John 6

Good evening everyone and welcome back to Church of the Bible. I am so happy to be here and got to step away real quick. I have an echo. There we go. Took care of the echo.

I apologize.

It is good to be here today to be visiting with everyone. We had service in the morning. Wednesday was fantastic and just to be here tonight. As we begin today's service, our announcements are Wednesday at 06:30 P.m. In Zoom.

Unless you're in Milford, then local here. We'll be doing Daniel chapter six. This week we're going to continue that study on our way to Revelation. And then Friday we'll be meeting as normal in Cedar at 06:00 P.m.. And then just a reminder as I look at my calendar, it's a few weeks away, but on September 26, that's a Wednesday, there will be no Bible study that day.

I'll be on my way to La with Logan and Trevor for a pastor's thing. Mission trip down in La. So I'll remind everyone again through the month just so that everybody remembers. But with that said, let's open up with a word of prayer and we'll turn the time over into worship. And when we come back, we'll be in John chapter six.

Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for everything you have given us. And we also thank you Lord, for just for Your goodness, for being a good, good Father that you are. Father, I pray as we come into the service now. I pray that our hearts will turn away from the distractions of the world, from the things that we've got going after the things that we're dealing with or our stresses.

And Lord just focus on you. Let us worship you and let us open our hearts. Or will you open our hearts to Your word today, to Your spirit and Your message that we can see you and glorify you and these things. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Name sing praise sing praise sing praise yeah forever god is faithful forever god is forever is with us forever forever with a mighty hand and that's just darn his love and do it forever for the life that's been reborn. His love endures forever. Sing praise.

Sing praise.

Sing praise.

Sing praise yeah, forever. God is made bone forever. God is around forever. God is with us forever.

Forever. God is faithful forever. God is forever. God is with forever. Forever.

Forever.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

Forever ever you are strong. Forever. You are with us forever.

Forever. You are faithful. Forever you are strong. Forever. You are with us forever.

Forever.

You are you.

I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me. I can only imagine I can only imagine surrounded by your glory what will my heart feel? Will I dance for You, Jesus or in all of you be still? Will I stand in Your presence to my knees or will I fall will I sing Hallelujah will I be able to speak it all?

I can only imagine I can only imagine I can only imagine when that day comes and I find myself standing in the sun I can only imagine when all I will do is forever forever worship You I can only imagine I can only imagine surrounded by Your glory what will my heart feel? Will I dance for You, Jesus for you be still will I stand in Your presence to my knees will I fall will I sing Hallelujah will I be able to speak it all? I can only imagine I can only imagine surrounded by Your glory what will my heart feel? Will I dance for you, Jesus or in all you may still will I get in Your presence? What do my knees will I fall?

Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak it out? Know you I can only imagine?

I can only imagine when all I will do is forever, forever worship you I can only imagine you there's a place where mercy rains and never dies there's a place where streams of grace flow deep and wide where all the love I've ever found comes like a flood comes flowing down at the cross at the cross I surrender my life I'm in all of you I'm in all of you where? Your love ran red and my sin washed white I owe to you I owe to you Jesus you're sin and shame are powerless where my heart has peace with God and forgiveness with all the love I've ever found comes like a love comes flowing down at the cross at the cross I surrender my life I'm in all of you I'm in all of you where your love ran red in my I owe to you I owe you here my hope is found here on holy ground here I bow down here I bow down here arms open wide here you save my life here I bow down here I bow at the cross at the cross I surrender my life. I'm in all of you. I'm in all Your love red my skin was white. I owe I o you.

I o to you. I love to you, Jesus.

Your love ran around your love ran amen I loved all three worship songs from today. But those of you who were in Bible study on Wednesday with me this last week, I told you to expect a new song in our rotation. It was the first one we did, and it was inspired by Psalms 136. I'm not going to read the whole chapter just because I want to get to a state. But I do want to read the first few verses.

And the last verse, just as a reminder. Psalms 136 says give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good. His loyal love endures forever give thanks to the god of gods, for his loyal love endures forever give thanks to the lord of lords, for his loyal love endures forever. To him who alone does great wonders his loyal love endures forever. To him who made the heavens a skill his loyal love endures forever.

To him who spread out the earth above the waters his loyal love endures forever. To him who made the great lights his loyal love endures forever. The sun to rule the day. His loyal love endures forever and the moon and stars to rule the night. His loyal love endures forever give thanks to the god of heaven for his loyal love endures forever each of us go to bed tonight.

Let's give thanks to God because he is good and his love endures forever today we're in John, chapter six. Last week we finished chapter five. We were there for three weeks, and near the beginning of the chapter, there was a man who was paralyzed and he was waiting for someone to put him into the pool while the angels stirred up the water to be healed and Jesus came along and healed him. Jesus said to him, do you want to be made whole? And from that moment forward, the Jews began to persecute him.

But while the Pharisees began to persecute him, jesus continued to perform miracles to heal people, to do great wonders and teach great things. And as a result, people are still following him. Although we're going to see in chapter six that a lot of these people, they begin to stop following him. They go away from him. They're sad because they realize that he's spiritual and not physical in what it is that he offers.

Let's begin. We're going to read verses one through 14. Then we'll break it down and we'll move on from there. We'll see what we have for time. After these things, Jesus went away to another side of the Sea of Galilee, that is, Tiberius.

And a large crowd was following him because they were observing the signs that he was doing on those who were sick. So Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the passover the feast of the Jews was near. Then Jesus, when he looked up, he saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, where can we buy bread so that these people can eat? Now, he said this to test him because he knew what he was going to do.

Philip replied to him, 200 Danari worth of bread will not be enough for them in order that each one could receive a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are these for so many people? Jesus said make the people recline. Now there was a lot of grass in the place so the men reclined approximately 5000 in number.

Then Jesus took the bread and after he had given thanks he distributed it to those who were reclining likewise also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they were satisfied he said to his disciples gather the remaining fragments so that nothing is lost. So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Now when the people saw the sign that he performed they began to say this one is truly the prophet who has come into the world. Then Jesus, because he knew what they were about to come because he knew that they were about to come and seize Him in order to make Him king, withdrew again up the mountain by Himself alone.

So after these things, after the events of Chapter Five when he had been persecuted and then he bore testimony about his power and last week we talked about two or three witnesses. All of this takes place in a single setting where they are persecuting Him. And then he leaves. He takes his disciples and they go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. While he leaves, something happens.

A large crowd follows him. Jesus never had, never had time alone. He was followed around just the paparazzi was always with Him. But why did they follow Him? This will be key to what we read later in the chapter.

Says they followed Him because they observed the signs he was doing on those who were sick.

They were not following him because he was their Lord. They were not following Him because he told them to. They were following Him because they wanted the physical benefit, the physical things that he provided. We're going to see this play out by the end of the chapter. So Jesus, he heads up on the mountain and he sits down with his disciples.

Why a mountain? Keep in mind we're probably actually reading a hill. He went up on top of a hill and the reason is so that he could be heard as he speaks. This is a lot of people, 5000 people who are following Him. He needs to be elevated a little so that his voice would carry out and be heard.

But then says he looks up, he sees this crowd coming to him and he says to Philip where can we buy bread so these people can eat?

This question, it tells us two things. The first thing that this question tells us is that Jesus desires that we be fed. Jesus wants us to be fed. He wants our hearts to be full. He wants our stomachs to be full.

He wants our needs to be met. In Matthew 1414 it says this about the same event. The different gospels all record the same event. Matthew writes in 1414. He says that he had compassion on them.

Jesus had compassion on them. So he wants us to be fed.

He wants us to be satisfied. And he wills us to be satisfied. He has compassion. This is the tenderness of the heart of God. God does not desire that we starve.

God does not desire that we lack in our need. He does not desire that we wander through life in darkness, that we wander through life wondering. He wants us to be fed. And while Jesus is physically going to feed the 5000 here, it's to set us up for a spiritual lesson. Don't get me wrong.

God wants us to be physically fed. But more than that, God wants us to be spiritually fed. He wants our souls and our spirits to be filled so that we will have life. Well. When we say that God does not will the death of any, we mean in particular that God does not want any of us to die a spiritual death.

He does not want any of us to perish into the Lake of Fire. Two weeks ago I announced how many people in Utah are going to perish or in southern Utah. They all died today. And we went over that again in the morning service. So I want to reiterate as we get into the second part of what this verse means.

If all of southern Utah were to perish today, there would be 183,000 souls who perish in the Lake of Fire.

There's only 190 or so thousand less than 200,000 people in southern Utah. And 97.8% of them would go to hell if they died today. Which leads me to my second point. Jesus has compassion. He wants to feed them.

And he says to Philip, he says, where can we buy bread so these people can eat?

Why did he say that to Philip? Verse six tells us that Jesus already knew what he was going to do. Jesus already knew there was a boy there with five loaves and two fishes. Jesus already knew he would multiply it. Jesus knew this 4000 years before he got there.

Why did he ask Philip what they were going to do?

Jesus wants us to be on board with Him. Jesus uses us to facilitate the gospel to his people. If Jesus didn't want to use us, or if he wasn't going to use us to do that, the moment we got saved would rapture. There'd be no need for us here, but he uses us to facilitate. He will use the twelve disciples here to facilitate the feeding of the 5000.

He would distribute the broken bread and fish to the Twelve, and they would distribute it to those who are in need. But Jesus also distributes the gospel to us, and then it's our job to further go and distribute it to other people. What he wants to know is do we have a heart as well to see the multitudes fed? Do we have compassion and desire that none of them should perish? And it says that he was testing him.

He himself knew what he would do. He did not need advice. He wasn't looking for Philip's advice. He wasn't looking for wisdom.

He wasn't trying to gather a think tank. Well, what options do we have? Or what don't we have? In fact, Jesus let me tell you something about Jesus. He will never make a demand of you or me that he is not already prepared to supply all that is required to carry out his will.

Think about that. Anytime that Jesus says, go and do this or go and do that, he has already been prepared to provide that which is necessary. So then when he questions us, he is not questioning us for our ideas. He is questioning us to see our resolve, to see our willingness to just do the correct answer. Philip says, we don't have enough money, Lord.

200 dinari is not going to feed. 200 dinari won't even get enough for each person to have a crumb.

When the correct answer should have been, lord, only you know, you provide. And I'll go and do.

When the Lord, when he has a purpose, when he is moving to do something, it's not an experiment. They're not just something that are accomplished in his mind that might actually fail in practice. This is God, and he has told us. He says in Matthew 28, he says, all power is given to me. All power, all authority on heaven and on earth is given to me.

So he already knew.

But he tested Philip's resolve. Philip says 200 Danari, it's not going to feed them.

Each of them are not going to even receive a little.

We'll go back to this in a minute, right? We'll go back to this in a minute.

So where should we buy the bread? Where should we get this?

What Jesus wants is the minds of his hearts and his disciples to be exercised about the great and needful business of feeding the hungry multitude.

Jesus does not present this as a me situation or a you situation. He presents it as a we situation. Right? We, I'm doing this. Are you going to do this?

What are we going to do? And in using this form, he is showing a community interest between Him and his followers, a true evangelical spirit, a missionary spirit, a true spirit of the Christian who desires that no one would perish.

The source of that spirit has to be in the abiding freshness and constant realization that Christ is providing.

Christ does not say to us today where we got 200,000 people perishing in southern Utah, and Christ does not say to the church, where will we find bread or money or people to help us that these 200,000 souls could eat and live, that they wouldn't perish? But rather the answer is lord, you know you'll provide. Just tell me what to do.

And with such we can make use of little gifts. I love this. As we talk about how Jesus provides, we also need to examine the little stuff in life. A lot of times people know I don't have a lot or my gift or my talents. They're little or I don't have any.

But we all have something. It could be small. What does Andrew say? He says there's a boy, he's got five loaves of bread and two fish. But what are these among so many people?

Even the disciples right now they're questioning Jesus. They're questioning his ability to provide.

What are these when there are so many hungry people? We can't feed them. So we need to make use of the little gifts, the little things that God has given us. Because what seems small to us or insufficient to us can be greatly multiplied in God.

What happens? Jesus takes the loaves in verse eleven, he takes them. He uses that little gift, that insignificant portion, because there is nothing too small for God. Think about this it was Jesus who created the heavens and the earth, all of the stars. It says that he knows them by name, that he governs the universe.

He keeps all of it working in order. And yet it says he knows the hairs on your head.

So what is too small for God? If our God is that big that he is in control of the full universe but he can count. He doesn't just count. He knows the number of hairs on your head. What is too small for him?

He knows the worth of the little thing. We are the little thing.

He knows the worth of the little things, especially when put into his hand. Fact god has chosen weak things. Think about that. Who is God's, people? Group The Jews.

Were the Jews the biggest nation? Fact at the time that God chose the Jews, they weren't a nation at all. They were one person. Abraham. That was it.

One person. By the time they went into Egypt, the Jewish people group have grown to 75 people.

Who was in control of Egypt? Joseph. Joseph was in control of Egypt, right under the pharaoh. He led the entire Egyptian kingdom. He provided for his family.

After Joseph died and the pharaoh died and the new pharaoh came, they began to slay the Jews. And when they had left, they were but small in number. We know there were about 2 million Jews when they left. That's relatively small. Especially when you compare it to the Egyptian empire, when you compare it to the Canaanites and the Perizzites, when you compare it to all the other nations that surrounded them as they fled Egypt and as they waged war against the land of Canaan.

And then God told them, says, don't think that I chose you because you were great. Says I chose you because you were small. Because you were weak to demonstrate to the world, to demonstrate to his people to demonstrate to us that God is strongest. When we are weakest, when we are strong, don't we tend to resist God? Don't we tend to say, we don't need you, God.

I've got this. I'm in control. I'm all right. But when we are weak, when we can rely wholly upon God for his providence that's when he's strongest. That's when we are truly strongest because we are allowing him to live through us.

So God has chosen the weak things the things that are despised, that are overlooked, that are rejected so that no flesh would glory in his presence. Let's look at One Corinthians 27 through 29. Paul says the foolish things of the world God chose in order that he might put to shame the wise and the weak things of the world. God chose in order that he might put to shame the strong and the insignificant of the world. And the despised.

God chose the things that are not in order that he might abolish the things that are so that all flesh may not boast before God.

Let's not overlook the little things. Let's not overlook what seems insignificant to us. For all gifts, all talents, all things that God has given us are greatly significant in his hands. He does not say, Go out and seek the rich and the wealthy and those who are the greatest in their fields, the brightest minds. Who did Jesus choose?

Did Jesus go after the Pharisees? The religious? No. He went after fishermen. He went after people who the world deemed as stupid.

They were too stupid to do anything else.

But what did he say to them? He says, follow me. Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. Right. Little things.

Their value exponentially increases when we allow God to do the work while we commit every part of our lives to him. The little things exponentially increase in value.

But the next thing here is that Jesus is fully sufficient in himself. We see in this emergency, if we'll call it 5000 hungry people with no food, Jesus was sufficient, says he gave thanks and distributed to them as much as they would. I might be like Philip or like Andrew and say these five loaves are not enough because I know I'd eat two of them on my own.

I'd eat two of them. I'd also take a whole fish and I'd fillet it and make myself a fish sandwich. And I'm one person. But now there was only three loaves and one fish for the 5000. So I might agree with Philip and Andrew if I were there at the time.

But this is cool. It says that he gave them as much as they wanted. How many people weren't hungry that day? Zero. Or to put another way, if somebody went hungry that day, whose fault was it?

It was their fault. It was their fault. Jesus, he provides enough for everyone. Let's come back to that. I actually want to close on that thought.

So he himself is all sufficient. The source of the supply, it was not in the bread, it was not in the money. It was not in having enough workers to go and till the ground and cultivate the wheat. The source of the supply was in Him.

He was the supply.

It is because of the infinite power, the fullness of God, that he is that he could take this weak thing and he could manifest the riches of his glory and exponentially multiply that. Think about this. How did God create the heavens and the earth? He spoke it into existence. Says god said, Let there be light, and there was light.

And God said, Let there be a divide between the waters below and the waters above. And there was that divide. And God said, Let there be land, and there was land. So if God could speak into existence the heavens and the earth, if he could speak into existence the very seeds and plants that were used to make that bread, could he not speak into existence the multiplication of said bread? If he made everything else, how hard would it be for Him to just make more bread?

I think that's simple in comparison.

So the source of the power is in Himself.

Psalms 37 five says it tells us to commit our way unto the Lord to trust in Him, and he will bring it to pass. He will act as we discuss the need to share the Gospel, the need to see people say, the need to follow God. And whatever he tells us as people, as humans, we have that natural tendency to say, wait a minute, I can't do this. I don't have the money to do it, or I don't have the vehicle to do it, or I don't have whatever other means to do it. And we commit ourselves to that logic.

I can't do it because I don't have this. But the logic that the Bible is telling us to commit ourselves to is to the Lord. It says, Commit your ways to Him and then trust in Him. If he has told you to do it, he'll provide and he will act, he will bring it to pass. And then he fed the hungry through his disciples, he distributed, he broke the bread and he gave it to the Twelve, and they took it out to the masses of ourselves.

There's nothing that we can do to meet the need of the lost people in the world, whether it's in Milford or Cedar, all of southern Utah or wherever anyone else may be. There is nothing that I can do to meet your need, and there's nothing you can do to meet the need of someone else. It's not possible.

We can't do anything to meet the necessity of those who are perishing.

But through jesus. We have everything that we need. Our sufficiency is of God. It's not in our talents or what we have, or the resources at our disposal, but it's in our willingness to just to follow God, to follow Jesus, to trust in Him.

Like the disciples were here, they had a privilege of seeing God multiply the bread and asking them to pass it out. But we too have that great privilege. We've received the Gospel, we've received gifts and treasures from God.

And I want to say that we would be guilty if we stored it up, if we hid it to ourselves instead of delivering the same thing we were given to the starving multitude who needs it. As we continue this chapter next week, you'll see that Jesus equates physical hunger and bread with spiritual hunger and bread. And that's what I'm doing tonight. All of those who are perishing, they are starving, they're hungry. And how guilty would we be if we took what we had and we just hid it away?

Jesus says freely, you have received, freely give.

I want to go talk finally before we close about His Providence, says that he gave them as much as they wanted.

Why do you think there were twelve baskets left over? Couldn't Jesus have known exactly how many people there were and exactly how much each of them would take, and only multiply it to that extent? This way there was no waste. He's God. He knows everything.

Why do you think Jesus did not do that?

That there were twelve baskets left over? And it's to tell us that there is abundance in Christ. There is abundance in him. There is enough saving grace in Jesus Christ to save every single person who has walked the face of this world. There is enough for every person to be 100% satisfied, for every person's blame to be wiped away, for every person's sin to be covered.

There is enough. There's no shortage. And if Jesus's abundance ran out just at the people who were there, wouldn't that give an image of shortage? But there is no shortage in his abundance. He is able, there's enough bread to feed the millions who are still spending their money for that which is not bread.

It says in One John Two two that Jesus is the propitation not only for our sins, for the sins of those who are following Him now, but for the sins of the whole world.

When Jesus when Jesus left at the end of Matthew in chapter 28, he gave what is called the Great Commission. He said, go ye therefore and make disciples of all men and peoples and tongues, teaching them to obey all things that I have commanded you. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. This is the standing order of Jesus Christ, that we would go and we would feed the starving, we would feed the perishing that we. Would give to them what he has given to us, and there is no danger of our resources failing.

As I close tonight, I want to say to us who are his disciples. Let us show our faith in Him by the diligent use of the things that he has given us. Whether they are material or whether they're immaterial like our talents, no matter how small or big, no matter how insignificant they may appear to be to us, let us be faithful and diligent to that which he has committed. To us that his kingdom would grow and his name will be glorified unto you tonight who are not saved, who are hungry right now. And you know you're hungry.

You know that your soul is starving and you want it to be satisfied. I want to offer up to you the same gift and same bread that has been offered to me and to many who are here with me tonight. Jesus says that if you would confess me before your fellow men, I'll confess you before the Father. He says if you could only acknowledge your sin, that you are deprived, that you are wicked, and admit that there is no way out other than Him, and believe that he really is God who came down here, who died for you and resurrected. He came back to life and would confess Him not just as your Savior, but as your God, your King, your Lord.

He would save you. And so if you're ready to do that, if you're ready to no longer be starving, but to be satisfied, I invite you in our closing prayer to acknowledge, admit your sin, to believe in Jesus and to confess Him immediately after closing prayer. We'll partake of our communion, so please stick around for that. And then I will see, hopefully, each of you here tonight on Wednesday at 06:30 P.m. For a Bible study through the Book of Daniel.

Let's pray. Father, I admit that I am a sinner. I admit, Lord, that I can't save myself, that I need you. And I believe now. I believe that you are the bread of life.

I believe that you are God in the flesh, that you stepped down into creation and that you died so that I might not have to die a spiritual death, and that you rose again so that you can raise Me into newness of life. And I confess you, Lord Jesus, as my god and King and Lord forever. And I am now willing to remove my crown and submit to Yours. I ask you for this free and precious gift, and I will glorify you and follow you through the rest of my life. And Father, I pray as we leave here tonight, lord, I pray that people would realize there is enough of you to go around for everyone, that there is enough of You, Lord, to multiply our lack and what we need.

And Lord, I pray that everyone who is not acting to build Your kingdom because they don't have a lot or they don't have great super talents. Lord, that each of us would realize what you have given us can be truly magnificent if used by Your hands. And with that realization, let us go out and fulfill Your great commission, your standing orders that Your kingdom will be grown and Your name will be glorified. And we thank you for this. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.