[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to Expound, our
verse-by-verse study of God's word. Our goal is to expand your
knowledge of the truth of God by explaining the word of God
in a way that is interactive, enjoyable, and congregational. Father, thank you for
this group of people. That's my prayer. I'm so thankful that I look
out and see familiar faces of those who through the
years, Lord, have grown. And we have experienced
things together, and that love is deep. Your faithfulness is what
binds us together-- not only your faithfulness, Lord, but we
really are a textual community. We do gather together over
the text of the scripture. That is our playbook. We take our cues from you. And the more we're exposed to
it and the more we talk about it and pray it into our lives,
the stronger we become. Make us, Lord, a
bright testimony to this community, this place
we live, this beautiful spot. And Father, we
pray that we would be your witness in this area. Thank you, Father, for
these people once again. May we grow in our grace and
our knowledge of Jesus Christ. It's in his name we pray. Amen. Jesus Christ is always on trial. In the court of popular opinion,
he is being tried every day. People consider him. They consider his claims. They evaluate him. They test him. They probe him. They accept him. They reject him. They make documentaries
about him. They write books about
him, some favorable, many not so favorable. He is always on trial. Some of you know that because
you work in the secular workplace, and you
know about Jesus and how people think about
him or want to discuss him. In fact, you're on trial. They look at you
because they want to see not only this
Jesus they're considering, but they want to know the
people who follow him, what are they like? What difference does
it make in real life? And so on his behalf,
we are on trial. But really, he is
the one on trial. And later on, in
the Gospel of John, Jesus will stand
before Pontius Pilate. Jesus will be going through a
trial by the Roman government, and Pilate will say
to him, don't you know that I have the power to
release you or to crucify you? But at the same time,
Pilate was the one on trial. The decision that he was
making concerning this Jesus would determine his
eternal destiny. And so while Jesus is
on trial, certainly in the court of public opinion,
Jesus is really the judge. And we discovered that last
time when we were together. In verse 26 of Chapter
Five, Jesus said, "For as the father
has life in himself, so he has granted the son
to have life in himself and has given him authority
to execute judgment also because he is the son of man." As the judge, and also
as the one on trial, the end of Chapter Five
is a court room scene, a legal scene, so to speak. There's a word that is repeated
eight times in this section that gives us the little clue. It's the word "witness." It shows up eight
times in this section. Witness. The same word, another three
times, translated testify, is also mentioned. So we have witness,
and we have testify. Jesus, like a lawyer,
brings in three witnesses because he has been
telling the crowd they ought to believe in him. They ought to believe
in him, and here is the reason Jesus would say
you ought to believe in me, and he brings these
three witnesses. Now, why is this important? Because he is speaking
to a Jewish audience, and the Jewish audience
filled with Jewish truths, their own Old
Testament scriptures-- they know what Moses
had said in Deuteronomy, that at the mouth of
two or three witnesses, a person would be authenticated,
or every word would be established. And so like a rabbi, Jesus
brings in one witness to testify of him, and
then another witness to testify of him,
and then another. It's not that Jesus didn't
bear witness of himself. He did. He plainly told
people who he was. But he also knew that
they weren't receiving his testimony, that for
them, his witness of himself was not valid. There weren't
honoring that witness. So Jesus brings in
three more witnesses. Let's look at them, beginning in
verse 31 of John Chapter Five, as we finish out the chapter. Notice what he says. "If I bear witness of myself,
my witness is not true. There is another who
bears witness of me, and I know that his witness,
or that the witness which he witnesses of me, is true. You have sent to John, and he
has borne witness to the truth, yet I do not receive
testimony from man. But I say these things
that you may be saved. He, John, was the
burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a
time to rejoice in his light." The first witness is the
worker, John the Baptist. J the B, we like to call him. We know them well now. John the Baptiser
knew Jesus very well. They were related,
as we have seen. John spent time with Jesus. He was a eye witness of Jesus
growing up and as an adult. It was John the Baptist
who said about him, behold, this is the Lamb of
God which takes away the sin of the world. That was his testimony of Jesus. Here's the Lamb of God,
the sacrificial lamb, the one who had come to pay
for the sin of the world. This same worker,
John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, said
of Jesus, he came after me, but he was preferred
before me because he was before me, speaking
about Jesus' pre-existence. So this was John's
testimony of Jesus. He was the one that pointed
and said, he must increase. I must decrease. So Jesus brings
into the courtroom the first witness, the
worker, John the Baptist, John the Baptizer, and said
his witness is a true witness. Now, he's not the only one. He's the one Jesus
brings up, but there were many eyewitnesses of
the life, ministry, miracles, words of Jesus. You remember that Peter,
one of the Twelve Apostles, would write a letter. And he said, for we did not
follow cunningly devised fables when we made known
unto you the power and the coming of our
Lord, Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. We were there, man. We heard it. We saw it. And he talks about
being transfigured with Moses and Elijah. They saw Jesus in that moment. Another eyewitness was the
author of this book, John. John's writing his account. He will write a
letter, first John. And in first John,
Chapter One, you remember how he
begins that book? He says that which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with
our eyes and we have gazed upon intently, and
our hands have handled concerning the word of life. And of him, we testify
to you, this is the one. So first on the
stand, the worker. And specifically here, by
Jesus, it is John the Baptist. Here's the second witness,
and that is the works, the works of Jesus himself. Verse 36, "But I have
a greater witness than John's, for the works
which the Father has given me to finish, the very works
that I do bear witness of me that the Father has sent me." Now, Jesus has
performed many works. In Chapter Five, he performed
a work at the pool of Bethesda. It was done on a Sabbath
day, so the Jewish leaders were skeptical. They knew it was
a miraculous work, but they were skeptical of it. And honestly, they were
taught to be skeptical because even Moses said
if a miracle worker is in your midst, be skeptical. Deuteronomy Chapter 13-- make
sure that that miracle worker testifies the source of
his power, the reason he is doing the miracles. You test him on
what he believes. You are to test those
prophets to make sure that it's not just a
miracle you're swayed by, but you understand the kind
of teaching and doctrine. So they were skeptical of Jesus,
so he brings in his miracles. But here's the deal. Jesus in the Gospels,
it is recorded, performed over 30 miracles. Those are just
the ones recorded. Over 30 miracles are
recorded in the four gospels. John, the author of this
book, records seven of them. Those are his purpose--
he selects seven for his own literary purpose
to prove who Jesus was. But 30 are recorded. By themselves,
miracles are powerful. But alongside of the other
witnesses that Jesus brings in, they're unmistakable. They could be skeptical,
but what Jesus did along with what John the Baptist
said and the next witness that he will bring in is a
very, very powerful statement as to who he was. So Jesus did works. He performed miracles,
and this is what he said. He will say it, I think,
Chapter 12, Chapter 14. I don't keep it all up here,
but I do know he said this. He said, "Believe me
that I am in the Father, and the Father is in
me, or else believe for the very work's sake." Believe me on the evidence of
the miraculous work themselves, in other words. So there were plenty
of times where Jesus suspended natural law
and enacted supernatural force, and they were show stoppers. They got everybody's attention. Those miracles, along with
what John the Baptist said-- those two witnesses
are powerful. Now he brings in a third
witness, and that is the word. So we have the worker, John the
Baptist, the works of Jesus, his miraculous power, and
then the word of the Father, the prophetic work. "And the Father
himself," verse 37, "who sent me has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice
at any time, nor seen his form. But you do not have his word
abiding in you because whom he sent you do not believe. You search the scriptures,
for in them you think that you
have eternal life. And these are they
which testify of me, but you are not willing to come
to me that you may have life." One of the most powerful
witnesses, testimonies of the authenticity
of Jesus Christ is the word of God,
the prophetic word, the Old Testament
scriptures that paint the picture of what
the Messiah will be like, fulfilled in Jesus. The Bible's an amazing document. We're holding a Bible. I just saw yours. You held it up a moment ago. You held up the
book, but the book isn't a book, but
66 books, right? 66 books comprise your Bible,
39 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament,
66 books written by over 40 authors in
three languages on three different continents over
a period of 1,500 years. It deals with the most
controversial subject matter possible, the existence
of God, the origin of man, the beginning of evil,
the future of the world. And yet those 66 books by 40
authors written over 1,500 years-- they coalesce. They go together seamlessly. They agree with one another. Somebody will say,
oh, but what about all of those contradictions
in the Bible? And I always say, show me one. You see, they'll
bring that up usually because they have heard
that they're there, and so they've got to say
that because it's just another layer of an excuse
for them not to believe. So when they say what about
all those contradictions, I say show me one. Now, if they've
studied enough to know an "apparent" contradiction,
I'm glad because of it because now we have
ground to speak on. But you know, if you were to
apply the rigorous testing that has been applied to the
Bible to other documents, I wonder what you'd have. Let's say you took not
66 books or 40 authors. Let's just say you took 10
people from your neighborhood, not from three continents,
just from your neighborhood-- 10 people from
your neighborhood-- with the same educational
background, same language, and I gave you a few
controversial subjects to discuss. I wonder how much agreement
there would be in that room. Not much. Or what if you were to take
25 medical books written over a 1,500-year time period
and treat a patient based on the information that
you take from that? You would either
have a dead patient, or you'd have Frankenstein. [CHUCKLING] 66 books, 40 authors, 1,500
years, three languages, three continents,
controversial subject matter-- and the Old Testament,
Jesus' point is, speaks of, predicts,
paints a picture. And there are over
300 such descriptions, predictions of what the Messiah
would be, fulfilled in Jesus. And I've told you
before the odds of the fulfillment of just a few
of those, how astronomical it is. So the very word of God
testifies of who Jesus was. Now that is why, and I
wish we had it recorded. Unfortunately, we don't. Every time I read
this text, I go, oh, and that is Luke, Chapter 24. It's after the Resurrection. The two are walking on the
road to Emmaus from Jerusalem. And Jesus comes up-- you
know the story-- incognito. He goes, what are you
guys talking about? And they say, are you
a stranger in town? And don't you know the
things that have happened? And Jesus goes,
like what things? And so they tell about
this guy named Jesus, and we had hoped in him,
and he said a Resurrection. It's been three days, and we're
bummed out, and all that stuff. You know the story. And then it says this. And beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, he expounded to them all of the
scriptures concerning himself. He gave them a prophetic Bible
study of Old Testament passages that predicted him, beginning
at Moses and all the prophets. Wouldn't you love
to have that on MP3? Jesus' own study of himself as
portrayed in the Old Testament scriptures. But that's his point here. I've got three witnesses I call
to the court room, the worker, J the B, my own
miraculous works, and the word of my
Father, in your scriptures that you search. Now look at Verse 39. It says, "You search the
scriptures, for in them you think that you
have eternal life, and these are they
which testify of me." I read this not as a
command, but as a fact. He's not saying, hey, you
guys, go search the scriptures. He understood he's
talking to people who have searched the scriptures. They knew the Old
Testament well. They spent their life
reading, and studying, and memorizing, and singing,
and chanting the scriptures. And he was talking
to a group of people who knew the word of
God, but they didn't know the God of the word. "You search the
scriptures," fact, "because in them you think
that you have eternal life." You think that just because
you read the Bible a lot, you have eternal life. Don't you know that I
am the subject matter of all of those scriptures? They testify about me. I'm the one Moses wrote about. I'm the one the
prophets identified. I'm the one tucked
in those psalms. "But you are not willing to come
to me that you may have life. I do not receive honor
from men, but I know you, that you do not have
the love of God in you. I have come in my Father's
name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own
name, him you will receive." I've always regarded that
as a chilling prediction. I see that fulfilled
in the future when, on the world
scene, will come somebody we know as the Antichrist. He'll come in his own name. He'll be very proud, very
boisterous, very powerful, and the world will
swoon over him. Jesus came in his Father's name. He came with the three witnesses
of the worker, his works, and the word. The nation didn't receive
him, but in the future, one will come, and the
world will go after him. "How can you believe, who
receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor
that comes only from God? Do not think that I shall
accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you." Moses, in whom you trust. Come Judgment Day, all we have
to do is read what Moses said, and you'll be
condemned just by that. "For if you believe Moses,
you would believe me, for Moses wrote about me." Now, there's your challenge. Go back to the first five books
of the Bible, the writings of Moses, and go on a search for
where Moses predicted Christ. Now, there are
some obvious ones. For instance, he said
God will raise up another prophet like unto me. Him you shall hear. He predicted that Jesus would
come, the Messiah would come, one like Moses to the
nation, one who would bring in a covenant like Moses did. But there are many places
where Moses spoke about him, wrote about him. So that's your challenge. Go find those places. And when you do, you'll
have an idea of what that Bible study Jesus gave
in Luke 24 to those two on the road to Emmaus--
what kind of content it had. It's fascinating to do that. "But if you do not
believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" Studying the Bible will
not bring you to heaven. Knowing Jesus will
bring you to heaven. Jesus will save you. Bible study will not. Now, I do want to add to
that, however, that statement. Studying the Bible won't
bring you to heaven, but studying the Bible
will bring heaven to you. It'll bring heaven to your soul. It'll get you in
touch with truth. It'll talk about the
necessary daily regulation, regulating your life,
getting you back on track, nourishing and feeding your
soul like it said in Psalm 19, reviving the soul, David said. But I love what Gypsy
Smith, the old evangelist during the time of G.
Campbell Morgan used to say. He said it's not how many times
you've been through the Bible. It's how many times the
Bible's been through you. And I love going
through the Bible. I love studying it. I love reading it daily. But when I do, I always pray
that it would go through me, and it would be just
a part of who I am. My very speech, my attitudes
would be changed because of it. Now, John Chapter
Six, and we get into the very familiar story
of Jesus feeding the 5,000. Everybody's heard of this story. You can't read a gospel
without coming to this miracle. It's one of the only miracles
mentioned in all four gospels. That's how stand-out and
significant this miracle is. So I know in your mind,
you're picturing 5,000 people. That's a lot of
people on a hillside. But you have to
picture many more because the four gospels
in the composite rendering, putting them all
together, tell us there were 5,000 men who
were present, and that is because the estimation of
the crowd was about 5,000 men, not counting wives who
may have been there or may have been at home,
children who may have been there or been at home. But upwards of 10,000
to 15,000 people, perhaps, were
crowded around Jesus. We call it the
feeding of the 5,000, but they're numbered
as males, or men. "After these things,
Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which
is the sea of Tiberius." Now, some of you have done that. Isn't that great? You know, you have
been to Israel. You've been on the boat. You've sailed across
the Sea of Galilee. So you read this verse, and you
can picture it in your mind. Not trying to stir up
the flesh of those of you who haven't gone
or make you angry and bitter at me for saying
it and-- I wanted to go. Why'd you have to bring that up? [CHUCKLING] But you can let others
who have been blessed enjoy the blessing in their mind
of what it's like to sail over the Sea of Galilee. So that's for next time. Remember to get
ready for next time. "Then, a great
multitude followed him." Now, stop right there. Isn't that encouraging? A great multitude
followed Jesus. Isn't that what it's all about? The bigger the
crowd, the better? Well, not so fast. You will notice what it says
in qualifying that statement. "A great multitude
followed him because they saw his signs,
which he performed on those who were diseased." Crowds are exciting. Growth is exciting. Never want to put that down. That is the New Testament
norm in the Book of Acts. But what I find interesting
is that Jesus himself wasn't always excited by
the size of the crowd. In fact, listen to this. All these people that are
gathering around him, and more will come-- by the time you
get to the end of this chapter, he will have thinned
out the ranks. It says many disciples turned
and followed him no longer. That's because he's going
to make claims on them and give them some hard
sayings, hard truths. They're not going to
like what they hear. Oh, they'll like it as
long as he gives them food, and as long as he
has a happy event and does things that
don't offended me. But Jesus won't do that
because the big crowds didn't excite him all that much. John Chapter Two--
it said many believed in him because of the
signs which he did, but Jesus did not commit himself
to them, for he knew all men, and he didn't need anybody
to testify of man, for he knew what was in man. But they're there. They're following
him because they saw the signs which he performed
on those who were diseased. Have you ever met someone--
they follow the Lord seemingly. They love the Lord, apparently. They're on fire. They sing. They're in church temporarily. But then something happens. A catastrophe happens. Something unexpected
happens, something tragic and gut wrenching, and they're
moved from that position. They become bitter at God. They become angry at God. They double up their fists and--
how could you allow this, God? What makes a person
get to that place? If you study that
person and dig deeper, you will discover there are
unfulfilled expectations that that person
is now discovering. They had expectations. When they signed
on the Jesus boat, when they signed on the
Jesus following thing, they had certain
expectations they wanted Jesus to meet for them. They didn't voice it,
but they were there. I will follow Jesus
as long as whatever. Fill in the blank. They'll follow him, but they'll
follow him under their terms. So some people are followers,
but they're selfish followers, and they have a theology. Oh, it's unwritten. It's not codified. It's unspoken. But their theology is this. I am the Lord, and
Jesus is my servant. If he serves me well, if
he provides for me well, if he heals me when I
got a problem, good. I'm following him. If he doesn't do that, I'm
not going to follow him. Didn't Jesus talk about
this kind of a follower? He said the sower went out
to sow seed, and some of it fell on stony ground, and
it sprung up immediately. There was joy and emotion. But then the sun came, and
they didn't have much earth. Jesus said that's the
tribulation of this life, and they fall away. And you all know people
who are like that. They were red hot. They were on fire. And then all of a sudden, cold. No pulse. No life. No trust. Hey, how come you
haven't been at church? Oh, man, Jesus let me down, man. So big crowds, but
because of the signs which he performed on
those who were disease-- and Jesus went up
on the mountain, and there we sat
with his disciples. Now, the Passover, the feast
of the Jews, was near, OK? At the same time--
what I just said is true-- at the
same time, Jesus does have a compassionate heart
for people with physical needs, and he's going to do
something about it. He's not going to
say, yeah, well, you're not following me
for the right reason. He's going to feed them. That's how gracious, and
merciful, and kind he is. He's still going to feed them
because it's Passover time, and that means the roads are
more crowded than ever before. They're on their way down
to the festival, the feast. So Jesus is up in
Galilee, and he will be on the northeast
side of the Lake of Galilee, where there's not many
towns during that time. And the crowds
are growing thick, and they don't have food. They're ill prepared for
this kind of Woodstock event, so something has to be done. "The Passover, a feast
of the Jews, was near, and Jesus lifted up his eyes,
and 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 and said to
him 200 denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them,
that every one of them may have a little." Now, why did Jesus turned to
Philip and ask Philip this? Because Philip lived
at a little village called Bethsaida Julias. It's just a set of
ruins these days. But it is on the northeastern
shore of the Sea of Galilee at the time of Jesus. He's from the area. If anybody knows the area,
knows what stores are around, knows if there's an In-N-Out
Burger or McDonald's, or a grocery store, a Walgreens
or whatever, it's him. He's got the lay of the land. He's from the area. If anybody knows, it's him. Of course, it says Jesus
said this to test him. It really was an
impossible situation. 5,000, 10,000,
15,000, 20,000-- don't know exactly the total number,
but 1,000-- how are you're going to feed them? It's an impossible situation. And so I could just picture
Jesus turning to Philip, kind of a gleam in his eye,
maybe a wry kind of a smile. Hey, you know the area, Philip. What's open? Where can we buy
bread for this crowd? What was the test? The test was the test of trust. Will this guy trust me? Does this guy know
me well enough now to give me the right
answer to this question? There is a right answer. Now, as I see it,
Philip failed the test. He said 200 denarii
worth of bread is not sufficient for them,
that every one of them may have a little." And as somebody
once said, when God wants to do something wonderful,
he begins with a difficulty. But when he wants to do
something very wonderful, he begins with an impossibility. Here's an impossibility. There's no outlet. There's no source they
could feed this group that has gathered there with them. Now, I say he failed,
what do I mean by that? Well, he calculates,
which is a good thing. He's the accountant type. He surveys the crowd. He has an idea of
how many people are there, what kind
of need is present, and he has a
calculator for brain. So he quickly goes to
work and does the math, and he goes, OK, the
way I figured it, it would take 200 denarii,
3/4 of a year's wage for a common person. So whatever that is--
let's say $10,000, $25,000. So let's just call it that. Hey, 25,000 bucks isn't
enough to buy this crowd just a little food. He's doing the math. He's calculating. And you have to understand
something about Philip. Philip had to see it. He was the pessimist-- not
the doubter, the pessimist. You know, there's a difference. Who was the doubter? Thomas. So in the upper room-- do
you remember the story? They're gathered
together around Jesus, and Jesus said, hey, let
not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house, there
are many abiding places, rooms, mansions. If it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you, and if I go, I will come again and receive
you to myself that where I am, there you may be also. Beautiful truth,
beautiful promise. And then he said,
and where I go, you know, and the way, you know. And Thomas goes, we don't
know where you're going, so how can we know the way? That's doubt. Jesus said, I am the
way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me. Then Philip speaks. Know what he said? Show us the Father,
and that's good enough. Duh. That'd be good
enough for anybody. That's what everybody says. Just show us God. Show us God, your
Father, and we'll be OK. We'll be convinced. Philip is the pessimist. He's got the calculator
for the mind. He's got to figure it all out. This is why men have
a harder time trusting God for issues like with
their car than their wives do. Their wives may not understand
about internal combustion engines and spark and timing
advancement and all that stuff, but the men might
know that already. And so the car doesn't start,
and the wife might just-- well, let's just lay hands
on it and pray for it. And they go, oh, my goodness. What a nutcase. It doesn't work that way. Look, I know these things. I've figured this stuff out. There's something
wrong with the fuel, or there's something wrong
with the electrical, the spark. It's one of those two things. But I love it, how God
just honors the faith, and sometime there's
that simple faith. Lay hands on it-- I've
seen it start right up. 200 denarii worth,
3/4 of a year's wage for the common laborer
isn't enough so that this crowd can even
have just a little bit. Pessimist. You hear about the
two pessimists? They met at a party, and
instead of shaking hands, they just shook heads. [CHUCKLING] So there's Philip. Thomas is probably over there
going, yeah, I'm with this guy. Not going to work. The story isn't over with. Oh, and by the way,
let me add to that. I don't know how
you do your math. He did his math. But you've got to
factor something in. It's the God factor. See, here's the
math of a miracle. 2 plus 5-- because
there's loaves and fishes, you'll discover-- don't add
up to much, just seven things, a few loaves, a few fish. But when you add plus God,
changes the whole scenario. The equals is like, whatever. Difficulty must always be
measured by the capacity of the agent doing the work. Difficulty must always be
measured by the capacity of the agent doing the work. Philip, where can we buy bread? OK, I've done the math. Listen-- wrong answer. Here's the right answer. Jesus, this is an
impossible situation. There's not a bakery
around here big enough. Doesn't matter. I've seen you work. I was there at the
pool of Bethesda. I was there at the
miracle of Canaan. I saw the water get
turned into wine. I saw that with my own eyes. Do whatever you want to do. That's the right answer,
because you can say, well, he didn't know better. He had been there. He had seen these miracles. He'd seen enough to know the
right answer is surprise me, Lord. The story goes on. One of his disciples, Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother, said to him, there's a lad who
has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what
are they among so many? Now, who is Andrew? It tells you. He's what? Simon Peter's brother. Isn't that a bummer, to be known
as somebody else's brother? You know why that
resonates with me? I'm the youngest of four boys. There was Jim, and there
was Bob, and there was Rick. Those were my older brother. Then there was Skip. Jim and Rick were both
valedictorians in their school. They were on varsity
football, varsity baseball, varsity track,
varsity basketball. They played all the sports,
and they were always in the upper part of the class. And I was their brother. Oh, you're Jim's brother. Oh, Rick! He's your brother? Now, here's the
thing about Andrew. He is not a prominent apostle. Did he write any book
of the New Testament? Not a one. Did he give any sermon? Not that we know of. It's not recorded. It wasn't that important,
if he did, to record it. He is known as Simon
Peter's brother. But here's what I
want you to see. Unknown, unnamed does
not mean insignificant because I'll tell you who
he was and what he did. He was a connector. He connected people
with Jesus Christ. That's his claim to fame. He didn't have to
write a Bible book. He didn't have to perform a
miracle or preach a sermon. He connected people. He was the one that led
his brother Peter to Jesus. He brought him there. He connected Peter to Jesus. Peter's salvation and the Book
of Peter and all that he did is because he had a faithful
brother who connected him to Jesus. Then, we'll get to him
again in Chapter 12 of the Gospel of John
when a group of Greeks come to the feast in
Jerusalem, and they say, sir, we would see Jesus. We want to meet Jesus. Philip goes, I'll introduce you. Let me connect you guys. So again, he brings
people to Christ. Just be content if that's
what God has called you-- just to connect people to him,
introduce people to Jesus. And then there's this boy. Do we know what his name is? No, it just says there's a lad. In fact, you know what? Did you know this? I said that this miracle happens
in all four gospels, right? John is the only
gospel author that even mentions there was a lad. All the other accounts just talk
about the loaves and the fish. That's it. They have a few loaves and fish. They didn't say a lad has them,
a boy has them, a kid has them. They don't even mention the kid. He's unnamed, he's unknown,
but he's not insignificant. He's the kid with the food. The whole miracle
is based upon what this little kid brought to the
table, brought to the equation. Here's a lad who has five barley
loaves and two small fish, and look at this question. What are they among so many? Not much. But add Jesus to the
equation-- a lot. What are these among so many? Oh, we'll have leftovers. We'll have 12
baskets of leftovers. See, it depends on
whose hands they're in. The miracle didn't happen
in the apostles' hands. Happened in Jesus' hands. Now, this boy was a poor boy. How do we know that? He had barley loaves. Barley was the poorest of the
grains, often fed to animals. It was hearty, wasn't
all that tasty. The barley loaves
back then-- they're small little loaves like
pancakes, like pita bread, flat and kind of hard to chew. It was the bread of the poor. Then he has these
fish, and the fish were either dried fish or
pickled fish, little ones, not like sea bass, not salmon. Just little, tiny,
bite-sized chunks of fish. But what are they among so many? Jesus answered, make
the people sit down. Now, there was much
grass in the place. These are things
that interest me. Matthew says there was grass. John says there was
much grass in the place. Now, think grass grass. Not Colorado grass. I mean grass. Lawn kind of grass. You have to
differentiate these days. [CHUCKLING] Dude, there's grass
in that place. Just the wild grasses
that grow in the spring-- it is Passover time. And Mark's Gospel
adds green grass. So it was an earlier
Passover season, like when we went to Israel
with our group this last time. Galilee was bathed,
swathed in verdant grass. And you could sit down on it. It would be comfortable at
the right time of the year. By late spring,
early summer, it's brown already from the sun. But this time, it's green,
hearty-- much grass. And so the men sat down,
a number of about 5,000, and Jesus took the loaves. You know, when Mom packed
that little boy's lunch, she had no idea who would be
holding the lunch she packed. Jesus himself. Honey, don't go out
without your lunch. Oh, Mom, I want
to go hear-- nope. Come here. Take your lunch. She was fixing lunch
for Jesus and 15,000 of his new best friends. Some of you look at your life. You see it as insignificant. You're so down on yourself. Who am I? I don't have many gifts. I don't have many talents. I can't do much. And I see to you,
how dare you talk about God's property that way? You are precious in his sight. He has given you all that
you need to change the world, change the world. Make sure that you
get into his hands. Let him get his
hands on you and show the world what he can do
through just a few simple-- what are these among so many? And I say, how dare
you because how dare you focus on your
littleness rather than focus on God's greatness? Watch what Jesus does. He sits them down. He took the loaves. When he had given
thanks, public prayer, he distributed them to
the disciples, and Jesus to those sitting down,
and likewise, the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled,
he said to his disciples, gather up the
fragments, the remains, so that nothing is lost. Therefore, they gathered
them up and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five
barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. Jesus gave thanks. He prayed a prayer. Now, it's my belief that
the prayer that Jesus prayed was the typical
prayer that would be prayed in any Jewish
home by the father. He acts here as the
father of the crowd, or the father of the
Jewish nation, if you will. And the typical prayer
of the Jewish father at the breaking of bread
done in the homes daily, and at Sabbath weekly,
and at Passover yearly, is [SPEAKING HEBREW]. Just thought you
needed to know that. Which is translated,
"Blessed are you, Lord God, king of the universe, who brings
forth bread from the earth." It was the Jewish blessing
over the breaking of the bread. And so he prayed. They would have all
said amen, amen, yes. And notice, Verse 11. It says, likewise of
the fish-- and look at the last part of the
verse-- as much as they wanted. OK, so go back and compare
what you've just heard here with Verse 7, where Philip
says, man, $25,000 won't even give them a little. See, he's calculating for
the minimum, the little that they could eat, survival. Jesus gave them as
much as they wanted. Philip planned for the minimum. Jesus gave the maximum. Jesus did-- let's put it within
Paul's language-- exceedingly, abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to his riches. Now there's
leftovers, 12 baskets. Why? Well, there's 12
disciples, apostles. Leftovers for tomorrow, just
to show that he does things exceedingly, abundantly, that
there's no limitation to him. And you could draw a lot
of analogies from this, but we'll leave it that. Therefore, they
gathered them up, the 12 baskets with the
fragments of the five barley loaves, which were left
over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had
seen the sign that Jesus did, they said, this is
truly the prophet who had come into the world. Therefore, when Jesus
perceived that they were about to come and take
him by force and make him king, he departed again to the
mountain by himself, alone. This miracle-- I tell you what. His approval rating went
through the roof that day. You add the approval
rating from this miracle to the messianic expectation
that the Jewish nation had that their Messiah,
when he comes, will be the king who will
depose the rule of Rome and set up the Jews as
victors over the world, and you have a recipe
for a political messiah. They wanted to take
the Jesus movement and turn it into a
political movement. We want him to be king. He didn't come to be their king. He will be their king, one day. He'll come back to be King
of Kings and Lord of Lords. He came to be
their savior first. So he withdrew. He knew what they
were about, and he's going to thin out this
expectation mighty quickly, mighty quickly. He'll say some hard sayings,
and we'll get to that when we're together next. Now, when evening came, Verse
16, his disciples went down to the sea, got into the
boat, went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and
Jesus had not come to them. Then, the sea arose because
a great wind was blowing. Can I quickly paint
the picture for you? The Sea of Galilee is
entirely below sea level. That adds an
interesting dynamic. 700 feet below sea
level-- the Jordan River that goes all the way
down to the Dead Sea, also below sea level. The Dead Sea, also below
sea level, but even lower, 1,290 feet below sea level. So the entire Jordan Rift
Valley is below sea level, and that is because
geologically, there's something some you may know
about called the Syrio-African Rift, that the tectonic plates,
the African and Arabian plates, formed a Rift Valley that
begins way, way up in Syria and goes all the way
down through Israel, into Africa-- Syrio-African
Rift-- renders that valley very, very deep. So you have a lake that's 700
feet below sea level surrounded by hills, and in the distance,
mountains that are some 2,000 feet above sea level. So you now have a difference
of almost 3,000 feet. You follow? When you have winds from
the Mediterranean Sea that blow from the
west to the east, which-- that's how it works--
the coastal winds blow. The air is cool. The air down below is hot. It brings in that cold
air, sweeping down through the canyons. And all I can describe it
is it's like a carburetor. When you take air and
gas, you funnel it from a throat into a very thin
passage known as a Venturi, and so you accelerate it. And so you can imagine this cold
air being accelerated downward. It hits this warm air produced
in this valley on this lake, and it's a recipe for
an incredible storm. It could take the
Sea of Galilee-- I've seen placid, calm--
but by the afternoon, the waves can sink boats. So one of these things came
in, and it stirred it up. And it simply says--
turn the page-- the sea arose because a
great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed
about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the
sea and drawing near the boat, and they were afraid. OK, so please,
just for a moment, think of the disciples,
what they had just seen, 5,000 plus women and
children fed, fed. They're on a spiritual high. The last thing they
expected was a storm. Now, why am I saying that? Because that's how life works. Why is it you go--
and you've said it-- things have been going so
well, and then this, from out of nowhere? Where did that wind come from? Where did those waves come from? A storm comes unexpectedly. Trials come without
your anticipation, without your expectation. You can't prescribe them. Only God does and can. Somebody said God speaks to
us through the regularity with which he
interrupts our plans. Some of you have said, boy,
then God speaks to me a lot because he disrupts
a lot of my plans, and I've had a lot of
hardship in my life. They didn't expect
it, but they got it. And here's what else
you need to know. In Mark's account
of this, it said Jesus made them
get into the boat. It's not recorded
here, but Mark said Jesus made those disciples--
and the King James uses the word "constrained"
them, compelled them. Get in the boat! So when they're out
on the Sea of Galilee and the storm is coming,
they have to remember this. Jesus made me get in this boat. And you need to remember that. And when you come
to the realization in your storms of life, your
trials, your difficulties, God brought me to this
storm, it will revolutionize your periods of pain. It changes the
dynamic of the pain. God brought me to this storm. God made me get in this boat. But notice, Jesus came
walking to them on the sea and drawing near,
and they were afraid. Yeah. Mark tells us it was the
fourth watch of the night. You need to know
what that means. He just didn't come at night. They had been out there 20
minutes, and Jesus shows up. Hey, guys. Fourth watch of the night. The night was divided
into four watches, first watch from 6:00 to 9:00
PM, second watch from 9:00 to midnight, third
watch from midnight to 3:00 in the morning, fourth
watch from 3:00 to 6:00. They had been out there
rowing for around eight hours. You think they were exhausted? You think they were
in extreme situations? Oh, yeah. But Jesus showed up, didn't let
them die, didn't let them sink. Sometimes you think,
I've been praying. I've been waiting. He didn't showed up. Not the fourth watch yet. Just wait. He'll be there. It might be the third watch. Might be the first one. Don't know. But he will come. Let's close of our story--
the last two verses, and we'll close. But he said to them, it
is I. Do not be afraid. Then they willingly
received him into the boat, and immediately, the boat was at
the land where they were going. Here's what I want
you to see in closing. The storm didn't last forever,
and your storm won't either. Trials, difficulties,
storms are seasonal. They are not perpetual. God knows what you can take. God knows when he
should show up. God knows when the deliverance
should come, and it will. They're seasonal, not perpetual. Remember Peter, who
was in the boat, would write a letter later
on, and he said, in this, we rejoice even though if now
for a season, if need be you are grieved through
various trials. Seasonal, but not perpetual. There's an end to them all. And here's what else
you need to know. This storm wasn't
a waste of time. They got to their destination,
and they learned vital lessons on the way. They got to their destination. They learned vital
lessons on their way. Do you remember Jonah
got into a boat? He paid the money. He paid the fare. He was going to
Tarshish, to Spain. He wanted to have a nice,
sunny vacation out there under the palm trees
out in Portugal. Oh, awesome. Gibraltar-- nice
this time of year. Did he ever make it
to his destination? But he paid the fare. He paid the money to get there. Did he get there? No. When you go your own
way, you pay the fare, and you don't get
to your destination. When you go God's
way, he pays the fare, and you get to your destination. Closing thought. What the apostles did was the
smartest thing they could do. It says they willingly
received him into the boat. Some of you still
need to do that. You're in whatever
boat you're in, your trial, your experience
in life, just your life. It's your life. You're floating on
the sea of life. It's your life. It's your boat. The smartest thing you could
do-- let Jesus into the boat. In fact, let him be the
captain of the ship. You're just crew now. None of this, I did it my way. Dumb. Lame. Not smart. Do it his way. Invite him into your
life, into your boat, and let him be the captain. Father, as we close
these heart-warming, encouraging stories, seeing
these apostles very similar in nature to us, whereas Peter
described men of like passion, we're encouraged that you are
teaching them, mentoring them, bringing them to maturity. And eventually, they
will pass the test. They will carry your
word around the world. They will mature in their
faith, in their relationships. They will be honorable to you
and faithful to your name. Lord, I pray for
anyone who has not let Jesus into the
boat, anyone who has not let him into their life. They've studied the word. They've listened to the word. Maybe like some
of those leaders, they think that in studying the
word, they have eternal life. But all of it testifies of
Jesus, and he's a person. He's not a principle. He's a person. You want to have a
relationship with people. I pray, Father, if anyone
here hasn't let Jesus into their boat,
into their life, they will let him come in. Invite him. Our heads are bowed. Our eyes are closed. It's been a wonderful time
together, wonderful family night, Wednesday night on
welcome week, but some of you still need to let Jesus into
the boat, into your life. You've been struggling
at the oars long enough. You've been trying to
go your way long enough. Let Jesus take you
where you need to be, but let him into the boat. Let him control your life. Let him be your
Savior, your Lord. Admit that you need him. Admit that you're a sinner. Admit that you've blown
it, that you've failed, and turn your life--
and ask him forgiveness. Turn your life to him and
say, Jesus, come into my life, into my heart. I want to follow you. If you're willing to do that,
as we close this service, if you've never done it
before, or some of you may need to come home back to
him-- you've wandered away-- I want you to raise your hand up
in the air, high up in the air, for just a moment. Keep it up so I can see it. I'll acknowledge your hand,
and I'll pray for you. God bless you, toward
the back, on my left, and you right in
the middle, and you. Anyone else? Raise your hand. Raise it up high
so I can see you. Anyone else? Say yes to him. Turn your life over to him. Let him into your
life, into your boat. In the balcony, God bless you. Thank you, to my right. Anybody else? Anybody else? Father, thank you for these
lives, these men and women. You love them. You've got a plan for them. Lord, I pray that they would
be brought to the destination, to safe harbors. They're going to
have more storms, but you're going
to be with them. You're going to come to them. And eventually,
you're going to take them all the way
to the destination called heaven as they turn from
the past, repent of their sins, turn to Jesus as their
Savior and their Lord. Fill them, Lord, with peace as
they finalize this decision. In Jesus's name, amen. Let's all stand to our feet. Those of you who
raised your hands, even if you're in the
balcony, or the family room, or the very back. As we sing this
song, I want to ask you to come down whatever
aisle you're close to and stand right up
here, and I'm going to lead you in a prayer to
receive Christ as your Savior right now. As we sing, you come. We'll welcome you
into God's family. We'll welcome you
into our family. But this is an important
threshold moment. Jesus called people publicly. Our counselors are coming down. Come join them if
you raised your hand. If you're in the balcony,
come down those steps. If you're in the
family room and you want to give your
life to Christ, come through the door on the
front and right around here. Awesome. Yes. Beautiful. God bless you. Give you just another moment. We have some brave women
up here who have come. What about you men? Come on, guys. You raised your hand. Come give your life to Christ. Follow the man from Galilee. Follow Jesus. Awesome. Awesome. God bless you guys. Come on up. That's so great. It's so good. Anybody else? Some of you have watched
these time and time again, and that's the problem. You've just watched them. You've never asked Jesus
into your boat, your life. Anybody else? You know you need to do this. You were created to have
fellowship with God. He wants you to know his
love, his forgiveness. He wants you to have purpose. Do you want it? Then you receive Christ. You receive Jesus. Anybody else? We're about to pray. Anyone else? Music, mood music
or not, just come. For those of you who are
here, I'm so glad you are. We welcome you. [APPLAUSE] I want to lead you
in a prayer, and I'm going to say this
prayer out loud. I'm going to ask you to pray
this prayer out loud after me. Say these words from your heart. Say them to your
Lord, to your God. You're asking him
to take over your-- asking them into the boat. So let's pray together. Say Lord, I give you my life. I know that I'm a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. Please forgive me. I believe in Jesus Christ,
that he died on a cross for me, that he shed
his blood for my sin, and that he rose from the
grave and is alive right now. I turn from my sin. I turn to Jesus as my Savior. I want to follow him as my Lord. In Jesus' name, amen! [CHEERING] Yeah! If you've missed any
of our Expound studies, all of our services
and resources are available at expoundabq.org. [MUSIC PLAYING]
