589 like, oh no, sorry, you don't qualify. That's 00:31:51.589 --> 00:31:52.849 not what salvation is. It's not just something 00:31:52.849 --> 00:31:55.990 at the gates of heaven. Salvation starts today. 00:31:56.130 --> 00:31:58.269 It starts the day that you are saved. Because 00:31:58.269 --> 00:32:01.089 when you are saved, you are made new in the image 00:32:01.089 --> 00:32:04.750 of God. You are made new, you are transformed 00:32:04.750 --> 00:32:10.009 as we read in the book of Romans. Now how are 00:32:10.009 --> 00:32:13.160 you saved? You are saved. through faith. I want 00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:14.299 to challenge you with something. I think sometimes 00:32:14.299 --> 00:32:16.680 when we hear faith, we think this blind faith, 00:32:17.019 --> 00:32:19.619 this faith with no proof, this faith with no 00:32:19.619 --> 00:32:23.859 idea of what's really going on. That's not the 00:32:23.859 --> 00:32:29.519 case at all. No. No, faith is a confident thing. 00:32:30.180 --> 00:32:32.980 I'm not calling you to a blind hope or some hope 00:32:32.980 --> 00:32:35.940 with no security or no foundation. Instead, I'm 00:32:35.940 --> 00:32:38.019 calling you to faith and hope that's built on 00:32:38.019 --> 00:32:41.309 what you're seeing in the gospel of John. I'm 00:32:41.309 --> 00:32:43.869 calling you to understand that Jesus sees needs, 00:32:44.029 --> 00:32:47.210 that Jesus saw our need for a Savior, that all 00:32:47.210 --> 00:32:49.309 throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus is consistently 00:32:49.309 --> 00:32:52.630 meeting and exceeding needs, that Jesus is providing, 00:32:52.990 --> 00:32:56.509 and I'm calling you to respond out of that, that 00:32:56.509 --> 00:32:59.490 Jesus sees your need for someone to come and 00:32:59.490 --> 00:33:02.450 to fix your brokenness, that Jesus will meet 00:33:02.450 --> 00:33:06.210 that need, and that Jesus will exceed that need. 00:33:09.319 --> 00:33:12.180 Let me challenge you with who Jesus is. That 00:33:12.180 --> 00:33:14.119 our Jesus that we follow, that our Jesus that 00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:17.200 we worship comes with power and authority, with 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:20.799 mercy. That Jesus who brings salvation brings 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:24.640 freedom. That Jesus provides for us. That's the 00:33:24.640 --> 00:33:27.240 Jesus that we follow. That's the Jesus that we 00:33:27.240 --> 00:33:31.220 worship. That's the Jesus that we rely on. Let 00:33:31.220 --> 00:33:32.799 me challenge you to put your faith in Jesus, 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:36.700 not just some far -off, distant idea of something. 00:33:37.799 --> 00:33:40.680 Friends, your faith is tangible. Your faith is 00:33:40.680 --> 00:33:45.259 real. Jesus is real. Cling close to Jesus. And 00:33:45.259 --> 00:33:47.900 if you are here and you don't know Jesus, let 00:33:47.900 --> 00:33:49.599 me challenge you to look back at what we just 00:33:49.599 --> 00:33:54.019 saw in John 6. Look back at how Jesus saw a need 00:33:54.019 --> 00:33:57.980 and met a need and provided perfectly. And just 00:33:57.980 --> 00:34:01.000 let me challenge you with this. What would Jesus 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:04.619 do in your life if you gave him that need? What 00:34:04.619 --> 00:34:05.920 would happen in your life if you said, okay, 00:34:05.940 --> 00:34:09.030 Jesus, I'm going to step back and I'm going to 00:34:09.030 --> 00:34:13.130 let you take the driver's seat here. Friends, 00:34:13.150 --> 00:34:15.369 I promise you I know what will happen. When you 00:34:15.369 --> 00:34:17.710 put your faith in Jesus, you will be made new. 00:34:18.889 --> 00:34:21.449 Let me just challenge you with that. Jesus is 00:34:21.449 --> 00:34:24.610 our provider of salvation. It's not just in the 00:34:24.610 --> 00:34:30.369 future, it's today also. Friends, here's our 00:34:30.369 --> 00:34:32.989 second application today. I want to challenge 00:34:32.989 --> 00:34:36.090 you with our loaves and fish. Our loaves and 00:34:36.090 --> 00:34:40.059 fish. Let me summarize it like this. This is 00:34:40.059 --> 00:34:41.400 where I want to challenge each one of us to bring 00:34:41.400 --> 00:34:43.639 our not enough to Jesus and to let him do the 00:34:43.639 --> 00:34:47.380 rest. See, on that side of the mountain, factually, 00:34:47.380 --> 00:34:50.860 it was not enough food. Five loaves and two fishes, 00:34:50.940 --> 00:34:53.179 not enough food. I don't know how large a loaf 00:34:53.179 --> 00:34:55.239 you'd have had to have to feed a thousand men 00:34:55.239 --> 00:34:57.099 plus women and children, but you'd have to have 00:34:57.099 --> 00:34:58.440 five of those, and that's not what they have. 00:34:59.400 --> 00:35:01.239 Factually speaking, the food given to Jesus is 00:35:01.239 --> 00:35:04.679 not enough to do the job. But look at what Jesus 00:35:04.679 --> 00:35:07.539 does. Look at what God does. He multiplies it. 00:35:07.780 --> 00:35:10.619 He takes the little bit that's given and he makes 00:35:10.619 --> 00:35:13.780 it spread out. He makes it enough. And see, we 00:35:13.780 --> 00:35:15.880 each come with our loaves and our fishes. They're 00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:19.139 the gifts that God has given to us. For some 00:35:19.139 --> 00:35:20.800 of us, it might be a gift in hospitality. It 00:35:20.800 --> 00:35:22.360 might be super welcoming to people. Maybe it's 00:35:22.360 --> 00:35:24.139 a gift in music. Maybe it's being super relational. 00:35:24.219 --> 00:35:26.099 It's a talent. It's any number of other things, 00:35:26.159 --> 00:35:27.840 but we each have a unique gift that has been 00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:30.699 given to us by God. It's what Paul references 00:35:30.699 --> 00:35:33.360 in Ephesians 2 .10. For we are his workmanship, 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:36.019 created in Christ Jesus for what? For good works, 00:35:36.260 --> 00:35:38.860 which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. 00:35:39.980 --> 00:35:42.440 We are created in Christ Jesus for good works, 00:35:42.480 --> 00:35:44.400 meaning that God has equipped us for these good 00:35:44.400 --> 00:35:47.179 works. And there's a reason that God gives us 00:35:47.179 --> 00:35:48.780 these gifts. God gives us these gifts so that 00:35:48.780 --> 00:35:52.219 we can use them. Because here's the truth of 00:35:52.219 --> 00:35:54.059 it. These gifts aren't ours. These gifts are 00:35:54.059 --> 00:35:57.699 from God. And we take these gifts back to God 00:35:57.699 --> 00:36:01.900 and say, okay, God, here's the gift you've given 00:36:01.900 --> 00:36:04.000 me, and I'm going to let you do with it whatever 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:09.219 that looks like. Whatever that is, God. Whatever 00:36:09.219 --> 00:36:11.900 you have for me, I'm going to trust you with 00:36:11.900 --> 00:36:16.690 it. That's exactly what the boy in John 6 does 00:36:16.690 --> 00:36:19.550 with his food. Gives it to Andrew, gives it to 00:36:19.550 --> 00:36:21.969 Jesus. And you'll notice there's nothing in here 00:36:21.969 --> 00:36:23.289 about the boy going to Jesus and being like, 00:36:23.309 --> 00:36:25.809 Jesus, I will give you my food if you give me 00:36:25.809 --> 00:36:29.510 first dibs on all of the bread, because I'm real 00:36:29.510 --> 00:36:33.449 hungry. We don't read that. So we just see that 00:36:33.449 --> 00:36:36.530 the boy says, okay, here you go. Here's my five 00:36:36.530 --> 00:36:39.010 loaves and my two fish. And what if we were that 00:36:39.010 --> 00:36:42.150 way with ourselves? Not saying, what do I get 00:36:42.150 --> 00:36:43.929 out of serving God, but instead saying, God, 00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:47.599 Here I am. Whatever it is you have for me, I'm 00:36:47.599 --> 00:36:49.579 going to give it to you now, God, and just take 00:36:49.579 --> 00:36:53.900 it. Cornerstone family, God can use your gifts 00:36:53.900 --> 00:36:57.079 in tremendous ways, but first we have to let 00:36:57.079 --> 00:36:59.460 God use them. We have to get out of the way. 00:36:59.719 --> 00:37:02.599 We have to say, God, here am I in all of my imperfection. 00:37:03.039 --> 00:37:05.579 Here's my loaf. Here's my fish. Take it, God. 00:37:05.940 --> 00:37:08.239 We have to let God take control and then direct 00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:11.059 us on how to use them. Here's an example of that 00:37:11.059 --> 00:37:14.340 that I want to give us today. When I was in fifth 00:37:14.340 --> 00:37:17.619 grade, I read a missionary biography by a guy 00:37:17.619 --> 00:37:20.199 named C .T. Studd. I'm going to be honest, I 00:37:20.199 --> 00:37:21.940 chose the book because it was such a cool name. 00:37:22.400 --> 00:37:24.380 C .T. Studd, that just sounded like a guy, like, 00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:26.659 I want to be friends with that guy. And I started 00:37:26.659 --> 00:37:28.780 reading it, and I knew nothing about this guy, 00:37:28.820 --> 00:37:30.579 mind you. I started reading it, and it comes 00:37:30.579 --> 00:37:33.300 out that C .T. Studd was like the LeBron James 00:37:33.300 --> 00:37:37.039 of cricket players in England in the late 1800s. 00:37:37.320 --> 00:37:39.599 He was the man. He was the GOAT. There was legitimately 00:37:39.599 --> 00:37:41.639 conversation if he was the greatest cricket player 00:37:41.639 --> 00:37:46.280 in the history of the world. And then C .T. Studd 00:37:46.280 --> 00:37:50.699 came to know Jesus. And in the blink of an eye, 00:37:50.760 --> 00:37:54.639 with a whole lot of influence and power and connections 00:37:54.639 --> 00:38:00.039 from his career, C .T. gave it up. And instead 00:38:00.039 --> 00:38:02.380 of trying to stay famous or stay in the limelight, 00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:06.039 he went to China and then to Africa to serve 00:38:06.039 --> 00:38:11.250 the Lord. And he began a legacy of missions, 00:38:11.409 --> 00:38:14.469 using his platform not for his glory, but instead 00:38:14.469 --> 00:38:16.429 to help raise money for other missionaries to 00:38:16.429 --> 00:38:20.150 go. Or we could think about somebody like Charles 00:38:20.150 --> 00:38:22.750 Spurgeon. I love this about Charles Spurgeon. 00:38:22.869 --> 00:38:24.929 When I was on my campus tour at Midwestern Baptist 00:38:24.929 --> 00:38:27.590 Theological Seminary, they took me into the Spurgeon 00:38:27.590 --> 00:38:29.150 Library. It's kind of like their signature thing 00:38:29.150 --> 00:38:30.989 there. They've got most of Spurgeon's library 00:38:30.989 --> 00:38:33.329 from when he was alive, including his desk, actually. 00:38:33.610 --> 00:38:36.190 And Spurgeon was a rather large human being. 00:38:37.289 --> 00:38:39.269 And we always think of Charles Spurgeon as like 00:38:39.269 --> 00:38:41.969 famous pastor and preacher and you know, oh man, 00:38:42.030 --> 00:38:43.670 everyone's getting saved and he's talking to 00:38:43.670 --> 00:38:46.110 like thousands of people. But there's another 00:38:46.110 --> 00:38:49.690 side of Spurgeon. See, Spurgeon also dealt with 00:38:49.690 --> 00:38:53.449 absolutely crippling anxiety and depression that 00:38:53.449 --> 00:38:56.730 would launch him into super deep lows. So there's 00:38:56.730 --> 00:38:59.269 records pretty often of his wife walking into 00:38:59.269 --> 00:39:01.050 his office and finding him not hard at work on 00:39:01.050 --> 00:39:03.010 the next sermon or hard at work on whatever's 00:39:03.010 --> 00:39:05.289 going to come next, but instead curled up in 00:39:05.289 --> 00:39:08.800 a ball on the floor. under his desk crying because 00:39:08.800 --> 00:39:12.320 he just felt so overwhelmed and so insignificant, 00:39:12.599 --> 00:39:15.760 so incapable of doing what it was that God had 00:39:15.760 --> 00:39:20.440 positioned him to do. See, for Spurgeon, his 00:39:20.440 --> 00:39:22.860 loaves and fish didn't feel significant enough. 00:39:23.360 --> 00:39:26.000 It didn't feel like enough. But there's something 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:31.079 special he did do. He trusted God with it. He 00:39:31.079 --> 00:39:33.519 didn't stay under that desk every day. Instead, 00:39:33.619 --> 00:39:35.980 he would get back up. You go back to serving 00:39:35.980 --> 00:39:39.159 the Lord. You go back to doing whatever it was 00:39:39.159 --> 00:39:41.920 that God had for him. And some days that was 00:39:41.920 --> 00:39:43.500 something super crazy. Some days that was like 00:39:43.500 --> 00:39:45.340 going in for their equivalent of a sound check 00:39:45.340 --> 00:39:47.440 back then. At one point he was preaching and 00:39:47.440 --> 00:39:49.880 a guy heard him just say like, Jesus has forgiven 00:39:49.880 --> 00:39:51.880 you. And this guy's on top of a rafter and gets 00:39:51.880 --> 00:39:53.940 saved in the moment. It just strikes him so much 00:39:53.940 --> 00:39:57.460 in the heart. Other times for Spurgeon, getting 00:39:57.460 --> 00:39:59.019 out from underneath that desk looked like something 00:39:59.019 --> 00:40:01.139 a little less glorious. It was like going into 00:40:01.139 --> 00:40:02.800 a poor neighborhood during a cholera outbreak 00:40:02.800 --> 00:40:07.840 to sit there with people as they died. But friends, 00:40:07.860 --> 00:40:10.820 notice what he did. He took those gifts that 00:40:10.820 --> 00:40:12.619 God had given him and he said, God, whatever 00:40:12.619 --> 00:40:16.820 you have with them, I'm good with. Take me and 00:40:16.820 --> 00:40:20.340 use me however you want to. Cornerstone, I want 00:40:20.340 --> 00:40:23.820 to challenge you with that today. What are your 00:40:23.820 --> 00:40:26.719 gifts? And are you willing to just say, God, 00:40:26.820 --> 00:40:30.110 take and use what you've given me? Father God, 00:40:30.170 --> 00:40:32.590 we are so thankful for your word, and God, we 00:40:32.590 --> 00:40:36.030 are just so thankful for this chance to look 00:40:36.030 --> 00:40:41.630 at John 6 together, God. Lord, we are thankful 00:40:41.630 --> 00:40:43.690 for the fact that you are our great provider, 00:40:43.829 --> 00:40:48.670 that on a daily basis, that you provide for us 00:40:48.670 --> 00:40:54.469 so amazingly. But God, I also want to thank you 00:40:54.469 --> 00:40:56.929 for the gifts that you've given us, God. God, 00:40:56.969 --> 00:40:59.690 you have uniquely gifted and equipped each one 00:40:59.690 --> 00:41:04.550 of us. Father God, I ask that you help us not 00:41:04.550 --> 00:41:08.289 in any way to hold those gifts close, God. I 00:41:08.289 --> 00:41:10.389 know it can be tempting, it can be really, really 00:41:10.389 --> 00:41:12.210 attractive, God, to hold onto that gift and to 00:41:12.210 --> 00:41:15.989 see what we can do with it, God. To see what 00:41:15.989 --> 00:41:19.590 glory we can get from our gift. But God, I ask 00:41:19.590 --> 00:41:21.429 that instead you would soften our hearts, God, 00:41:21.510 --> 00:41:23.230 that you would help us to be open -handed with 00:41:23.230 --> 00:41:26.449 our gifts. That God would say, listen, this is 00:41:26.449 --> 00:41:29.710 not about me, this is about you. God, take and 00:41:29.710 --> 00:41:33.630 use me however you would use me. Take me to wherever 00:41:33.630 --> 00:41:38.489 you want me to be, God. God, help my life to 00:41:38.489 --> 00:41:41.590 glorify you. God, I ask that you would work in 00:41:41.590 --> 00:41:44.929 our hearts on that today. That God, whatever 00:41:44.929 --> 00:41:47.630 our gifts, whatever our talents and our situation, 00:41:47.769 --> 00:41:50.150 that it would be open -handed and willing to 00:41:50.150 --> 00:41:55.219 let you work in and through us, God. Lord, I 00:41:55.219 --> 00:41:57.300 just pray if anyone is here, God, and we are 00:41:57.300 --> 00:42:01.500 struggling and needing provision, God, help us 00:42:01.500 --> 00:42:06.780 to really just hold on to you. God, maybe we're 00:42:06.780 --> 00:42:08.340 here and we're struggling with our mental health, 00:42:08.400 --> 00:42:13.099 God. Lord, would you provide peace? Would you 00:42:13.099 --> 00:42:16.699 provide peace like a river, God? God, if we're 00:42:16.699 --> 00:42:18.539 struggling with physical provision, God, we know 00:42:18.539 --> 00:42:20.699 that we can cling to you and that you will provide. 00:42:23.630 --> 00:42:26.210 God, we just trust you with this. We are so thankful 00:42:26.210 --> 00:42:29.789 that you are our great provider. We pray all 00:42:29.789 --> 00:42:34.769 this in your name. Amen. If you'll please stand.