 Today, we're going to be looking at Matthew 14. We're going to look at verses 14 through 21. This is one of those portions of Scripture that is very practical for those especially who are learning to step out in faith and to minister the things of the Lord to people in need. And it gives you insight in some very basic things. And I'm going to assume that there are some in this room today who have a desire to be used by God to reach people. These are the kinds of verses and stuff, to be honest with you, that I usually will give with more detail and personal illustration to people who are part of my pastors classes that I do on occasion. They have some very deeply spiritual meanings that in a general congregation perhaps are not as communicable as when you're with people who are doing these kinds of things and learning these lessons firsthand. After our first service, I had one of the brothers who's doing ministry in one of the cities right close by, who walked up with tears in his eyes and he was saying, what you were sharing today is exactly the kind of thing that I'm going through as I'm planting my ministry. And so in some levels, this is a general study that every believer can learn something from and profit by if you have a heart to serve the Lord. If you want to go out and discover the things that God can do. And then again, these are the things that someone who's fresh in their walk with the Lord just getting saved and all, these are the kinds of things that can encourage you as you grow in your understanding of the ways of God. So in this passage here, I'm going to try and generalize it enough so that we all can say, oh, I see how that could work and be specific enough to speak to the hearts of those who are doing ministry and want to have some principles that can help you. And again, I'm not giving the how-tos, I'm speaking of the whys. I was sharing with my wife just the other day that in a lot of ministry what you have today is you have a lot of people who are giving the how-tos. Well if you're going to have a how-to, you need to start with a why because the how-tos may show you how to accomplish certain things, but you always need to know the why. Why am I doing this? And so if you begin with a how-to rather than a why, what is my motive, then you end up perhaps being successful in doing certain things, but it isn't fruitful in the Spirit because you're actually doing things in the flesh. And there are a lot of ministries today that you can go to, you can go to conferences that will equip you. If you want to, you want to spend the $150, $200, $300 to go to these conferences and you can be seated there and listen to these successful people who will tell you the how-to, but very often you don't really hear the why should eyes. And right here what we have is we have the why. We have the motives that are being revealed to us, the motives of a minister. And so the Lord Jesus Christ is going to teach us principles of ministry to men and to multitudes. And you will see some of this as we go through it together in Matthew chapter 14 verses 14 through 21. So I'll begin reading at verse 14, read to verse 21. We're looking at the feeding of the 5,000 ministry to men and multitudes. Beginning at verse 14, when Jesus went out he saw a great multitude and he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. When it was evening his disciples came to him saying, this is a deserted place and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food. But Jesus said to them, they do not need to go away. You give them something to eat and they said to him, we have here only five loaves and two fish. He said, bring them here to me. Then he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And he took the five loaves and the two fish looking up to heaven he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up 12 baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about 5,000 men besides women and children. So let me give you a background, let me give you a context so you know what's taking place and that way you can see what's happening here. We have other Gospels that give us some insight and I'll allude to them out of Luke and Mark in just a moment. But the last time we were together we stopped at verses 12 and 13. And in verses 12 and 13 we had looked at this particular portion of Scripture and we had seen that in its context John the Baptist had been imprisoned by Herod and we saw that he had ultimately been executed by him. When you look in the life of John the Baptist you see that John was a courageous preacher and that his message was a message of repentance. We also see that in him was not only courage and a great message but we know that he was a faithful witness to the very end and he had a tremendous impact on those whom he was sent to reach. When you look in Matthew for example in chapter 3 verses 5 and 6 it says Jerusalem all Judea and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan confessing their sins. So you see that Jerusalem Judea the region around the Jordan these are a good amount of people are being impacted by him. You see in Luke chapter 3 verse 7 that he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him so that tells us that there were great numbers of people who came and were responding to his message. Now John was a preacher of righteousness and he had the ability to preach that kind of message because he was a person who lived out what he said. You see sometimes people want to preach a message of righteousness that they're not living up to and it causes people to look at their lives and say why would I listen to what you're saying when you're not even practicing what you're preaching to me. Well in John's life he had a righteousness about him that they gave him the credibility that enabled him to proclaim a message of repentance and so he could preach that message because he was living out what he was saying to them. When Jesus spoke concerning him Jesus said that among those born of women there has not risen one that was greater than John. John the Bible tells us was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb and the Bible tells us that he was specially prepared for his mission. When you look at some of the comments related to John you see that he was such a righteous man that people even went so far as to asking whether or not this man was the Messiah. This holiness and the power of the Spirit had led him to a martyr's death. Herod had him beheaded at Herodias' request and as we saw his amazing ministry was completed. When he was martyred his disciples came in and claimed his body and they went out and buried it. Now these men who are referred to as his disciples in verse 12 his disciples came in and took away his body. These men who are referred to as his disciples it's interesting to note that John's disciples continued to exist even after Jesus died on a cross was buried and resurrected. That there are still people who are calling themselves disciples of John all the way into the book of Acts into chapter 19 when the apostle Paul ends up in a city and sees certain individuals there who are lacking something in their life and he says in what baptism were you baptized? They said the baptism of John and so these were people in Acts 19 who actually were still followers of John because they hadn't heard the message yet that Jesus had died buried and was resurrected and sent the Holy Spirit and so disciples of John continued to be gone even into the early portions of the life of the church and these men came and took away the body, buried it and went and they told Jesus. John paid that price. Now when you read the New Testament you find places where the earmarks of a follower of Christ are spoken of. They're called disciples. We need to remember that the Bible doesn't refer to them as simple deciders. I mean today it seems to me that there are those who are calling themselves disciples who in reality are better classified as those who are deciders. Deciders in the sense that yeah I've decided to follow the Lord but my life really doesn't reflect anything concerning that decision. I've just decided to go forward or raise my hand or pray a simple prayer and all but they're really not showing yet or perhaps never will the marks of a disciple and so when you read the Bible you see the Bible doesn't call me to be a decider. The Bible calls me to be a disciple and you see that disciples of Jesus Christ have certain qualities. They follow him over a lifetime. They're faithful to him. They produce fruit. They're servants. They abide in him. They're faithful even to the death sometimes. Luke 14.26 says it like this, Jesus speaking, if anyone comes to me and doesn't hate his father and mother, his wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes even his own life he cannot be my disciple. They give up whatever, everything, family and friends to make God their first priority and John was an individual who was faithful even unto death and he paid the price. He yielded his life for an uncompromising love of God. He was murdered for being faithful to God as he preached for people to get ready to meet the Lord. We saw in verse 13 that Jesus heard it and departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. Of course John's death didn't come as a surprise to the Lord. They came and they told Jesus and he departed by boat to a deserted place. I can't imagine what it must have felt like when the disciples of John came and took that decapitated body of John and buried it. I can't imagine the pain that they must have felt as they did that. And then they took that to Jesus and told him, Jesus hears it and he departs. Now when they told Jesus he departed by boat to a deserted place. Luke gives us more insight in his gospel. He says in chapter nine verse 10 that he took his apostles into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. Which if you're looking at a map of Israel and you're looking to the north, there is the Sea of Galilee and off to the north in the north area going off a little bit I would I think it's to the east a bit is a place called Bethsaida. And that's where these people were going. Now the disciples had been sent on or the apostles had been sent on a ministry trip. And they're now giving an account of that ministry trip to the Lord Jesus Christ. And they wanted to take the opportunity to share with him concerning their recent ministry and in the midst of them doing their ministry news had come that John had been beheaded so naturally they would have been upset to hear of his death and they needed attention. Mark 6, 31 and 32 reads that he Jesus said to them, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile. For there were many coming and going and they didn't even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. Well all of this is taking place verse 13 again says when the multitudes heard it they followed him on foot from the cities. The multitudes again you read about multitudes. Who are these people that are being referred to here? Well these are pilgrims who had come to celebrate the Passover according to John chapter 6 verse 4 the Jewish Passover feast was near. And so these multitudes would have been pilgrims who were coming to celebrate. And they want to now hear from Messiah they want to hear from Jesus. Now it's important to note that they're not sincerely seeking Jesus Christ as their Messiah they are more interested in his signs and they're more interested in his wonders how do we know that? Well John's Gospel chapter 6 verse 2 says a great multitude followed him because they saw his miracles which he did on those who were diseased. Now many of these people are very motivated. Mark 633 says many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. So they were real motivated because they were interested in his signs and his wonders. They were attracted to his miracles but they were not necessarily attracted to his message. And their immediate need overrides any eternal concerns that they might have had. And so that's what you have here that's your setting. There are people who want to hear from the Lord. They really want to touch from him. They want a miracle from him. They have immediate needs, immediate concerns. He's a miracle worker. There are great groups of people and as they're gathering around Jesus is going to respond to them and that's your introduction. Let's move into the verse verse 14 where it says when Jesus went out he saw a great multitude and he was so upset. He said get off my lawn. No, he said he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. Jesus came out and he saw this great multitude of people. Later on we're told that there were 5,000 men not including the women and children. So when you begin to include women and children some have said it's at least 15,000 up to 20,000 who are gathered there before him. So it's enough that you have 5,000 men but you also have women and children who were not included in that first estimate. So there are quite a number of people and Jesus as he sees them in verse 14 is moved and that gives to us insight into his mission as well as his ministry. Verse 14 says he was moved with compassion for them. Compassion. What is that? The word compassion is a feeling of distress and pity for the suffering or misfortune of another. Often including the desire to alleviate it. Compassion literally means a fellow feeling or to suffer alongside or suffer with. Compassion is a visible expression of the character of God. We live in a day where you actually have to define the God that you worship. There are many who think that we worship the same God no matter what you call yourself. That's not a fact at all. The Bible tells us who God is and tells us what he is like. And the God of the Bible is a God of compassion. In Psalm 86 verse 15 it says you, O Lord, are a God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in mercy and truth. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. So when somebody says what is God like, what we do is we point to Christ. And Jesus' response to the multitude is one of compassion because our God is filled with compassion and mercy. And it's the visible expression of the character of God. So when he's looking at these multitudes in such a terrible need, his pity for them is stirred. So what does this compassion move him to do? Well, Matthew tells us that the compassion of Christ moved him to heal the sick. Mark in chapter 6 verse 34 says, when Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. So by combining Matthew and Mark, we see that compassion moved him to heal the sick and teach them many things. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. And he cared for them in the way a shepherd would. That's because he is the true shepherd. In John 10, 14, it says, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and I am known by my own. He's the good shepherd. And over Israel's history, we've seen a history of false shepherds that had appeared and had done the people great harm. Well, Jesus in contrast is the good shepherd. But God made it clear that he was the true shepherd and that a true shepherd would care for the people. In Ezekiel, an Old Testament book, chapter 34 verse 12, it says, as a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have scattered in the cloudy and dark day. Matthew 2, 6 tells us, you Bethlehem in the land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel. So Jesus was revealing what God is like in the Old Testament. The children of Israel came out, the original Jew, the father of the nation, Abraham, it is said that he was a Syrian, he came from Ur, the Caldees. And his family, the Bible tells us, was a family of idolaters. Abraham's father was an idolater and his family was a family of idolaters, but God took him and brought him out. And when God brought him out, God began to work with him and said all nations would be blessed through him. And the nation of Israel was literally birthed through him. And so over its history, ultimately what God does is God has these people that he's working with in a special way and he brings into their life a man by the name of Moses. Moses comes as the deliverer of the children of Israel who had been in the Egyptian bondage and God uses Moses to draw them out in order to bring them to a land that God had promised to them. As he's there leading them out as the deliverer, God gives to Moses commands. And in the commands that God gives to Moses, most of us are aware of at least the first 10, the 10 commandments that he gives to Moses on Mount Sinai. In the 10 commandments, he gives to him one commandment in particular, you are not to have graven images. God says I am a jealous God, you will have no false gods before me, you shall not have graven images. So what we have is we have a nation that has been birthed by God, that now have the law of God, and though all the nations around Israel are idolaters who will carry around with them little idols that represent their worship and their God, God says you will have the invisible God, you are not to create any images of any sort. So the question has to be, how can the invisible God be manifest to a world that only believes in what it can see and what it can feel? So what God does is they manifest himself through his law, teaching the people of Israel to be righteous. But ultimately what God does as he takes upon himself human form, it's called the incarnation, and he dwells amongst the people. In the dwelling amongst the people, Jesus Christ is saying, you want to know what God is like, this is God. One of his apostles says show us the Father and it's sufficient for us, and Jesus says have I been with you so long a time and yet thou hast not known me Philip, he who has seen me has seen the Father. How sayest thou then show us the Father? Because Jesus was simply saying I have been manifest. God is manifesting in me. Jesus is called the incarnation, God in human flesh. So God in human flesh demonstrates the love of God. Okay, Jesus Christ goes about doing good, but how is that gonna continue? How does that continue through the ages because he was taken buried and he was resurrected, he's ascended into heaven, but how does this good God, this invisible God continue to be manifested to the world when we are not to have idols? And the answer is he dwells within the church and what Jesus wants to do is he wants to inhabit us, the body of Christ in such a way that people will see this invisible God manifest in the fruit of our life. That's why he says that we're to let our good works be known by all men that they may see the Father is doing that work through us. And so Jesus Christ wants to be manifested to this day and he does so through the body of Christ and Jesus Christ is compassionate and thus we are to have the compassion of Christ that comes through the power of the Holy Spirit. And so when he looks and he sees them and sees them in that condition, he wants them to know that he is not distant, that he's not uncaring, but that he's touched by their pain and touched by their needs. And he wants others, he wants us, the body of Christ to continue that work until he returns for us. In Psalm 145, verse 8, it says the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. God is love and Jesus personally and physically revealed God's love to them. In this passage, Jesus is gonna reveal the heart of ministry and the heart of serving God, the heart of ministry is compassion and sacrifice. And by his actions, you will give him a very basic lesson on what it means to be a minister. He's gonna leave the future of the Christian faith in their hands. They have to be trained to be ministers of the kingdom of God. He's gonna be taken from them. They need to learn certain lessons for ministry. So he's gonna teach them that all it takes to reach a multitude is one person with a caring heart. You see, genuine Christian ministry begins with a love for the Lord and a love for people. And you cannot be in love with the idea of ministry. You must truly love those whom you serve. Ministry begins with a love for people, not a love for possessions and positions, not even a love for preaching. Real ministry begins with a concern for other people. I learned a great lesson from somebody who one time told me they love ministry, it's people they hate. But people are our ministry. And so Paul says in Ephesians 5, 1, and 2, be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love. Just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God. God is love. The Bible says, he that loveeth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. And so how can I say that I am a Christian if the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, is not manifested in my life towards other people? If love doesn't flow through me like an old Christian song says, then I am nothing, Jesus reduced me to love. Because that's what the Lord wants for us. And that, by the way, is one of the hardest challenges in our life, is to die to ourself and care for other people. It's one of the hardest things to do, is to die to yourself. And yet that's what Jesus is teaching. And that's ministry 101, if you will. Introduction to ministry. A genuine Christian ministers with a love of God and a love for people. And so this is what he's teaching them. It says again, he was moved with compassion for them and he healed their sick. Well, verse 15 says, when it was evening, his disciples came to him saying, this is a deserted place and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food, send them away. You see, by now Jesus and his men have been active throughout the greater part of the day. Mark 635 says, when the day was now far spent, his disciples came to him and said, this is a deserted place, the hour is late. When you look at the words that are used to describe this situation here, we need to remember that the Jews, during the time of Christ, actually divided evening into two parts. You had the early portion of evening, that was from three o'clock to six. Then you had the later portion of evening, which would have been six o'clock to nine p.m. This particular event has taken place between three and six. So the disciples have been ministering alongside of the Lord for some time and they're tired. They are by this time extremely tired. Now, Jesus sees these multitudes, these sheep, and he sees them as sheep without a shepherd. He sees them as in need of a healing as well as teaching. But his disciples see the multitudes also, but see them differently. For them, these are complicated problems. And they have to make that clear to Jesus. So they inform him that this is a deserted place, the hour is late. In other words, there are too many people, we have inadequate supplies. So this becomes, for them, what is called today a teachable moment. He begins with the obvious. The obvious is ministry requires personal sacrifice because ministry is not an eight to five kind of life. Though Jesus was also tired, the needs were still present, and Jesus came to meet those needs. But the disciples see the challenges as obstacles. Jesus sees them as opportunities. They saw that there are too many people, and they recognize that their supplies are inadequate, and in their fatigue, they begin to give him advice on how to solve the problem. The obvious answer is send them away so they can purchase food. There's an interesting scripture in Romans chapter 11, though, verse 34, where it says, who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has become his counselor? So instead of them receiving lessons from the master, they begin to instruct the master. And it's logical, it's late, we don't have supplies, the stores are gonna close. Send them off so they can purchase supplies for themselves, send them away. Well, this is unacceptable because that's why he came in the first place. He came to seek and to save the lost. He came to care for those in need. Being involved in the process of helping people to know Jesus is really a great thrill, and it's a great joy. I don't think there's anything more exciting or rewarding than that to help people know the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we ought to be just really motivated by. And sometimes people will look at ministry and they think of it in an incorrect fashion. If you say, I called a ministry, people immediately think that you're referring to something like the worship ministry or a teaching ministry. Are you called to ministry? No, I don't feel the hunger for a pulpit necessarily, or I don't know how to play an instrument and I don't sing well. So no, I suppose I'm not called to ministry. I'm just a person who is seated in the pew. Well, that's not what the Lord says. The Lord says he gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry. So every believer has been called in one fashion or another because they've been gifted to serve the Lord. But sometimes what we think is it must be in a pulpit or it must be up there playing an instrument or singing. And that's not the way it is. Yes, thank God for those who have those particular gifts. But the body of Christ is a lot broader than that. Not everybody has a hand, not everybody has a foot, not everybody has an eye or an ear. I mean, God has a variety of gifts within the body of Christ. And what we're to do is just to discover those and to use those gifts in the way that the Lord would have us to use them. And then sometimes what the Lord will do as you're learning to use those gifts as he opens up a door for you to use that gift. And then you eventually discover what your actual calling is in terms of your main gift and how that works. I began in church. My first ministry in church in church was to teach a Bible study. But I also served as an assistant pastor in another Calvary Chapel in the nursery. Marie and I used to serve in the nursery. That's what we did. And I got to know a lot of people who would bring their brats. I mean, their children. And my first assisting pastor that I had here in this church, his name was Dan Renshaw. Dan Renshaw just wrote me yesterday and asked me to come up to Washington. They're dedicating a building because he's a pastor in Cleolum, Washington. And he said, can you come up in July and I'm wanting to dedicate my building. I'd like you to be there. And he just asked me yesterday if I could come up there and be with him. And Dan and I go back 35 plus years. He was my first assistant. But I knew I got to know Dan because I was serving in the nursery with Marie. And he brought his little boy, Adam. And Adam came and Adam was right around the same age as my son, David. Adam was three months older than David. And I would, I used to have a real full beard at that time. And so, so did Dan. And so, Adam, being a little boy, wouldn't go to anybody. He only would go with me because I had glasses and a beard. And so he thought that I was his dad, though his dad's real ugly, I just, but anyway, I was very insulted. But I, so I had to hold Adam. I would hold Adam as a baby. And my David Aaron at that time was a few months old and he would see me holding Adam and he would come up to me and he would grab me and try and get on my lap because he was jealous of Adam. I mean, that's how far back that goes. And as it went back like that, I got to know Dan because I would have to hold Adam until Dan came after church. Then I would hand the baby to Dan and I, and he'd say, how was he? And I'd say, you know, he's fine as long as I'm holding him. Marie can't hold him, but he's fine with me. And that's how I got to know Dan. Eventually Dan was brought onto the church board and then the day came when I resigned my position to plant this church and Dan came to become my first assistant. And so you never know how the Lord works in those kinds of things. My first ministry for church outside of doing Bible studies was I was a chaplain on the softball team. A lot of people don't know this. You don't know that I used to play a lot of softball. When Marie met me, I played on three softball teams. I played on two fast pitch and a slow pitch. I played softball in the army. I played a lot of ball for a long time. I actually was an athlete, believe it or not. And I played a lot of ball for a long time for many years. And my first ministry in church wasn't what you would call real, real spiritual per se. I was a chaplain on a softball team. But you never know what the Lord is going to do once you just say, yes, I will do that. Yes. And with that, he who is faithful in that which is least will also be faithful in that which is much. And when you prove your ministry, God has a way of moving you where he would have you to be. Where is it that God wants you to serve? If you want to be used by God, that's the place to discover your gifts and how they're used. And so the Lord is teaching some very basic things here about serving him. And he wants to teach them what that's all about. You see, people who come to church services, well, others can see them in various ways in a variety of ways. And sometimes when it's crowded, the people can, well, the worst in us can be brought out. I mean, what happens when people are told, could you scoot over? You know, the mad dogging that goes on? It's interesting. People are trippy. Okay, I wasn't planning on saying this, but I will. Because it didn't happen here, so I can. It wasn't that long ago. I was asked to be a guest speaker in another fellowship just recently. And so I was sharing for a service there in the evening. And I brought two of my kids and another couple from our fellowship came to accompany me. And so they actually in the front row, they had put some reserved, reserved signs, right? So that's because I'm gonna go up and down and it's easier to do that. And I didn't wanna come from behind. I wanted to be part of the worship service. And so I was seated in the front. That's where I was. Marie's with me. My boy and my girl are with me. And some dear friends are with me. So they put seats there for us. And as I'm just waiting for the service to begin, I'm just, an older woman comes. And when I say she's older, you know she's older. Because she was older than me. And she came walking by and she's looking like this. And I'm just sitting there. She's looking reserved. And she starts muttering out loud. Reserved. That she does this. Reserved. She's getting real mad. She's coming my way. Finally, she stops right in front of me. Reserved. And she's angry now. What's this reserved? I said, I don't know. I said, I'm not the pastor here. I'm not the pastor here. Reserved. Reserved. I can't believe this. Then she gets quiet for a moment. Here comes a nusher. Can I help you? What's this reserved? And she's carrying on. She's really angry. And I'm just kinda like, you know, just. And so he talks to her. He said, well, this is the pastor's family. And, oh, but we have places, plenty of places for you, ma'am. Okay. Well, he sits her right behind me. And she's, but she's, she's angry the whole way. She's, and she's walking back, still looking reserved. What's this reserved? Reserved like that. And she's like that. I'm just watching her. Then she gets behind me. And she sits right behind me like this. So I'm here. And she's right behind me. And I'm thinking, oh, she doesn't stab me. She's mad. And then worship starts. And all of a sudden her hands are next to my head. Oh, bless you, Jesus. And I think, that did not compute. Did that compute to you? That did not compute. I thought, a minute ago, you wanted to take my head off because I'm sitting here. And now your hands are in my face. And oh, bless you, Jesus. I mean, what's that all about? But see, that's how we are. That's how, that's how we are. That's my seat. There are people in this fellowship who think that when you're sitting right now, that's your seat, right? I've seen it many times over the years. What's he doing sitting in my seat? Can you please move her? I ain't moving anywhere, man, this is my seat. They didn't want to come on time. It's too bad. I'm going to sit here right now. That's what we do. That's what we do. That's what we do. So the Lord says, we're supposed to love one another. That's what we're supposed to do. So anyway, I better get back to the service, right? So they see these people as problems. They can be dealt with later on. But Jesus had said earlier in chapter nine, verses 37 and 38, he said, the harvest truly is plentiful. The laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. So Jesus says, you need to see the need. You need to look at the fields. No, this is what he's going to teach them. One, he's going to expose their inadequacy. He's going to expose their inadequacy. Two, he's going to reveal his adequacy. And three, he's going to teach them that they can work together to see God move. There'll be a unity. They can work together in ministry, inadequacy, adequacy, and unity. He's teaching these very basic things, and we'll see that in just a moment. So they have already given them a logical reason. This is a deserted place. The hour's already late. Send the multitudes away that they may go into the villages by themselves food. They already gave him their reasoning. But he confronts that with the question in verse 16 or the statement. Jesus said to them, they do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. We get a more full picture by combining John and Mark. In John chapter six, verses five through seven, Jesus lifted up his eyes, seeing a great multitude coming toward him. He said to Philip, where shall we buy bread that these may eat? But this he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, 200 denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may have a little. A denarii represents a day's wage. They're saying, he's saying 200 days wages would not be enough to serve everyone even a little bit. So Jesus says, walk through the crowd and see what you can do. You see, Jesus initiated this conversation. He had a plan already formulated and he intended to teach them this kind of lesson. Well, after walking through the crowd, they found a young boy who brought his lunch. In John six, verse eight, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother spoke up. Here's a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish. But how far will they go among so many? This young boy has barely enough to feed himself, let alone this huge multitude. So they're gonna learn something about God and how the Lord works. They're gonna learn that God's adequacy begins at the point of our inadequacy. God allows us to see so that we can see that we cannot meet that need. Joshua and Caleb and the Old Testament go along with the other 10 spies to spy off the land that God has promised to Israel. 10 of those spies come back and say, we cannot take this land for we are like grasshoppers in their sight and we are like grasshoppers in our own sight. But Joshua and Caleb says, give us the land our God is able. The 10 spies who went along with them, all they see are the obstacles. Joshua and Caleb say, we have a great God, we see opportunities. God has a way of showing us what we can't do first so that we will know what we can do with him. And that's how we learn I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. David, who's just a shepherd boy at the time, bring some supplies to his brothers who are on the front lines because there's a giant by the name of Goliath who is challenging the nation of Israel, nine foot nine giant. David is a youth, he's a small boy, ready in complexion, very handsome, but he's probably about five foot six. Goliath is almost twice his height. He's a seasoned warrior from the time he's a youth and yet you have little David there saying, give me opportunity. I'll take him out, why? Because the battle is the Lord's. And one of the things we have to learn is God will give to us obstacles that we cannot overcome, things we cannot do. In the case of these, he's saying you feed them but they took the inventory because they'll allow us to do that. And they come back, there's a youth here, a little guy, he's got some fish and he's got some loaves but there's nothing we can do. How can we do that? Even if I had 200 denarii, 200 days wages, that would not be enough and well I've got as a sack lunch. But God has a way. I'm telling you, some of you have ears to hear. God has a way of taking that first to expose us what we can't do in order that he can show us what we can do with him. You see in matters of faith, it's important to recognize our limitations. We have to come to the end of our resources because at that point we can fall upon our faces before him and say, God, be of help to me. In John 15, verse five, it says, I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit for. Without me, you can do nothing. So he puts us into the place where we understand that. That's true in every aspect of our lives. Without him we can do nothing. God's adequacy is revealed when we realize our inadequacy. In second Corinthians 12, nine and 10, he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong. That's where you learn it. You come to the point where you cannot do anything and then God breaks through and says, with me, all things are possible. That's a ministry principle. Let him who has ears, let him hear. That is a ministry principle. Where you think, oh, I've got it. I'm able, I'm strong. I've got ideas and I'll do it. All I need to do it. I'll go to this seminar. I'll go to this conference. They'll teach me how to do it. God says, no, you can go to somebody else's, but it's like David. When King David was going to go, or he's not King yet, but when David went before Saul and Saul wanted to give David his armor. And there's too large. I mean, Saul was head and shoulders above everybody. David wasn't that large to put on Saul's armor to fight and Saul's armor wasn't gonna work. Said, no, I'll just go with what I have. Five smooth stones and a sling. That's what I'll do. I'll use the tools God gave me, the things that I can do. And that's how it works. That's how it works. What is it that God gave to you? That's what you use. Not somebody else's armor, but what God gave to you. But the first thing he does is he shows you, you can't do it. It's not possible. Lord, I'm but a youth. I don't know how to speak. I don't have any, I don't even know how to go in and come out on my own. Jeremiah is called by God. And Jeremiah says, I can't speak. Moses is called by God. He says, I don't have a mouth. I'm not able to communicate. Who made your mouth, God says to him? Who made your mouth? What do you mean you can't? With me, all things are possible. And I'll show you that. That's ministry. That's ministry. What is it that God is calling you to do? And you're arguing with him and saying, I can't do that. And he said, no, you can't. But with me, you can't. So the first thing he does is he shows you his, you're inadequacy, then he exposes you to his adequacy. He is able. That's why Jesus says in verse 18, bring them to me. He helps them to see that though they're not able with God, all things are possible. They didn't have the resources to meet these needs, but God makes it possible to do so. Like it says in Zechariah 4-6, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, sayeth the Lord of hosts. Philippians 4-19, my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Ephesians 3, 20 and 21, to him who was able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think. According to the power that works in us to him, be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen, he's able to do it. One, he shows you you can't. Two, he shows you he can't. That's how it works in ministry. What's he do? Verse 19, he commands the multitudes to sit down on the grass and he takes these five loaves and the two fish looking up to heaven. He blessed and broke and gave the loaves of the disciples and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So he gives organization. Jesus had them seated in order that there would be organization. It reduces chaos. Any disorder in Mark, he tells us in chapter six verses 39 and 40 that Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups in hundreds and fifties. There was organization there. And then he looks up to heaven. He looks up to heaven and gives thanks. He breaks it and gives the loaves to the disciples. He looks up to heaven and gives thanks denoting where the miracle originates. He gives to the disciples so they will partake with him in the work. And then the disciples gave to others because they were learning how to serve God in a practical way. And so according to verse 20, they all ate and were filled. They took up 12 baskets full of fragments that remained. Those who had eaten were about 5,000 men besides women and children. It's to serve as a reminder as they take up these 12 baskets. A reminder as well as providing provision later for the apostles. They were concerned that there wasn't enough but Jesus taught them with him there's always enough as a matter of fact there's an abundance. Over 5,000 men besides women and children. What did we learn? Well, one, we learned that Jesus is sufficient for every need, for every person who's hungry for him. In John 6.35, Jesus said, I'm the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry. He who believes in me will never be thirsty. Two, they had as much as they wanted. As the psalmist said in Psalm 23, verse 5, my cup overflows. And then third, they took up 12 baskets full of fragments and fish. Don't take God's blessings for granted. They carried the food with them in a kosher basket as a reminder of what God had done. Final question. What would have happened if the young boy refused to give up his meal? It was my sack lunch. Mama made it for me, tuna sandwiches. Why would I give it to you? Well, it reveals once again that the Lord wants to reach multitudes. And he begins with one person. He began with a little boy who was moved in such a way as to give up a meal so that thousands could be cared for. A principle of ministry. A principle of ministry. In Proverbs 11, 25, the generous soul will be made rich. He who waters will also be watered himself. Jesus in Luke 6, 38 said, give and it will be given to you. Good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over will be put into your bosom. For the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. This little boy gave up something that mattered to him his lunch and discovered the power of God to take the little that we give to him and multiply it to do great things. That's what the Lord would have us to learn. It only takes one person for multitudes to be cared for. Only takes one in the hands of God and God can reach multitudes with that.