Episode 9
More Than Enough - God's Miraculous Provision from Elisha to Jesus
Takeaways:
- The podcast emphasizes the importance of the words of Jesus, asserting that they should take center stage in our lives and provide clarity in our spiritual walk.
- Listeners are encouraged to trust in God's provision, as illustrated through personal testimonies of miraculous provisions during times of financial distress and need.
- The episode discusses the significance of daily reliance on God, highlighting that faith is not merely a one-time act, but a continuous practice of seeking God's guidance and support.
- The stories shared reflect the transformative power of faith, demonstrating that even seemingly small contributions can lead to abundant blessings when offered to God.
Links referenced in this episode:
Transcript
Welcome to Freedom Through Faith and the Red Letter Crusade, where the words of Jesus take center stage.
Speaker A:Join us as we bring healing, unity and clarity to your walk with God by focusing on one thing.
Speaker A:What did Jesus say now?
Speaker A:Now let's join Pastor Robert Thibodeau for the Red Letter Crusade.
Speaker A:Because when it comes to understanding the entire Bible, his words matter.
Speaker A:Hello, everyone, everywhere.
Speaker A:Pastor Bob Thibodeau here.
Speaker A:Welcome Freedom through faith.
Speaker A:Glory to God.
Speaker A:It is such a blessing to be with you today.
Speaker A:It's a blessing every time, every day that we can open our eyes and just gather around the word of God.
Speaker A:Ah, it is so awesome to be in the Kingdom of God.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Let's go to Lord with a word of prayer.
Speaker A:We'll jump right into today's Bible study.
Speaker A:Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, we just thank you and praise you for your blessings in our life.
Speaker A:We thank you for your word, Jesus.
Speaker A:He is the word.
Speaker A:We thank you, Lord, that you've given us your word, your promises, Lord, that we just live by your Word, according to your word, lifting up your Word, sharing your word, Lord, that we can spend eternity with you.
Speaker A:Your Word is the central thing in our life.
Speaker A:And Lord, we praise you for it.
Speaker A:And we praise you for the technology you made available to share your gospel with the world through the power of the Internet.
Speaker A:And it's our prayer that someone, somewhere this day here in this broadcast, whether live or on the recording, would receive Jesus as their Savior.
Speaker A:And we give you all honor, glory and praise for it.
Speaker A:We pray all this in Jesus name.
Speaker A:Amen and Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Join me in our profession of faith, commonly referred to as the Apostles Creed.
Speaker A:We do this each and every week on the broadcast just to lay what I call the solid foundation upon which we're going to build.
Speaker A:And we're going to go into this a little bit today.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Just repeat after me.
Speaker A:At least loud enough for your own two ears to hear.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Faith comes by hearing.
Speaker A:Hearing by the word.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Just repeat after me.
Speaker A:I believe in God the faith, Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate.
Speaker A:He was crucified, dead and buried.
Speaker A:He descended into hell.
Speaker A:But the third day he rose again from the dead and has ascended up into heaven and is seated now at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from where he is preparing to return to judge the living and the dead.
Speaker A:I believe in the Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:I Believe the church is the body of Christ.
Speaker A:I believe in the communion of saints.
Speaker A:I believe in the forgiveness of sins.
Speaker A:Praise God for that.
Speaker A:And I believe in the resurrection of the body.
Speaker A:And I believe in life everlasting in Jesus, mighty name.
Speaker A:Amen and amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:All right, you have your Bibles.
Speaker A:Let's open them up.
Speaker A:Luke, chapter six.
Speaker A:Luke, chapter six.
Speaker A:Today, we're gonna have a good time in the Word today.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:I got something to share with you today that's gonna set some people on fire.
Speaker A:Some people, it's going to open their eyes like they've never been opened before.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:I want to read verse 38 with you.
Speaker A:Give, and it should be given unto you a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, men shall give into your bosom.
Speaker A:For with the same measure you measure with it shall be measured to you again.
Speaker A:Now, you got to understand the scripture that we're reading here, okay?
Speaker A:Give and it'll be given unto you a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, men shall give into your bosom.
Speaker A:Back in the early days.
Speaker A:Now I'm talking way back before I was born again.
Speaker A:And if you've been following me for any length of time, you already know that story.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:I was at the lowest point in.
Speaker A:In my life.
Speaker A:I was beyond broke.
Speaker A:Broke would have been an upgrade.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:My electricity was about to be shut off.
Speaker A:The house is ready to go into foreclosure.
Speaker A:My career in the insurance business had collapsed because my market, which was the military market, had literally packed up and moved 6,000 miles away.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:But that night, God spoke to me through His Word.
Speaker A:Without going into the long story of all that, I was reading His Word because my wife had been born again for four years and was praying for me.
Speaker A:She made me take my grandfather's Bible, which is up here in an honored place on our bookshelf, because it had three ways to read the Bible through in a year in the front of the book.
Speaker A:And I was so broke, I couldn't even afford a TV or a radio in this little dumpy apartment I was in.
Speaker A:So I just.
Speaker A:Just reading the Bible.
Speaker A:And that night I was to read Psalms 34.
Speaker A:When I got down to verse seven, it said, the Lord has heard this poor man cry and shall deliver him from all his troubles.
Speaker A:And amen he did.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Within six days, the Lord helped me sell enough insurance to cover the bills back home.
Speaker A:The bills in that little dumpy apartment I was staying in.
Speaker A:And while, you know, I was still staying there trying to make insurance sales.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:But you know, at least I was able to start catching up on our finances back home.
Speaker A:And one week, one week God turned my situation around.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Now a few months later, we had enough money to move to Texas and buy a new home.
Speaker A:And a few years, two years later, I think I was, I owe my own insurance agency, which grew to become the number two ranked insurance agency nationwide for the company I was with.
Speaker A:I had 12 agents working under me, plus full time and part time staff.
Speaker A:Then a few years after that, the company got bought out.
Speaker A:The new owners canceled all the general agent contracts, slashed the commissions, and within about two months, I couldn't even afford to keep my office open.
Speaker A:Yeah, once again we lost everything.
Speaker A:The house had to go.
Speaker A:We barely had any money.
Speaker A:One of those days my wife and I were down about five or six dollars waiting for my VA check to come in and nowhere near enough money to buy groceries for a family of four.
Speaker A:So we prayed, God, you can make a way when there is no way.
Speaker A:And we just believe that we're going to be blessed in all this.
Speaker A:And that day, the wind was blowing hard.
Speaker A:Oh, a typical central Texas weather in the springtime.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:As we stepped out of the car, started walking up to the store, something caught my eye.
Speaker A:It was a $20 bill just fluttering in the wind right there before me.
Speaker A:And I said, here's the crazy part, all right, it wasn't blowing away.
Speaker A:I mean, trash was flying by, sand was swirling around.
Speaker A:That $20 bill was stuck right there in the con to the concrete, just fluttering right in front of me as if God had placed my path and had his finger on it, waiting for me to get out of the car.
Speaker A:I mean, I picked it up and I looked around thinking, you know, maybe someone, somebody must have dropped it.
Speaker A:There was nobody near us.
Speaker A:The money was just sitting there waiting for us to pick it up.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Only God can do that.
Speaker A:All right, now, reminded me of what Jesus said in Matthew 6, verses 31 through 39 there.
Speaker A:Therefore take no thought saying, what shall we eat?
Speaker A:What shall we drink?
Speaker A:What shall we wear?
Speaker A:For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.
Speaker A:For your heavenly Father knows you need all these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Speaker A:All these things should be added to you.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:And that's what I want you to realize from our time together today.
Speaker A:Supernatural provision in your life.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:God is not just a provider.
Speaker A:He is the God who is more than enough.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:The story in Exodus, chapter 16:4 through 36, it's the story of manna in the wilderness.
Speaker A:It's one of the most powerful demonstrations of God's supernatural provision.
Speaker A:I mean, when the Israelites came out of Egypt, they were completely dependent on God for survival.
Speaker A:I mean, they had no farms, no stored up food, no way to sustain themselves in the wilderness.
Speaker A:But just like clockwork, they did what people always do when they are faced with lack.
Speaker A:They complain.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Don't shut me down.
Speaker A:I'm preaching.
Speaker A:Good.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Instead of trusting God, they grumbled, they complained, saying it'd be better for us to have died as slaves in Egypt than to come out here with our stomachs empty, you know, starving in wilderness.
Speaker A:Think about that.
Speaker A:But God.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:But God, in His mercy, he didn't leave them in their doubts.
Speaker A:Instead, he rained down bread from heaven every single day.
Speaker A:Except for the Sabbath day.
Speaker A:But the day before, he rained down twice as much bread.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Oh, I mean, that's where it gets interesting, right?
Speaker A:The manna was only enough for one day's provision, except on the sixth day when God provided double so they could honor the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Speaker A:If anyone tried to hoard it up, it would rot overnight.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Because God wanted them to trust him daily.
Speaker A:He wasn't just feeding their stomachs, he was training their faith.
Speaker A:Jesus later referenced this in John 6, verse 31 through 35, when he said, our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it's written.
Speaker A:He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Speaker A:Then Jesus continued, moses did not give you that bread from heaven.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That's what they were telling Jesus.
Speaker A:You know, Moses gave us this bread.
Speaker A:You know, Moses did not give you that bread.
Speaker A:My Father is giving you the bread from heaven.
Speaker A:I am the bread of life.
Speaker A:He that comes to me shall never hunger.
Speaker A:You see the connection here?
Speaker A:The Israelites were looking at the provision.
Speaker A:Jesus saying, look beyond the provision, look at the provider.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Manna that was just a shadow of something greater.
Speaker A:Jesus himself that was coming.
Speaker A:And let's not miss this.
Speaker A:Jesus did not say, I will give you bread to eat.
Speaker A:No, he said, I am the bread you need.
Speaker A:In other words, if you have Jesus, you have everything you need.
Speaker A:Oh, did you catch that?
Speaker A:If you have Jesus, you have everything you need.
Speaker A:That's why he told his disciples in Matthew 6:11, give us this day our daily bread.
Speaker A:He wasn't Just begging God for food.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:He was teaching them.
Speaker A:Just as God taught the Israelites that provision is a daily trust exercise, not a once and done deal.
Speaker A:You have to trust God daily.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:And here's something else to think about.
Speaker A:The Israelites got tired of the manna.
Speaker A:They wanted something different.
Speaker A:They craved meat and spices.
Speaker A:They wanted a variety.
Speaker A:Just having bread wasn't good enough anymore.
Speaker A:They were so focused on what they lacked, they forgot the miracle was happening on a daily basis right in front of their eyes.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Isn't that exactly what happens with us?
Speaker A:We pray for God to provide, and he does.
Speaker A:Then we get so used to his provision, we start complaining again.
Speaker A:Instead of thanking him for what we have, we want to focus on what we think we're missing.
Speaker A:Hello?
Speaker A:Anybody out there still?
Speaker A:Or did you hang up on me already?
Speaker A:Huh?
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Jesus addressed this same attitude In Matthew, chapter 6, verse 25 and 26, when he said, take no thought for your life, what you're gonna eat, what you're gonna drink.
Speaker A:Look at the birds of the air.
Speaker A:They don't sow, they don't reap, they don't gather provision in the barns.
Speaker A:Yet your father provides for all of them.
Speaker A:Aren't you much better than the birds?
Speaker A:Huh?
Speaker A:That's why I'm asking you.
Speaker A:Aren't you much better than the birds?
Speaker A:I mean, the message is clear here, folks.
Speaker A:Just as God provided manna every single day, Jesus is our what?
Speaker A:Daily bread.
Speaker A:He is enough.
Speaker A:But just like the Israelites, we have to learn to trust him each and every day.
Speaker A:Not just for food, but for everything.
Speaker A:Our finances, our business, our family, our future.
Speaker A:If he could face.
Speaker A:Sorry, if he could feed an entire nation in the wilderness for 40 years, do you think he can take care of you today?
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Let's look at another story in First Kings.
Speaker A:I believe it is 17.
Speaker A:The widow's flower and oil.
Speaker A:That's the widow at Zarephath.
Speaker A:This woman was at the end of the rope.
Speaker A:She was at the end of her rope.
Speaker A:She tied the knot together, and even the knot was rotten off.
Speaker A:And this was a severe famine, the Bible says.
Speaker A:And she had just enough flour and oil left for one last.
Speaker A:We'll just call it a biscuit.
Speaker A:You know, the Bible calls it a cake.
Speaker A:We'll call it a biscuit.
Speaker A:Something we can relate to because we think of one little cake.
Speaker A:You think, oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Birthday cake.
Speaker A:It was a biscuit.
Speaker A:She had enough oil and flour left for one little biscuit before she and her son.
Speaker A:I mean, that'd be it.
Speaker A:After this, they were going to starve to death.
Speaker A:She had nothing.
Speaker A:No resources, no plan, no way out.
Speaker A:And then God told her, I'm gonna send you the prophet.
Speaker A:You take care of him, he'll take care of you.
Speaker A:That's a pastor mob version of the Bible there.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:And then here comes Elijah, the prophet of God.
Speaker A:And what's he do?
Speaker A:He asked her for some water and then some something to eat.
Speaker A:Make me something to eat about this time.
Speaker A:Let's just say she wasn't all religious in her response.
Speaker A:If you were this woman, you'd probably thinking, Are you serious?
Speaker A:I just told you, I barely have enough for me and my son to have one biscuit before we're gonna start to die.
Speaker A:And you want me to give you some of it too?
Speaker A:You see, Elijah just wasn't making a request.
Speaker A:He was delivering a message from the Lord himself.
Speaker A:What did he say?
Speaker A:He said, fear not, make me a little cake first.
Speaker A:Bring it to me.
Speaker A:After that you can go make the rest for you and your son.
Speaker A:He's saying, give God something to work with here.
Speaker A:Give him something to work with here, just a little bit.
Speaker A:And watch what God can do, right?
Speaker A:He says, for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, if you do this, if you give God just a little bit of what you got, I know you don't have much.
Speaker A:Give God something to work with here.
Speaker A:If you do that, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail till the day the Lord sends rain upon the earth again.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:That's first.
Speaker A:Kings 17, 13 and 14.
Speaker A:Now, this woman had a choice.
Speaker A:She had a choice to make.
Speaker A:Hold on to what little bit.
Speaker A:She had that laster today.
Speaker A:And she knew that's all it was going to last.
Speaker A:Or just trust God with it.
Speaker A:Well, you know the story.
Speaker A:She chose faith.
Speaker A:And guess what happened?
Speaker A:Her flour and oil never ran out.
Speaker A:Day after day, week after week, month after month, God sustained her and her son throughout the rest of the famine.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Jesus referenced this very story, Luke chapter 4, verse 25 and 26, where he said, but I'm telling you a truth here, folks.
Speaker A:Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah.
Speaker A:Well, he said, Elias, but we're talking about Elijah here.
Speaker A:When the heaven was shut for three years and six months, when a great famine was throughout all the land.
Speaker A:But unto none of them was Elijah sent, except a sarapta, a city of Sidon, to a woman that was a widow.
Speaker A:And you know, I love Teaching on Elijah.
Speaker A:I don't want to get off in the end of that track because we'll be here for three weeks.
Speaker A:But let's just say when he was packing up and leaving from the river, the Brook, Corinth, to go to the Sidon Sarap, to, you know, to this widow woman, he had to pass a lot of widows.
Speaker A:He had to see so many dead bodies, people being buried.
Speaker A:And it wasn't like, okay, let me walk 15, 20 minutes over to this other town.
Speaker A:You check it on the map, it was at least a week he had to travel every day.
Speaker A:He's seeing the devastation caused by this famine.
Speaker A:He's seeing families burying their loved ones.
Speaker A:He's seen, you know, the kids with the distended stomachs and all that because of the severe famine and knew he's the one who spoke it into existence because God told him to think about that, Right?
Speaker A:He could have prayed for any of them.
Speaker A:He could have prayed, God, take care of this baby.
Speaker A:Take care of this mother with this baby.
Speaker A:Bible says he didn't do any of that.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:He just walked on until he got to this widow woman.
Speaker A:That's why Jesus said there are a lot of widows in that day.
Speaker A:But Elijah didn't.
Speaker A:Wasn't called to help anyone except one that wasn't even a Jewish woman.
Speaker A:That's the point Jesus was trying to make.
Speaker A:So why did Jesus mention this?
Speaker A:Because he was pointing out that faith is what activates provision in your life.
Speaker A:There were a lot of widows in Israel, but only this one received a miracle.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Because she believed what the prophet said.
Speaker A:She had faith.
Speaker A:And then she put her faith into action with her words and relied on the word of the Lord through the prophet that it was true.
Speaker A:Can you operate in that kind of faith?
Speaker A:Can you do what God says to do?
Speaker A:Can you trust him when he says, provision is going to be made?
Speaker A:But this is what you got to do.
Speaker A:Hello.
Speaker A:All right, let's move on.
Speaker A:Here's what we need to understand.
Speaker A:God's provision is often tied to our willingness to trust him first.
Speaker A:That would have.
Speaker A:Could have said, I need to feed myself and my son first.
Speaker A:Then if there's anything left over, I'll give it to the church.
Speaker A:I mean, I'll give it to God.
Speaker A:But no, she gave God first.
Speaker A:She gave it to God first through the prophet, right?
Speaker A:And because of that, she never lacked again.
Speaker A:That's why Jesus said, Matthew, chapter 6, verse 33, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Speaker A:Listen, if you put God first, he'll take care of the rest.
Speaker A:That's a promise from Jesus himself.
Speaker A:Do you want to argue with Jesus?
Speaker A:Huh?
Speaker A:You don't have to hoard or try and manipulate or stress about where your next meal is going to be coming from.
Speaker A:Just like the widow's flower and oil, God will sustain you.
Speaker A:It may not always make sense, but it's not supposed to make sense.
Speaker A:It's supposed to make faith.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:But it'll require a leap of faith to get from where you are, where God wants you to be.
Speaker A:But if you're willing to trust him, folks, I'm telling you, you will see supernatural provision in your life.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:You know, you've probably heard me tell the story.
Speaker A:I'll tell it one more time right here.
Speaker A:At that time I was telling you about, you know, when the insurance, my insurance agency just collapsed basically in about two months time.
Speaker A:The I went back to college to continue my degree.
Speaker A:Hopefully it helped me get a better job and all that.
Speaker A:And we had the VA money coming in and it was one of them months where, you know, the va, it was like an extra week to the payday, you know, when you had five, the checks would be mailed out on a Monday and unfortunately the first of the month was of this month was Tuesday.
Speaker A:So it had to go like that extra week, I guess you could say.
Speaker A:Anyway, long story short, rent was due and our VA check, I mean it covered barely what we needed.
Speaker A:I still had to get a part time job and all that stuff.
Speaker A:But the vhx, what paid the rent and if I was late for the rent, then there was the extra fee I had to pay on top of it.
Speaker A:And then that would be cutting into everything else.
Speaker A:I could call up on that Monday and they'd tell me, you know, what day it would be put into the mailbox, into the mail system because I was printed on that day and then the next day.
Speaker A:But they could tell me all that just by looking at the computer.
Speaker A:And we lived in Austin, about an hour and a half north of Austin.
Speaker A:And I knew that if it was mailed out on Monday or if they told me Tuesday, it'd be two days before the check out there, one day travel time, one day, the next day be in the box.
Speaker A:Well, I call them up and they say, well, it's just being printed this afternoon, so it'll probably go in the mail slot tomorrow, which means it'd be two more days.
Speaker A:That would make me one day over on that.
Speaker A:Okay, but my wife and I prayed, God, get it here early.
Speaker A:We just.
Speaker A:We can't afford this late payment fee.
Speaker A:And then my wife and I went out to the store, whatever, as we were doing, came back just out of habit.
Speaker A:I checked the mailbox.
Speaker A:You know, wasn't expecting nothing in the mailbox.
Speaker A:Matter of fact, usually the mailman would come in the afternoon.
Speaker A: This is like probably: Speaker A:We got back home, just out of habit.
Speaker A:I reach up, open the mailbox.
Speaker A:There's an envelope in there.
Speaker A:Oh, mail came early today.
Speaker A:Pull it out.
Speaker A:It's a check from the va. No cancellation stamp up in the corner.
Speaker A:You know how when it runs through the mail system, they.
Speaker A:They put that little stamp on there.
Speaker A:Nothing.
Speaker A:Open it up.
Speaker A:There's my check now.
Speaker A:They just told me it just been printed that day.
Speaker A:Hadn't even put into the mail system yet, but yet one hour after I called, I had that check in my mailbox.
Speaker A:No postage cancellation stamp on it.
Speaker A:How'd that happen?
Speaker A:I'll tell you what happened.
Speaker A:An angel.
Speaker A:As soon as that thing was printed and put in an envelope, God sent an angel down.
Speaker A:Pull it out of that system, fly it out and put it in my mailbox.
Speaker A:Want to see?
Speaker A:Here's something else.
Speaker A:Two hours later, there's more mail in my mailboxes.
Speaker A:That's when the mailman came.
Speaker A:You can't tell me God did not supernaturally get that angel to go get that and put it in my mailbox in answer to my prayer.
Speaker A:That's why I'm saying, folks, if you're willing to trust him, you will see supernatural provision in your life.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:I mean, look at this multiplication of bread with Elisha, 2nd Kings 4, 42, 44.
Speaker A:A man brought 20 barley loaves and some grain to Elisha as an offering.
Speaker A:It wasn't much in our Western thinking.
Speaker A:We're thinking 20 barley loaves, and we picture these great big French loaf bread, like 3ft long or whatever.
Speaker A:No, you're talking biscuits again.
Speaker A:Biscuits, right.
Speaker A:Barley loaves wasn't even wheat bread.
Speaker A:I mean, it was barley.
Speaker A:It was the poor man's bread, all right?
Speaker A:And it wasn't much considering the hundred men who needed to eat it.
Speaker A:20 biscuits.
Speaker A:Think about, you know, you cook Thanksgiving dinner and you got your biscuits in the oven.
Speaker A:You pull out 20 biscuits, you got eight, 10 people there.
Speaker A:I mean, those biscuits go quick.
Speaker A:Elisha was.
Speaker A:It wasn't much, let's put it like that, concerning the hundred men who needed to eat it.
Speaker A:And I'll go into more Detail on that, about the barley loaves and all that in a minute.
Speaker A:But let's just say it was not like the French bread loaves that people think about today.
Speaker A:So he brought basically a tray of biscuits.
Speaker A:And Elijah's servant immediately says, what?
Speaker A:How can I set this before a hundred men?
Speaker A:And he's like, they're gonna beat me up.
Speaker A:And it's a valid concern because logically it just wasn't enough.
Speaker A:But Elisha spoke a word from the Lord, says, give to the people that they may eat.
Speaker A:For thus saith the Lord, they shall eat, and there will be even some leftover.
Speaker A:Guess what?
Speaker A:That's exactly what happened.
Speaker A:Not only did everyone eat, there were leftovers.
Speaker A:Now, does that story sound familiar?
Speaker A:It should, because this was a direct foreshadowing of Jesus feeding.
Speaker A:Not just a hundred, he fed 5,000.
Speaker A:And that's where we're headed next.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:This is the greater miracle.
Speaker A:Turn over to John, chapter 6, verse 1.
Speaker A:We'll turn right over there right now.
Speaker A:John, chapter 6, verse 1.
Speaker A:I'm gonna get something here off to the side, because I'm gonna use this as an example.
Speaker A:Where is it?
Speaker A:Here.
Speaker A:There it is.
Speaker A:Be right back on camera.
Speaker A:Hallelujah.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Praise the Lord.
Speaker A:You're gonna want to see this because I want to show it to you.
Speaker A:All right, set it somewhere over here for right now.
Speaker A:John, chapter six, verse one.
Speaker A:Now let's get to the big one.
Speaker A:This is the feeding of the 5,000.
Speaker A:And Elisha's miracle, that was just a preview.
Speaker A:This was the main event.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:And just like the widow's flower and oil, just like manna in the wilderness, just like Elisha's multiplied bread, Jesus was about to show that God's provision.
Speaker A:Always hear me, always exceeds human expectations.
Speaker A:Okay, now let me set the scene here.
Speaker A:It's a massive crowd.
Speaker A:5000 men plus women and children.
Speaker A:Some people say as many as 20,000 people were there.
Speaker A:Let's just use a simple approach.
Speaker A:We'll say it's 10,000, all right?
Speaker A:They're gathered to hear Jesus teach.
Speaker A:The sun's starting to go down.
Speaker A:The day's fading.
Speaker A:The disciples start panicking, right?
Speaker A:How are we going to feed all these people that were too far away from town?
Speaker A:They're going to be walking in the dark to get home, right?
Speaker A:So they come to Jesus.
Speaker A:Philip comes to Jesus and says, how are.
Speaker A:I should say, Jesus turns to Philip and ask Philip to see what his response is going to be.
Speaker A:Where's your faith, Philip?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:How are you going to buy bread for all these that they may eat.
Speaker A:Jesus already knew what he's going to do, Scripture says, but he wanted to see how Philip was going to respond.
Speaker A:And Philip, he's like a lot of you.
Speaker A:Like, a lot like me too, right?
Speaker A:We're usually a realist, right?
Speaker A:Do some quick math conversions here and say 200 pennies of, you know, Pennyworth in common land, we'll call it dollars.
Speaker A:$200 worth of bread isn't even enough to feed all these people.
Speaker A:I mean, if we did, they'd all just have you.
Speaker A:There wasn't even enough to give them a little bit.
Speaker A:Jesus, that's what he's saying, right?
Speaker A:So in other words, Jesus, we don't even have enough money for that anyway.
Speaker A:How are we gonna feed all these people?
Speaker A:Then Andrew speaks up.
Speaker A:Hey, there's a boy over here.
Speaker A:He has five barley loaves and two small fishes.
Speaker A:But what's that among so many people?
Speaker A:Now that's where I want to pause here.
Speaker A:This kid's lunch was laughably small compared to the meat.
Speaker A:Okay, we already discussed what a barley loaf was here in the Bible.
Speaker A:Basically a biscuit.
Speaker A:Okay, again, barley.
Speaker A:And that's a poor boy's lunch.
Speaker A:And notice what it says, two small fish.
Speaker A:That's a snack, not a meal.
Speaker A:But here's the key.
Speaker A:He gave it to Jesus.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:I want to take a moment here and explain exactly what this boy gave to Jesus, because there's a lot of confusion over this.
Speaker A:This.
Speaker A:All right, The Bible is very clear about what it contained.
Speaker A:Five loaves, or what we said, five biscuits and two small.
Speaker A:Notice it says small fish.
Speaker A:Now, the movies, when they depict this, you know, what do you usually see?
Speaker A:And a lot of preachers will preach about this as well.
Speaker A:When they think about this situation, you usually see two fish are usually about yay long.
Speaker A:You know, say 5, 7, 8, maybe even 10 pound fish.
Speaker A:That might be a big size, but we'll say seven, eight pounds.
Speaker A:And then they got these five loaves of bread that they're breaking up to put into the basket.
Speaker A:Then we're talking about them French loaves again, right?
Speaker A:That makes for good tv.
Speaker A:But when you stop and actually read what it says, that's not what they're showing.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:So this scripture provided by John, and we already cover this.
Speaker A:Who's John?
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:What was John's role in all this?
Speaker A:He's what, an eyewitness?
Speaker A:We covered all that before.
Speaker A:John said they were too small fish.
Speaker A:Now, they're fishermen, all right?
Speaker A:They're used to catching fish.
Speaker A:Even John Says it's a small fish.
Speaker A:He's not even going to classify them as fish in the traditional sense of how big they would have to be to feed anybody.
Speaker A:But he made a point of telling us these were small fish.
Speaker A:Now what would this.
Speaker A:Think about this as well?
Speaker A:This boy followed this crowd out into the desert, right?
Speaker A:And why would he carry a basket?
Speaker A:And if we use the traditional view on the movies and, and what most people, most believers and most Christians think, why would he be carrying a basket with 10, 12 pounds of fish and five loaves of French bread sticking out of it way out into the desert so far away?
Speaker A:The disciples said they won't be able to make it back home before dark.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:If that was the case, no wonder he wanted to give it to Jesus.
Speaker A:Here, you take this.
Speaker A:I ain't carrying this thing back home.
Speaker A:Ah, don't shut me down.
Speaker A:I'm preaching good.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Imagine what that would have looked like if it was true.
Speaker A:I mean, I can't even imagine why a mother would give her boy all that food as they go follow Jesus day.
Speaker A:Here's your lunch.
Speaker A:He's carrying this big basket, right?
Speaker A:Does that make sense?
Speaker A:But yet that's what you see as they're reaching into the baskets and stuff.
Speaker A:Television in the movies and all that common sense says that's not what it was.
Speaker A:Well, what was it then?
Speaker A:Brother Bob, I am so glad you asked.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Here is an example of what many scholars say the basket would look like.
Speaker A:Right here.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:If you're watching this on audio or listening to this on audio, you're not seeing this.
Speaker A:It's a little weaving woven together.
Speaker A:Basically.
Speaker A:Lunchbox about the size of your kid would take school.
Speaker A:At least back when I was in the day, we took lunch boxes to school, right?
Speaker A:And that's what it was.
Speaker A:Just this little woven basket that's big enough to carry your couple of biscuits.
Speaker A:I'll get in more of that here a second.
Speaker A:But basically is a lunchbox, not those big baskets they're showing in the movies where it normally take.
Speaker A:Really, if you want to think about take two full grown men to carry one basket that was full, right?
Speaker A:So what would a boy be doing lugging that all around out in the desert, right?
Speaker A:Use your head here, folks, right?
Speaker A:The fish referred to here?
Speaker A:Yes, Jesus.
Speaker A:The fish referred to here.
Speaker A:In common, in common language would be called sardines.
Speaker A:It may be possibly a little bit bigger.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:If you're familiar with the smelt fish, it's a little bit bigger than the sardines.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like I said, they're only going to be about, you know, two at the most, three inches long at the most, right?
Speaker A:Lows, we already know we call them biscuits in modern talking today.
Speaker A:So look at the size.
Speaker A:Look at the size of this basket again, folks, right?
Speaker A:You could see why a mother would send this along with her son and why the boy will be able to carry it way out into the desert.
Speaker A:He's following the crowd because there's only two sardines and three biscuit or five biscuits in there, right?
Speaker A:This would easily hold two sardines and five biscuits.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Now think about it.
Speaker A:Out of this lunchbox with two sardines and five biscuits, that makes the miracle even more miraculous.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:So the disciples take this little lunchbox from this boy and bring it to Jesus and this is all we got.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:And that's when the miracle happened.
Speaker A:Jesus took it, gave thanks to God for it.
Speaker A:Remember, gratitude always precedes the multiplication, right?
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:If you pray God for provision in an area of your life and he gives you something small, don't complain about it.
Speaker A:Praise God for it.
Speaker A:You know, if you need, you know, $5,000 and you get $50.
Speaker A:God, I can't believe you guys gave me $50.
Speaker A:I asked you for $5,000.
Speaker A:What am I going to do with this?
Speaker A:My mentor, Jerry Savelle once said, if what's in your hand don't meet your need, it must be seed.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:So it start the multiplication process all over again.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:If you ain't got enough to even plant a seed, then you got to start somewhere.
Speaker A:God gives you miraculous provision.
Speaker A:Sow it.
Speaker A:Get that process going.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Because it's all in your attitude.
Speaker A:Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, Right?
Speaker A:A reminder again, gratitude always precedes multiplication and then started breaking the biscuits up and distributing it.
Speaker A:Guess what?
Speaker A:The Bible says the food didn't run out even after they got done eating, it just kept multiplying.
Speaker A:And when it was all said and done, they collected 12 baskets from full of leftovers.
Speaker A:Again, not the 12 full size baskets you see in the movies, but 12 of these little lunch baskets.
Speaker A:How do you know that, Brother Bob?
Speaker A:Because why would they be carrying 12 great big baskets way out into the desert when there wasn't nothing in them?
Speaker A:Think about it.
Speaker A:Why would all these baskets that were, you know, when full take two men to carry?
Speaker A:Why would they lug those things way out into the desert so far away that they didn't have time to go back before dark?
Speaker A:Why would they lug those baskets around.
Speaker A:There is nothing in them.
Speaker A:Oh, we're going to take these baskets out here because Jesus is going to fill them up when we come home.
Speaker A:No, that doesn't make sense.
Speaker A:That's just stuff for movies.
Speaker A:These baskets.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:If you got 15,000 people up there, there's probably more of these little baskets out there right now.
Speaker A:Why didn't they give their food to Jesus?
Speaker A:Probably because they ate it during the day while he was talking.
Speaker A:Number one, this situation is taking place.
Speaker A:It's the end of the day, right?
Speaker A:They people been sitting around listening to Jesus teach all day.
Speaker A:So, hey, mama, you know, our lunch here, it's lunchtime and they're eating their stuff, okay?
Speaker A:Now they got an empty basket.
Speaker A:They see all this food being left over, and they're asking, hey, anybody got any baskets so we can, you know, collect up this stuff so nothing goes away?
Speaker A:Here.
Speaker A:Yeah, take mine.
Speaker A:That's where they got 12 of these little lunch baskets from.
Speaker A:Ah, don't shut me down.
Speaker A:I'm preaching.
Speaker A:Good.
Speaker A:You gotta.
Speaker A:You gotta be smart when you're looking, when you're reading the Bible, you gotta put picture what reality would look like in this.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:So Jesus, he not only multiplied the food, he multiplied the baskets, too.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Now, there are probably some people who are carrying their own lunchbox or boxes, like I said.
Speaker A:But they had eaten their lunch during day, so they had nothing to sow.
Speaker A:Otherwise, it may have been in a bigger harvest.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But anyway, long story short, they had enough to hold the leftovers.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Brother Bob, the Bible doesn't say nothing about that.
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker A:Can't you see it by faith?
Speaker A:Plus, you can't prove me wrong.
Speaker A:How about that one?
Speaker A:Think about it.
Speaker A:Prove me wrong.
Speaker A:You can't.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:And we'll just leave it go at that.
Speaker A:Now, this wasn't just a miracle of multiplication.
Speaker A:There's a message in there, too.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Jesus was showing them what he later plainly taught in John 6:35, I am the bread of life.
Speaker A:He that comes to me shall never hunger.
Speaker A:The bread they ate that day would satisfy them for a few hours till they got home.
Speaker A:But Jesus, he's the only one who can satisfy us forever.
Speaker A:That boy.
Speaker A:Ha ha ha.
Speaker A:He became the talk of the town.
Speaker A:Worse.
Speaker A:What proof?
Speaker A:We're still talking about him to this day.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Because he went home with abundance.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:You know, he left the house that day with a poor boy's lunch and came home with a testimony, a reputation, and Abundance.
Speaker A:Glory to God.
Speaker A:You just missed a good place to shout amen right there.
Speaker A:That's the point of this story.
Speaker A:Glory to God, right?
Speaker A:The spiritual meaning.
Speaker A:Jesus is the bread of life.
Speaker A:Now, here's where Jesus takes this miracle and turns it into a message, a lesson that the people really were not ready to hear.
Speaker A:Right after feeding the 5,000, Jesus didn't stop at filling their stomachs.
Speaker A:He wanted to fill their souls.
Speaker A:Glory to God.
Speaker A:So the next day, the crowd comes back.
Speaker A:They're looking for him again.
Speaker A:And Jesus saw right through their intentions.
Speaker A:He said, verily, verily, I say to you, you don't seek me, not because you saw the miracles, but because you want.
Speaker A:You did eat of the loaves.
Speaker A:He goes, you just want me to fill your stomachs again.
Speaker A:In other words, you're not here because you want me.
Speaker A:You're here because you want me to give you another free meal.
Speaker A:They wanted to see the magic happen again.
Speaker A:And folks, to be honest, that happens today, all of the time.
Speaker A:How many times have you.
Speaker A:Have you or perhaps someone you know experienced a miracle provision in your life?
Speaker A:And then you went on doing your own thing, and the next time your back's up against the wall, then you go to church, then you give an offering, then you start praying, praying that Jesus will get you out of this mess again.
Speaker A:I raised my hand.
Speaker A:I've been there, done that, live that.
Speaker A:Don't look at me in that tone of voice.
Speaker A:You know you have, too.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:I know I just kicked somebody in the shins right there.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:But how does Jesus respond?
Speaker A:He changes the conversation.
Speaker A:Instead of talking about physical bread, he starts talking about spiritual bread.
Speaker A:He tells them, labor not for the meat which perishes, but for the meat which endures unto everlasting life.
Speaker A:That's verse 27, is it?
Speaker A:Everlasting life which the Son of man will give to you.
Speaker A:Right there, he's telling him you're focused on the wrong thing, folks.
Speaker A:Stop chasing after temporary provision.
Speaker A:Start seeking eternal provision.
Speaker A:Then comes the.
Speaker A:The game changer.
Speaker A:The people bring up well how God gave mana to their ancestors out in the wilderness, as if to say, moses gave us this bread from heaven, why can't you?
Speaker A:Or even better yet, how about we frame it like this?
Speaker A:Moses gave us bread from heaven.
Speaker A:What can you do?
Speaker A:Oh, trying to put it on Jesus.
Speaker A:Jesus doesn't fall for that trap.
Speaker A:He corrects him, says, moses didn't give you that bread from heaven.
Speaker A:My Father gave you the bread, and he's giving you right now the true Bread from heaven.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Let's just stop right there and look at this.
Speaker A:Moses prayed to God.
Speaker A:God answered with the manna bread provision.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:But even then, they didn't believe God could provide enough for the Sabbath day too, despite being told otherwise.
Speaker A:And boy, did they get in trouble for it.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Jesus points out, Moses didn't give you that bread.
Speaker A:It came from my Father.
Speaker A:Now he's giving you the true bread from heaven that'll never go away.
Speaker A:Then he got, then he drops the truth they're expecting.
Speaker A:I am the bread of life.
Speaker A:He that comes to me shall never hunger.
Speaker A:He that believes on me shall never thirst.
Speaker A:I am.
Speaker A:That's the name of God.
Speaker A:They knew that Jesus here is claiming something they just can't wrap their warped minds around.
Speaker A:It goes against everything they've ever been taught by the rabbis.
Speaker A:Jesus wasn't just talking about feeding people physically.
Speaker A:He's talking about satisfying their deepest hunger.
Speaker A:The deepest hunger of the human soul.
Speaker A:But they didn't want that.
Speaker A:They wanted another happy meal.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:That was just too much for them to to think about.
Speaker A:They wanted a Messiah who keep their bellies full, not a Savior who could change their heart.
Speaker A:And isn't that still the case today?
Speaker A:People chase after God after people chase after God's hands, what he can give them ever.
Speaker A:You ever give your dog a snack, right when you're doing something, say your cousin and you go over here, just what?
Speaker A:They're following your hand.
Speaker A:They're following your hand because they know that hand is a hand of provision.
Speaker A:They know that usually in this hand, when you turn around to look at them, they're getting some.
Speaker A:And that's what people do too.
Speaker A:They chase after God's hand like a dog to chase after a bone.
Speaker A:They want to know what God can give them, but they ignore his heart, who he truly is.
Speaker A:And Jesus made it very clear.
Speaker A:Man shall not live by what bread alone, but by every what word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
Speaker A:Matthew 4.
Speaker A:4.
Speaker A:He wasn't saying that food doesn't matter.
Speaker A:He was saying there's a greater hunger inside of you that only God can fill.
Speaker A:And this is the real point of the miracle.
Speaker A:It wasn't about feeding a crowd.
Speaker A:It's about revealing the true source of life and the true source of provision.
Speaker A:Bread sustains just for a moment.
Speaker A:Jesus sustains for all of eternity.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:The people were hungry again the next day.
Speaker A:That's why they came back.
Speaker A:Well, he did it once, see if he can do it twice.
Speaker A:But if they had Received Jesus as the bread of life, their souls would have been eternally satisfied.
Speaker A:We just have to trust God to provide.
Speaker A:Folks, Jesus made it clear we are not supposed to spend our lives worrying about provision.
Speaker A:In Matthew 6, 31, 33, he said, Therefore, take no thought.
Speaker A:You actually have to take that thought.
Speaker A:Allow it into your head.
Speaker A:What are we going to do, Myrtle?
Speaker A:We're all out of money.
Speaker A:The bills are piled up.
Speaker A:We're hungry.
Speaker A:Ain't nothing in the refrigerator.
Speaker A:Ain't got no beer to drink.
Speaker A:Duck can't afford no beer anyway.
Speaker A:What are we going to do, huh?
Speaker A:Jesus said, take no thought.
Speaker A:You have to take that thought and put it into your head.
Speaker A:Jesus said, don't take that thought asking, you know, what are we going to eat?
Speaker A:What are we going to drink?
Speaker A:How are we going to buy clothes?
Speaker A:And then he says, because after all these things the Gentiles seek for your Heavenly Father knows you have need of all these things.
Speaker A:Then he gives us the greatest command ever.
Speaker A:Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Shout amen right there, but get my sip of coffee here.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:All right, let that sink in.
Speaker A:God already knows what you need.
Speaker A:He's not sitting in heaven waiting for you to send him, you know, a notice saying, hey, God, in case you forgot about me, I'm still down here.
Speaker A:No, no, he's not sitting in hell waiting for you to remind him you got bills due.
Speaker A:He already sees the struggle and the stress, the anxiety that tries to creep into your life.
Speaker A:He sees the devil putting that on you.
Speaker A:He's waiting to see what you're gonna do about it.
Speaker A:What do you mean, what I'm gonna do about.
Speaker A:I've already tried.
Speaker A:That's why I got all these problems.
Speaker A:Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker A:Okay, what does Jesus say?
Speaker A:Seek first the kingdom, put God first.
Speaker A:Trust him, watch him take care of everything else.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:The Israelites, they had to trust daily for manna.
Speaker A:The widow had to trust God with the last little bit of oil and flour.
Speaker A:And then after she cooked the cakes, I bet she went back inside, said, all right, we are out now.
Speaker A:Prophet said, God is going to provide for us.
Speaker A:Let me go see.
Speaker A:And she opened up that jar, and it's full of flour.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker A:Went over the cruise of oil.
Speaker A:It's full.
Speaker A:How that happened, God?
Speaker A:But notice, every single day, she had to go back to that cruise of oil and trust it was full again.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:The disciples had to trust Jesus to Multiply was what just wasn't enough.
Speaker A:And in every single case, folks, God came through.
Speaker A:Every single case.
Speaker A:That's why Jesus said, give us today, this day, our daily bread.
Speaker A:Who's doing the giving?
Speaker A:God.
Speaker A:When's he gonna give it?
Speaker A:This day.
Speaker A:What's he gonna give you?
Speaker A:Our daily bread.
Speaker A:Not weekly, not monthly.
Speaker A:He's not giving you a month of rations.
Speaker A:You gotta trust him.
Speaker A:Each and every single day.
Speaker A:Every single day.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:God wants us to depend on him and every single day.
Speaker A:I mean, if he could rain manna down from heaven for 40 years, if he could sustain a widow and her son in the middle of a famine, if he could feed thousands with one kid's Happy Meal, he could take care of you.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Do you believe that?
Speaker A:Do you want to know the secret to getting your needs met?
Speaker A:Here it is.
Speaker A:Offer what you have.
Speaker A:Offer what you have now.
Speaker A:Not what might happen later on.
Speaker A:Offer what you have now.
Speaker A:Because here's the thing.
Speaker A:The miracle always starts with what's in your hand.
Speaker A:What's in your hand.
Speaker A:What you already have.
Speaker A:What is already in your possession at that moment.
Speaker A:Not what you'll have in two weeks on payday.
Speaker A:And then I'll sow an offering after I pay all my bills.
Speaker A:Not what you'll have after you get your tax refund.
Speaker A:Not what you'll have next week, next month, next year.
Speaker A:Jesus says, what do you have?
Speaker A:Now, that's the only thing Jesus is going to ask you about.
Speaker A:The widow already had a little oil.
Speaker A:The boy in the crowd had a picnic lunch.
Speaker A:And both of them gave what they had.
Speaker A:He gave to the disciples all that he had.
Speaker A:Here's my lunch.
Speaker A:He don't have lunch now.
Speaker A:He gave a hundred percent of what he had.
Speaker A:He didn't say.
Speaker A:All right, I got five biscuits.
Speaker A:There's two fish in here.
Speaker A:Give me one fish and one biscuit.
Speaker A:You can have the rest.
Speaker A:No, he gave it all.
Speaker A:He gave it all.
Speaker A:It wasn't much.
Speaker A:God doesn't need much.
Speaker A:He just needs you to surrender what you already have in your eyes.
Speaker A:It may not be much, but in God's eyes, you just made a huge offer too many times.
Speaker A:People think, I don't have enough for God to use.
Speaker A:This little is.
Speaker A:This little bit I got isn't going to matter much when I get a million dollars.
Speaker A:Oh, I'm gonna do all this great work, then I'm gonna do some great things for God when he gives me a million dollars, I'll do some great things for God.
Speaker A:Notice Jesus didn't ask what they have.
Speaker A:He didn't ask, who's got stuff back home you can bring out here so we can have a good lunch tomorrow?
Speaker A:No, he didn't ask them that.
Speaker A:He only asked what they had here, what they had now.
Speaker A:And when they put what they had into his hands, it became more than enough.
Speaker A:And after the meeting ended, after meeting the needs of the people, it said they were all full.
Speaker A:When one hungry belly in a whole lot, they were all full.
Speaker A:The one who sowed the little, he reaped the most, he went home.
Speaker A:Oh, he went home with a story to tell.
Speaker A:Glory to God.
Speaker A:Ah, don't shut me down.
Speaker A:I'm preaching.
Speaker A:Good.
Speaker A:What do you have today, folks?
Speaker A:Maybe it's a small business idea that doesn't seem like it could ever work right.
Speaker A:Maybe it's a ministry, a ministry calling that feels out of reach right now.
Speaker A:Maybe it's just a few dollars left in your bank account and you don't see how you're gonna make it, huh?
Speaker A:But in Jesus's hands, if he could multiply a boy's lunch, he could multiply your resources, your influences, your opportunities.
Speaker A:Remember, this boy had two sardines and five biscuits, fed 5,000 plus people, and we're still talking about it 2,000 years later.
Speaker A:What will people talking about your offerings in another 2,000 years, small though it may seem in the natural.
Speaker A:And God takes it and multiplies it, huh?
Speaker A:He multiplies it.
Speaker A:Feeding the thousands.
Speaker A:God can do so many things.
Speaker A:All right, we're about out of time.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:You probably have not noticed, but everything I taught to you today was out of the red letter words of Jesus.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:And I use this, you know, we're part of a project like this.
Speaker A:We're calling on believers like you to sow into this mission of getting the red letter words out into all the earth.
Speaker A:How can you be part of this?
Speaker A:First, any offer you provide will help make a difference, no matter the amount too small.
Speaker A:Just like the boys lunch, God can take what we give and multiply it for his kingdom.
Speaker A:Those who are able to sow at least 250, there's an opportunity to reap a harvest as well.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Because we're going to put back not just the money you got back, we're going to be twice over through the book sales once they're up and running.
Speaker A:This is more than giving.
Speaker A:It's about having a conduit for God's provision.
Speaker A:Just like Jesus demonstrated in today's message.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Praise the Lord.
Speaker A:And we're moving fast.
Speaker A:We want to do this.
Speaker A: t to have this done by Easter: Speaker A:So it's time to sow right now.
Speaker A:I need your help in this.
Speaker A:I need you to trust me when I say this book changes lives.
Speaker A:It's already proven it with multiple testimonies from various nations around the world.
Speaker A:Now, you can learn more about this at the URL divine publications dot world.
Speaker A:Divine publications dot world.
Speaker A:I also set up a GoFundMe account.
Speaker A:Go to gofundme.com forward slash what did Jesus say?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And that'll give you all that information.
Speaker A:We are all out of time.
Speaker A:Prayer.
Speaker A:Praise God.
Speaker A:Time goes by so fast.
Speaker A:Until next time, this is Pastor B reminding you, be blessed.
Speaker A:And all of you, drop down the show notes, click the link right there.
Speaker A:Thank you for joining us for this session of the Red Letter Crusade.
Speaker A:Remember, in a world full of noise, only one voice still speaks with eternal truth.
Speaker A:That's the voice.
Speaker A:Voice of Jesus through the Red Letter words in the Bible.
Speaker A:Please hit that like and subscribe button and share this episode with others until next time.
Speaker A:Remember, in a world where clarity is needed now more than ever, his words matter.
