For example:
• God used the beauty of Esther to save His people from the evil plans of Haman who wanted to destroy them.
• God used the sling of David to save His people from the Philistine giant named Goliath.
• God used the jawbone of ass for Samson to kill his enemies.
• In Numbers 22:28 God even caused a donkey to speak to rebellious Balaam.
Through the ages God has used:
• Floods to achieve His goals.
• Strong winds to achieve His goals
.
• A Burning bush to achieve His goals.
But in our text, we find that God used a SMALL LAD.
WHEN DID GOD USE A LAD TO ACHIEVE HIS GOAL?
It was when the multitudes were following the Lord because of the miracles He had performed on the sick.
Lunch time was approaching, and there was no food to feed the multitude.
It was in this setting that the Lord asked the disciples what could be done about feeding the multitude.
Now the Lord is not in the habit of asking us for advice, because he does not need any advice…HE IS OMNISIENT, HE KNOWS EVERYTHING SO WHY SHOULD HE ASK FOR ADVICE!!!
But so often I find myself giving God my advice.
Sometime I tell Him how to answer my prayers.
Illus: One day an old man wanted to give God some of his advice. He did this by writing a letter to God and tied the letter to a tree outside a church.
The priest came and took down the letter. It read "Please God, I'm a poor man, please send me $100,000 so I can pay my debts and live peacefully".
Being a kind priest, he took donations around town for the old man and raised $5,000. He put it in an envelope and wrote on it "From God" and left it next to the tree when he saw the old man come visit again.
The next day, the old man came back and tied another letter to the tree.
The priest then came and took down the letter and read it excitedly. "Dear God, thank you for sending me the money. Next time, please send it to me directly as the priest can't be trusted, can you believe he took $95,000 of the money!"
I guess we are all guilty of giving God Advice in how to do this and how to do that!
But God is Omniscient and He does not need any of our advice since He knows everything.
But there are those who feel God does not know everything!!!
Illus: Jesse Duplantis one of these wacko preachers on television claim he has been to heaven many times.
He said on one occasion the Lord told Him he had a problem and did not know what to do, so he asked Jesse what he should do? (This is not a joke, he seriously said the Lord had a problem and wanted him to tell him what to do with this problem)
And if it was not so ridiculous to think of God who created everything, would ask THIS ARROGANT FALSE PROPHET what he should do about a problem he does not know what to do…it would be funny!!!
Jesse does not know the God of the Bible; if he did, he would know GOD IS OMNISCIENT AND HE KNOWS EVERYTHING.
GOD IS SELF-SUFFICENT, HE DOES NOT NEED US, WE NEED HIM!!!
The Lord does not need our advice on any situation whatsoever!
HOWEVER, now the Lord did ask these disciples what He should do in feeding the five thousand for a reason.
But He did not ask because He did not know what to do; He asked to see what they would say.
Look at John 6:6 and this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
It was a test, and they flunked it BIG TIME!!!
Andrew said, in John 6:9, “THERE IS A LAD HERE….”
God used this lad with his five barley loaves, and two small fishes to accomplish His goal.
The lessons of this lad are many.
For example:
(1)One of the things that we are taught is this, “Little is much when God is in it!”
When you are surrounded around five thousand hungry people, five barley loaves and two small fishes are not going to go very far.
But we serve a….
(2) God can use anyone or anything to accomplish his will.
Let’s look at this story of this young lad to see how God can use us to make a difference in the lives of others.
We first need to look at-
I. THE LAD
The Bible says in verse 6, “There is a lad here…”
Someone might be saying, “So what?”
There were probably a lot of young boys there. And there probably were, but the Bible distinguishes him from all the rest.
Illus: Pastor David Washbum said this about the lad of the feeding of five thousand.
He said, “I’ve often wondered what it must’ve been like to be that little boy?
When he got up that morning, he was probably planning to spend the day fishing or playing with his friends. As he’s on his way out the door, his mother hollers to him:
• “Did you pack a lunch?”
• “Aaawww, Mom.”
• “Get back in here right now, young man. You know you can’t be out all day and not have anything with you to eat.
• You just sit right there while I make you some lunch.”
She pulls out the little lunch basket and prepares him a lunch of five barley loaves and two small fishes.
Now, these loaves of bread were not your top of the line sour dough loaves of bread. They were barley loaves, which was the cheapest of all breads; and his fish wasn’t salmon or tuna, it was most likely pickled sardines.
This kid leaves the house muttering to himself, because all his friends are going to make fun of him when they see that his mother made him bring his lunch.
On his way to meet his buddies, he sees this large crowd gathering, and he asks,
• “What’s going on?”
• “See that guy up there?
That’s Jesus of Nazareth. He is an incredible teacher, and he can heal people. We all want to hear him preach and see him heal people.”
Intrigued, the young boy forgets about meeting up with his friends, and he begins to listen to Jesus preach. He becomes enthralled with his teachings about the kingdom of God and love and forgiveness, and he can hardly contain himself as Jesus makes the blind see and enables the lame to walk. He ends up spending the whole day listening to Jesus, and when Jesus retreats, he joins the crowd and follows him.
It’s getting late in the day, and as they stand in a large group in front of Jesus, the disciples start walking through the crowd.
• The boy feels a tug on his arm and turns around to hear Andrew ask him, “What is it that you have there?”
• “Oh, nothing.”
• “Come here, let me see,”
• After looking inside, he says, “Come with me.”
• The little boy can hardly contain himself as he walks with Andrew to the very front of the crowd where Jesus is sitting. He’s excited yet shy as Andrew says, “Jesus, this young boy has 5 barley loaves and two fish.”
• The boy watches in amazement as Jesus takes his lunch and turns it into lunch for 5,000 people. He can hardly wait to get home and tell his mother what happened.”
• Humor: I wonder what this mom said when he told her this true story. He might have gotten a spanking because she thought he was telling a WHOPPER!!!
We are not told how old this lad was, and we do not know how long he lived.
But until he died, I am sure this lad never forgot what happened when the Lord took his lunch and fed 5000 people.
We often talking about this miracle, but it was more than a miracle, it was a DOUBLE MIRACLE.
This lad goes down into Bible History because He was willing to give WHAT LITTLE HE HAD to the Lord.
This was a LAD that God could use to make a difference in the lives of others.
HOW DID GOD USE HIM?
Look at John 6:1-9. We read, “After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”
When the feeding of the multitude occurred, we see two kinds of faith in operation.
(1) PESSIMISTIC FAITH
Notice, when the Lord saw the multitudes following Him he asked a question.
Look at verse 5, we read, “…Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”
Philip was blown out of the saddle when the Lord asked Him this question.
I mean he couldn’t say, “Lord, if you authorize it, give me the money and I will take a few men, and we will skip across the hill to McDonald’s, and we will bring back a wagon load of Big Macs.”
Philip had no such solution.
He more or less said, “I don’t know what we are going to do.”
Does that sound like someone you know or perhaps yourself!!!
Look what he said in verse 7. We read, “Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.”
This figure that Philip used, two hundred pennyworth, might have been how much they had in the treasury, or it could have been a figure that he pulled out of the air.
• The pessimistic faith that Philip possessed, was one that placed confidence in MONEY instead of in the SAVIOR.
It is essential that we learn that MONEY IS NOT THE SAVIOR, JESUS IS THE SAVIOR!
• The pessimistic faith that Philip had, always made the problem bigger than the Savior.
• Listen; when you have a problem bigger than the God you serve YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!!!
If you want to see a church operate in defeat, all you have to do is place people like Philip in the leadership positions of the church, and you will never see the hand of God move.
Why?
Phillip was telling the truth, HE DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO? HE DID NOT HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA WHAT TO DO!!!
You can learn how spiritual a person by listening to them talk.
Illus: Newsmax television had a twelve year old girl that was in the flood in Texas in a Christian camp and survived. She wrote a song about the flood and how God took care of her.
After she sang a song about the flood that she was in and they started talking to this twelve year old girl and the things she said you could tell she KNEW THE LORD IN A VERY PERSONAL WAY.
Ainsley Earhart asked her how you became such a wonderful Christian. And she stated she has been raised in a church that taught her about Jesus.
She could have taken the opportunity to exalt herself but she had the attitude of John the Baptist who said, I MUST DECREASE AND HE MUST INCREASE!!!
I wish every Sunday teacher could have heard her. She went to a church that did not play games during Sunday school; she went to a church that taught her about Jesus!
You could have placed a 12 year old girl that does not know the Lord as her Savior beside her and it would all be about herself.
You can learn a lot about people spiritually if you listen to them talk.
• Again, if you want to see a church suffer defeat put people like Philip in leadership. People like him do not know what to do then that means not anything will be done!!!
Their solution is always ABOUT MONEY!!!
This is what popped in his head when he was asked the question about feeding the five thousands.
Philip was asked what they should do and he was pessimistic…I IMAGINE HE SCRATCHES HIS HEAD AND SAID…I DON’T HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA!!!
We looked at a PESSIMISTIC FAITH, but let us also look at -
(2) POSITIVE FAITH
Philip had a PESSIMISTIC FAITH, but Andrew had more of a POSITIVE FAITH.
Notice the difference between him and Andrew.
The question was, “…Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
Philip did not know what to do about the situation. Andrew was dumbfounded also, but he did allude to something.
Look at verse 9. Andrew said, “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”
• He suggested something, “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes.”
• But before anyone laughs, he asks a question, he said, “…But what are they among so many?”
Listen, the Lord asked the question to test them and they both should have said:
Lord that is no problem with you….
• We have seen you heal the blind
• We have seen you make the cripple to walk
• We have seen you cure the sick
• We have seen you cast out devils
• We have seen you raise the dead
We have seen you do the IMPOSSIBLE OVER AND OVER! To feed five thousand people is not problem for you!!!
Andrew at least tried to solve the problem. You at least have to give him credit for that!
But when it was all over with, he ended up asking a question and did not have the answer.
But notice the difference between Philip and Andrew:
• Philip’s response to the question had to do with money.
• Andrew’s response had to do with a Lad.
IS THAT SIGNIFICANT?
Yes, it is very significant.
Now the Lord is not pacing the floor trying to figure out what to do. THE BIBLE TELLS US HE KNEW WHAT HE WOULD DO BUT BE WAS TESTING THEM.
He asked the question to TEST THEM TO SEE WHAT THEY WOULD SAY.
HE DOES NOT NEED US TO TELL Him what to do, He is OMINISCIENT, He knows everything!!!
So, two of Jesus’ top guys, when tested they made a big “f” on this test.
He wanted to show them what the Son of the Creator can do, without money, and with five barley loaves and two tiny fishes can feed five thousand people.
• There are times when God uses MONEY, but most of the time God uses PEOPLE.
• That is, God can use a POOR MAN as well as He can use a RICH MAN.
The Lord asked the question, but we read in verse 6, “…For he himself knew what he would do.”
WHAT WAS HE GOING TO DO?
• He was going to teach them that LITTLE IS MUCH WHEN GOD IS IN IT.
• He was going to teach them that GOD can use ANYONE or ANYTHING!
Notice something else, this LAD’S NAME is not mentioned.
WHY ISN’T THE LAD’S NAME MENTIONED?
He simply says, “There is a lad here…” You see his name is not important.
What is important here is that God can take a NOBODY, that does not have any name recognition, and use them for His Glory.
WE KNOW THIS ABOUT THE LAD.
He was willing to give what he had unto the Lord.
Illus: The Lad could have said, “I know we have a serious problem here, all of these people are going to starve unless they are fed! But that is their problem. I am a good Boy Scout and I came prepared. I have my five barley loaves and two small fishes to eat.”
But nowhere in the scriptures do we see where he had this selfish attitude. He was willing to sacrifice what LITTLE he had and place it in the hands of the Lord, so that the Lord could take it and multiply it to feed others.
• At this point the boy is not important.
• What he had in his hand was not sufficient to meet the needs of others.
• What is important is not THE BOYS HANDS BUT THE LORD’S HAND.
• When I hold a basketball in my hands, it’s merely a basketball, but when you place that same basketball in the hands of Michael Jordan, it turns into collegiate and professional championships.
• Put a golf club in any of our hands, and it’s merely a golf club, but when you place that same golf club in the hands of Tiger Woods, it turns him into the best golfer in the world.
• A paintbrush in my hands might result in a pretty good picture if it’s paint by numbers, but when a paintbrush was placed in the hands of Michael Angelo, it turned into incredible works of art.
• A gun placed in the hands of a hunter is a tool used for sport or obtaining food, but when placed in the hands of a terrorist, that same gun becomes a weapon of destruction.
How is it that the same instruments and the same tools can bring about such differing degrees of results?
Quite simply, it depends upon whose hands they are in!!!
Sometimes you hear Christians say:
• If I could sing like Johnny Mathis, I would sing for the Lord every time I got a chance. (Listen, if you want use the voice God gave you how could he trust you with a voice like Johnny Mathis)
• If I could win that ten million dollar Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes, I will give most of it to the Lord. (Listen, if you want use the money he has given you, how could He trust you with a 10 million dollar sweepstake)
Listen, do not concern yourself with WHAT YOU DO NOT HAVE, God wants you to concern yourself with WHAT YOU DO HAVE!
The main thing in this passage is not the Lad, there were plenty of them around there, but this is one that had five barley loaves and two small fishes, and he was willing to give what he had unto the Lord. If he was not willing we would not be reading about him today!
One of the problems every church has is the need for people to be willing.
Let me repeat this, I don’t think you heard me. One of the problems many churches have is the need for people to be willing.
• A factory cannot operate without workers
• A school cannot operate without teachers
• A church cannot operate without workers.
Today in many churches you work your way through the congregation saying “We need for someone in the congregation to do this or that”. And then comes that familiar reply “No pastor, I do not have time.”
Well they would have the time if they did not let the devil fill their life with the things he wants them to do!
Don’t these people:
• Recognize Jesus sees and hear them saying NO TO HIM. (Can you imagine someone saying no to him, if he personally, physically asked them?)
• Recognize when they get to heaven they will have no eternal rewards.
God used this LAD because he was willing to take what he had and put it in the hands of the Lord Jesus.
Illus: I can tell you when he gets to heaven he is going to be so glad he was willing!!!
We looked at THE LAD, but now let us look at-
II. THE LUNCH
The Bible tells us what he had in his basket.
Look at verse 9, we read, “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes….”
Notice, the wisdom of God’s Word. God said there were two small fishes.
WHY DID THE LORD SPECIFY THAT THERE WERE TWO SMALL FISHES?
Because God knows how evil men are always trying to explain away the miracles of God.
For example, if God had not specified that these were TWO SMALL FISHES, there would be some who would say, “This is no miracle, these two fish were whales that had washed up on shore. They were so big; the Lord could have easily fed the multitude.”
The ungodly have always tried to explain away the miracles of the Bible.
Illus: Makes me think of an alcoholic who became a believer, was asked how he could possibly believe all the nonsense in the Bible about miracles.
• "You don't believe that Jesus changed the water into wine do you?"
• "I sure do, because in our house Jesus changed the whiskey into furniture."
(R. Stedman, Authentic Christianity, p. 36.)
God wanted us to know that these were TWO SMALL FISHES. Now it does not matter if he had only two small worms in that basket, it is not what was in there that was important.
The reason the Lord specified what was in his basket, was to show us that He can take whatever we have in our basket, and use it for His glory.
• WITHOUT THE TOUCH OF THE LORD JESUS, the five loaves and two fishes would have been inadequate.
• WITH THE TOUCH OF THE LORD on these five loaves and two small fishes, they were more than adequate.
The Lord took those five loaves and two fishes and fed 5,000 hungry people.
But actually He performed a double miracle.
Let me explain. Not only did he multiply this lad’s lunch to feed the multitude, but the remains left over were more than what the lad had to start with.
Look at verses 11-13. We read. “And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.”
WHO THE LAD IS and WHAT HE HAD IN THE BASKET are not important.
What is important is the touch of the Lord on WHO HE IS!
Whoever we are, and whatever God has placed in our hands is made adequate through the touch of the hand of God.
We looked at:
I.THE LAD,
II.THE LUNCH,
But now let us look at-
III. THE LORD
We need to look at THREE things in this passage about the Lord Jesus.
(1) HE WAS A WILLING SAVIOR
That is, He was not willing to overlook the physical needs of the multitude.
Illus: He could have easily said:
• “These people ought to have known better than to come this far without a lunch. Even this Lad here had better sense than that.”
• He could have said, “I know why they are following me, they are following me for the wrong reasons, if they starve that is their problem!”
But instead of having an attitude like this, the Lord was conscious of their physical needs.
Aren’t glad the Lord loves DUMB people as well as SMART people!
No one came and brought this problem to His attention, He is the one who brought it to their attention.
Look at John 6:1-5. We read, “After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?”
(1)HE WAS A WILLING SAVIOR.
That is, He was not willing to overlook their physical needs; He was willing to deal with it.
Some churches are willing to overlook the Physical needs of people they say they are only concern with the SPIRITUAL NEEDS of mankind.
He was a WILLING SAVIOR concern about the PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF MANKIND!!!
(2) HE WAS A WORKING SAVIOR
Look at verse 6, we read, “….For he himself knew what he would do.”
• That is, He knew He was going to do something.
• Philip and Peter did not know what to do, but He knew what He was going to do.
Conclusion:
Look at John 6:10-13. We read, “And Jesus said, make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.”
LITTLE IS MUCH WHEN GOD IS IN IT!
Who we are and what we have is not important. What is important is this, ARE YOU WILLING TO GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE TO THE LORD TO FEED THE SPIRITUALLY STARVING WORLD?
The Lord was concerned about the PHYSICALLY HUNGRY, but He is equally, if not more concerned about the SPIRITUALLY HUNGRY.
WILL YOU BECOME THE LAD THAT GOD CAN USE TO FEED THEM?
I. THE LAD
II. THE LUNCH
III. THE LORD
Song - We’ll work till Jesus comes
