Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Jesus takes the inconsequential. Jesus takes the ordinary, which other people may overlook. and makes them significant. and sufficient.
And extraordinary why? Because God is a god of the impossible. Yeah. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. As we continue our series on encountering Jesus, we'll be looking closely at some of the most famous miracles in the Bible.
Did Jesus really heal the sick? Make a blind man see? If these accounts are true, and they are, What does that mean for you and me?
Well, let's join Pastor John Monroe as he discusses the powerful implications in his message titled, Facing the Impossible. We're looking at incidents in the life of Jesus where he encounters different people and situations. One thing is clear. If you have a personal encounter with Jesus, you're never the same again. That could be scary until we realize that Jesus loves us.
He always has our best interests at heart. And he comes to help us, to save us, and to reconcile us with God. The message today is called Facing the impossible. Here is the very familiar story of Jesus. Feeding the multitude of 5,000 people.
This is one of the dramatic miracles performed by our Lord Jesus. It demonstrates that he is no ordinary man or even a great prophet or great teacher. He is God incarnate. We're going to see that with Jesus, we can face the impossible. The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand.
is one of the best known and the most public of all of the miracles in the Gospels. Other than the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle mentioned in all four of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark. Look. And John. Although the miracle is generally known as the feeding of five thousand, the number fed was at least twice that amount.
There were five thousand men, but if women and children are included, obviously the figure would be much higher. Thousands of people are fed from a boy's Five loaves, and two small Fish. Perhaps the greater miracle was that the little boy hadn't eaten his lunch before. Let me ask you. Do you believe in miracles?
Do you believe that this miracle literally happened.
Some commentators, including Willie Barkley, say that we're not to take this story literally. What happened, Barkley says, was a little boy. In an act of generosity, he started sharing his lunch with others, and soon the adults, put to shame by the little boy's generosity, caught on and everyone began sharing what they had, and everyone then was fed. And the point of the story then, according to Willie Barclay, is that we are to share our resources with others.
Now, we're certainly to share our resources with others. But what's the problem with that explanation? No mere man, however powerful, however charismatic, however insightful in his teaching, can feed thousands. From one boy's Little sack lunch. No, who is this who feeds thousands from only two small fish and five loaves.
Who is this person? John is writing his gospel to tell us. who Jesus is. He is no mere man. He's not just some kind of rabbi with some new nuance of teaching.
No, he is the Christ. He is the Son of God. He is the Savior of the world. And John is writing. His gospel to demonstrate with these wonderful signs that Jesus is none other.
than God In the flesh. The word The coming flash. And dwelling among us. He is the Lord. Of the universe, and the Lord of the universe, the creator of all things, has no problem in taking five loaves and two fish.
and feeding. thousands. How does God work? In our lives, I ask again, do you believe in miracles? Are you ready for a miracle?
To open your heart and your life. To God's truth, to God's leading. To the word of God, to the will of God, truly to surrender everything to Him. This morning I want. us to learn something about divine mathematics.
Mathematics wasn't my favorite subject at school. I'm sure it's some of your favorite subjects, possibly not. But we want to learn about divine mathematics, particularly divine multiplication.
Now we've seen. this scene in John six enacted, but let us read it together. Let's open our Bibles. to the fourth gospel Last week we studied in John 5 and saw the healing of a man who was paralyzed for 38 years.
Now we're going to read of this wonderful miracle. One of the other signs which John presents. to demonstrate who Jesus is. John six then Verse one. After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias And a great multitude was following him.
because they were seeing the signs which he was performing on those who were sick. And Jesus went up on a mountain and there he sat with his disciples. At the Passover, the Feast of the Jews. was at hand. Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread that these may eat?
And this he was saying to test them. for he himself knew what he was intending to do, Philip answered him, Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them for everyone to receive a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, There's a lad here who has five barley loaves and two. Two fish. But What are these?
For so many people Jesus said, Have the people sit down.
Now there's much grass in the place, so the people sat down in number about five thousand. Jesus therefore took the loaves. and having given thanks, he distributed to those who were seated Likewise also of the fish. as much as they wanted And when they were filled, he said to his disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost. And so they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
When therefore the people saw the sign which he had performed, they said, This is of a truth the prophet who is to come into the world. Jesus, therefore, perceiving that they were intending to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again. to the mountain. By himself. Alone.
Sorry, we wanna learn this morning. that in his hands The least. is much. A little plus Jesus equals much. Much minus Jesus equals Nothing.
Divine mathematics. Humanly speaking, feeding this multitude was an utter impossibility. Jesus asks Philip, who is from nearby Bethesda, Where are we to buy bread that these may eat? Verse 5. Jesus knew what he was going to do, obviously, but he wanted to test Philip.
Philip was a bit of a bean counter. And he makes a quick calculation. Two hundred denarii, I think, Lord, wouldn't be enough. To buy the bread for this multitude.
Now, in those days, a man was paid one silver coin, one denarius for a day's work.
So, Philip. Giving a quick estimate of the crowd there says, Well, even if we had. The wages of one man for six or seven months, it still wouldn't be enough to buy bread to feed this. Multitude. With all of his quick calculations, Philip.
can solve the problem. Then Andrew As he does so often in the Gospels, he brings to Jesus someone, this time it's a little boy. The little boy, as I say surprisingly, still hasn't eaten his lunch. Five barley loaves, more like biscuits or scrans, two fish, probably salted or pickled, and there it was. The little boy's lunch, that small lunch, only demonstrated the utter impossibility of the situation.
The small lunch of one boy when you have thousands of people clearly is woefully inadequate to feed Everyone. Jesus takes the five loaves. and the two fish. Wouldn't have been wonderful to have been there. gets the people to sit down Give thanks.
Notice his thankful heart. distributes the loaves and the fish to those who are seated through the disciples. From five loaves and two fish. He feeds thousands. In his hands.
The least. is much. The tiniest thing to him you may bring. Blessed by his touch. The least.
as much. Nothing. Nothing is too difficult for the Lord. Do you believe that with God all things are possible? Do you really believe in miracles?
Don't you agree that sometimes we live our life, make our decisions, plan our futures, have church meetings trying to resolve our problems in life as if we were atheists? Oh, we say we're not atheists, we are believers in God, but isn't it true that the way we live? is often a denial of what we say we believe. We understand the atheist living life purely on the material level. He doesn't believe in God, he doesn't believe in faith.
But we say we believe in a God who can do all things.
So often. But like at least I'm like These disciples approaching problems, approaching life, difficulties and challenges, and setbacks in life on a purely human level. Brother, sister, how are you approaching? that huge problem which has blown into your life. How are you dealing with that fierce, resentless temptation in your life?
You may be against a brick wall. You may be facing a seemingly impossible situation, but could it be that you, like the disciples, have forgotten? the living Lord. If you do your calculations, is it purely on the horizontal level? As you decide The faith promise Let me ask you, is Jesus part of the mathematics Is Jesus part of the calculation.
Is the amount you promise truly an act of faith? We have called it a faith. Promise. It is an act of faith, an act of worship. Or are we like Philip doing our calculations and leaving Jesus out of the equation?
Place all you have. in his hands. and trust him completely. to do the rest. in his hands.
The least is much. The tiniest thing. The tiniest of resources the most faltering of faith in his hands The least. Yeah. What did we learn from this little boy?
Give all you have. to Jesus. Don't you admire this little boy? Imagine him as an old man, as a grandfather. With his grandchildren on his knee.
telling him of that day Perhaps when he was only eight years old. nine years old. He'd gone to hear Jesus. Possibly with his parents. With his little lunch.
And is taken by Jesus. And in conversation with one of the disciples, as he hears the fact that There is no lunch for everyone. He goes to one of the disciples and says, Well, here's my lunch. Couldn't it be used? The little boy gave everything that he had To Jesus.
Now, you could have understood if he had eaten one or two of these loaves by himself. in half of a fish. But no, everything he had is presented to Jesus. It was small, it was insignificant, it was very, very ordinary. But the point is, he put it in the hands of Jesus.
He gave what he had to Jesus and thousands were blessed. Among all of the people there, surely others must have brought some lunch. Surely one little boy out of thousands couldn't have been the only boy who had the foresight to bring his lunch with him when he was going out for the day. What about the others? Had they eaten it?
Had they kept it to themselves? But this little boy's lunch is given to Jesus.
Now I ask you, did Jesus need the lunch of the little boy? Did he need it? Of course he didn't. He's the Creator God. He can create everything from nothing.
But this is how God works, isn't it? Have you noticed that? He graciously receives what we give. He doesn't need it in the first place. Do you think God needs your offering today?
Do you think God needs your service? Do you think God needs you to further His kingdom? On this earth Of course not. God can do everything. By himself.
He is the self-existent God. But God not only is a great God, God is a gracious God, and God works through us. Isn't that very humbling? He doesn't need to, but he chooses to. And he graciously receives what this little boy.
gave. He broke it. He multiplied it. performed a miracle. and thousands.
Thousands are blessed. I was very struck. in seeing that movie and reading the text. That Jesus gave thanks to God. for five barley loaves and two fish.
Incidentally, do you give thanks for your food? Do you give thanks for a simple mail? You take it for granted Jesus didn't. Jesus thanked his Father and His God. He took that.
He didn't despise the little boy's lunch. He thanked God for it. He blessed it. He broke it. He used it to perform a miracle.
Blessed by the master's hand, the least. as much. What is the principle? It's an obvious one, but one that we need to learn: that Jesus uses our small resources. Our small talents when we give all.
All we have to him. We sang, I surrender all, not fifty percent. Or 60%, or even 95%, but surrender all. The boy gave everything he had into the hands of Jesus. Isn't that encouraging for us?
No person is too little for God. No child. It's too small, too young. for God to use. No offering.
The smallest offering given today. The smallest amount written on that faith promise card. No offering, no resource, no ministry. It is too inconsequential. for Jesus to use.
You can never be too small. You can never be too insignificant for our great God to use. God specializes in that, doing extraordinary things through ordinary people like little boys with the little sack lunch. Who does God use to bring down the giant Goliath? Saul, who's head and shoulders above everyone?
The mighty warriors? No, he uses a shepherd boy. And what does he use? Slingshot. One stone.
directed by God, right? in the right spot and the giant falls. Here is a widow at the time of Elisha. No resources other than A little Jar of oil. And it's poured out.
and it is poured out. and it is poured out. Sorapta. that she has so much oil. that it pays all of our debts.
and more. Who does God use to tell a proud Syrian general who has got leprosy about the divine cure. Who does he use? A little Girl. In the Gospels, who does Jesus say gives more than everyone else when it came to the offering?
Who was that person? A widow, we don't even know her name. who just coming to the treasury when the rich were given much as well they should. And this widow comes. and puts in two small coins, Jesus said more than everyone.
Why? Because it was all she had in his hands the least as much. She could have argued, here is this tremendous temple with its gold. Don, they don't need my little money. I have to survive.
But she gave all She had in an act of worship, and Jesus says, that woman gave more than anyone else. Elizabeth Eliot writes, if the only thing you have to offer is a broken heart, you offer a broken heart.
So in a time of grief, the recognition that this is material for sacrifice has been a very great strength for me. Realizing that nothing I have, nothing I am, will be refused on the part of Christ, I simply give it to him as the little boy gave Jesus his five loaves and two fish, with the same feeling of the disciples when they said, What is the good of that for such a crowd? Naturally, in almost anything I offer to Christ, my reaction would be: what is the good of that? The point is. The use he makes of it is none of my business.
It is his business. It is his blessing.
So this grief, this loss, this suffering, this pain, whatever it is, which at the moment is God's means of testing my faith and bringing me to a recognition of who He is, that is a thing I can offer. You ever think of it like that? A broken heart being offered to God. Do what the boy did. Give all.
You have. to Jesus. Place it in the Master's hand and trust him completely for the rest. He receives what we give. multiplies it and uses it.
Place all you have. in his hands. Can I speak to our children? I speak to our teens. You say, I don't know much money.
I don't know how much allowance you get. I'm sure it's much more than I got when I was your age. Give what you have. to Jesus in an act of worship. This little boy gives all of his lunch to Jesus, and a miracle takes place.
because significance is not determined by the amount that we have, but by what we do. With what? We have And Jesus takes the insignificant. Jesus takes the inconsequential. Jesus takes the ordinary, which other people may overlook.
and make them significant. and sufficient. And extraordinary. Why? Because God is a god of the impossible.
So often, if you're like me, you see that which is small and that which is insignificant, you see the five loaves and the two fish, and you say, oh, what can God do with this? And we fail to see the greatness of the power of God. Paul, the great apostle, learned this lesson. He said, I have understood this: that God's power. is perfected in human weakness.
For when I'm weak, When I'm weak. Then I'm strong. You're feeling weak, you're feeling inadequate, you're feeling poor, you're feeling that you have really nothing to give. I point you not to your resources. Not to your great talents.
I point you to a great God, a God who can do all things, who asks you to trust Him with everything that you have, your resources, your talents, your future, to place it all in His hands. because in his hands the least. as much. Do you say, what will happen, John, when I place all I have to Jesus? When I truly surrender everything that I am to Jesus, what will happen?
This I guarantee, divine blessing always follows obedience.
Now this multitude were looking for physical blessings rather than the spiritual. Verse twenty six we read, Jesus answered and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, He's talking to the crowd, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. The crowd is pursuing material and physical blessing rather than spiritual, but the multitude did obey Jesus. The Lord's abundant blessing Follows. obedience.
If you hold on to your loaves and fishes, you will miss. The blessing. You see, it's not the amount that you give, it's what you do with what you have. In faith. Place all you have in the hands of the Lord Jesus.
This is. a step of faith and trust him completely to do the rest. Blessed by his touch. The least. is much, and what surprising miracles God has in store for us.
When we say, Lord, Here are my loaves. and fishes. Break on. Multiply them. And use them.
This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. and the beginning of a message titled Facing the Impossible. This message is part of our series on encountering Jesus. John'll be back in just a moment with his closing remarks. As we continue this series, we've been talking about building a strong and authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.
But when life gets tough and we find ourselves navigating difficult situations, we can sometimes be tempted to lean on ourselves or resources rather than following Jesus. But as we were reminded today, Our strength and provision are found in God alone, and we should see things differently. To help encourage and equip you to have a God-centered perspective no matter the circumstances, John has written a wonderful personal guidebook called Trusting God in Tough Times. We'd love to send you a copy completely free as our gift to you. To receive a copy of Trusting God in Tough Times, just go to our website at theverdict.org.
Here at the Verdict, our work is to share the truth of God's Word and the good news of Jesus Christ with as many listeners as we can. And you can support this gospel work today. with a financial gift of any amount. To give right now, visit theverdict.org. And then, as we close, we invite you to join us in person for Sunday worship at Calvary Church, home of the verdict.
were located at the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road in South Charlotte. To plan your visit to Calvary and to find helpful directions and details, just visit our website at theverdict.org. And now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Are you facing any impossible situations in your life? Perhaps the answer to your problems lies in your own hands. Perhaps like the little boys' lunch. You need to hand it.
Over to Jesus. I love The arithmetic of Jesus Divine multiplication. Nothing is impossible with God. There's no need to fear. There's no need to panic.
Join me next time as we continue encountering Jesus and see what it is to walk on water. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mm.
