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Well, good evening. I'm going to. I'm going to jump right in so that we make the most of our time this evening. I go to a number of camps around the United States, camps and conference centers, but I don't know of another one that has a mission speaker for the week. And I think that it's one of the. One of the greatest assets that Gull Lake has to give. Caitlin, I want to thank you. Where are you? Thank you so much. We really appreciate that. Because, you know, we realize as good as this week is for us, we realized, oh, it's not just about me. And, you know, we need to realize that the majority of the body of Christ around the world comes from a radically different background than I do. And it's good to be informed of what God is doing through Convoy of Hope. May God bless you. I'd like to pray and then begin. Father, we want to thank you for this evening. Thank you for the food, and thank you for the service that Gull Lake is rendering to us and our children this week. Thank you for Convoy of Hope. And Lord, I pray that this ministry would be a channel through which Christ can move freely and in a practical way, extend the love of God, and in doing so, extend Jesus to them. Lord, be our teacher. Right now we pray in Christ's name. Amen. If I have the first slide this evening, we're going to go to John chapter six and the feeding of the 5,000. Probably appropriate after a meal like we've had tonight. I feel like I've eaten enough for 5,000 tonight. The interesting thing about this sign, this event, it's the only miracle of Christ that is recorded in all four Gospels. It's very interesting. And so if God repeated himself, there's a good reason for that. And I have put these words underneath this more than enough, because this is what Jesus shows us in this passage. The disciples had just come back from their first outreach. Jesus invited them to have a time out. They saw Lord Jesus. The place is desolate. It's like, have them, you know, go out and get some food by themselves. And then Jesus turns to them in Mark, chapter six in the parallel passage and says, you give them something to eat. And like I'm saying to myself, isn't that a picture of our lives? That's certainly a picture of my life in ministry. Ministry is being called to serve the needs of others while you have needs yourself. And I was speaking to somebody today. We all know that as parents, don't we? Parenting and being involved in marriage is Being called upon to meet the needs of others, while you have needs yourself. And that's a steep learning curve. And that's why we have this passage. Not only that, but John the Baptist had just been murdered. And some of the disciples had been disciples of John the Baptist. And then we commonly call this the feeding of the 5,000. But in one of the parallel passages in Matthew 14:21, it says, and there were about 5,000 men who ate aside from women and children. So this is a group of upwards towards 10,000. Just to accentuate how big Jesus is and how big the need was. And when Jesus moves, he always has complete answers, never partial ones. And he will meet the need appropriately. And this is one of the passages in which we learn this. So let me read verses one to five. After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, where or Tiberius. And a large crowd followed him because they saw the signs which he was performing on those who were sick. And then Jesus went up on a mountain and he sat there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. And therefore Jesus, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, where are we going to buy bread that these may eat? And again, this is One of those 35 questions that Jesus asked. It was a specific question aimed at a specific person to elicit a specific response. Jesus wasn't seeking information that he didn't have. Do we understand that he was seeking a confession? He was seeking the heart condition that he wanted to bring to the surface of through these questions. And this is a classic. He says to Philip, were we to buy bread that these may eat? And then we read this in verse 6. This he was saying to test him. For he himself knew what he was intending to do. Philip answered him and said, 200 denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to. To receive a little. Why Philip? Because this took place in his hometown. If anybody knew what to do, it was Philip. And he comes up with his answer and says, Jesus, 200 denarii. That's a day's wage in that economy. So this is a half year's wages. He says, not even that is enough for everyone just to receive a little. And this he was saying to test him. Now let's have the next slide. I want to explain something here because it's a good question that comes up. It says in James, chapter one and verse 13, God cannot be tempted, nor does he tempt anyone. So God doesn't tempt, but he does test. And so I'm glad you asked the question, what's the difference between the two? And it's a good question. And this is my take on that. Probably there's some other things. Temptation is something that is humanly possible. A test is something that is only divinely possible. A temptation is aimed at our flesh. Tests are aimed at our faith. To reword this, I would say this one. Temptation is an opportunity to act independently from Christ. A test is an opportunity to act in dependence upon Christ. Temptations are intended to be destructive. Tests are intended to be constructive. Next slide. Temptations are intended to make us weak. Tests are intended to make us strong. Temptations look good, tests look bad. That's just my take on this. There's probably some more things that we could say about it. But the question has come up often within the context of preaching through this passage. Peter, what's the difference between temptation and testing? That would be a number of the things that I would say. And then we have this phrase. For He Himself knew what he was intending to do. There is no need in my life for which Jesus is unprepared. Jesus is never caught off guard by an emergency in my life. He knew what he was intending to do. On our windowsill where I spend time doing the dishes after Gabi cooks. I married the baker's daughter. So I. Very good. And that's the deal we made. And Gabi has a plaque there. And we got that from the Dohniver Fellowship, which is a mission which was helped founded by Amy Carmichael, if you've read her writings. And on this wooden plaque it very simply says, jesus knows. Did you know that about your crisis this evening? Jesus knows. He knows what he wants to do. Psalm 147, verses 3 to 5. It says, he heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the numbers stars. And he gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord and abundant in strength. His understanding is infinite. Our Lord has as many ideas as to how to meet my need. As there are stars in the sky, the human eye, I've been told, can can spot about 6,000 stars. Einstein estimated that there are 10 octillion of them. That's the number followed by 28 zeros. How he came up with that number, I don't know. I just know that when I start trying to name the ones that I see, I'm thinking Helmut Johannes, Eric Walter, etc. Etc. I come to the end of my list pretty quick. Jesus has as many ideas as there are stars in the sky. He knows. When Gabby was walking through that dark period in her life, I was telling somebody this afternoon when Alexander, her first husband, passed away. And there she was in her early 30s, a widow and a single mom. Her one prayer was this one, now, Jesus, I need you right now. And that's all she was able to eke out of her heart. And that was enough. Because Jesus knows. Jesus knows. Philip's strength was not being tested. His faith was being tested. And the answer reveals something in his heart that is often a part of my life. 200 denarii worth of bread is not enough for everybody to receive just a little. Do you know what that answer is? That answer is an answer that any atheist could give. He was looking at what was physically, visibly, humanly possible. But that's all. This guy at this point was a professing Christian and a practicing atheist. How often is that? Peter Reed, a professing Christian and a practicing atheist. I'm just reckoning with that which is physically, visibly, humanly possible. And I don't have Jesus in mind. Philip's need was not for bread. Philip's need was the bread of life, Jesus himself. Philip's need at that point was to remain rightly related to Jesus and to maintain dependence upon him at all costs. And Jesus was testing him. And that answer reveals a heart that Jesus was trying to cure. James, chapter one. In verses two to five, James speaks about tests, and he says, consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. My freshman year of college, I learned that if you were an RA in the student dorm, you got a discount on your food and housing. I come from Scottish descent, so when I heard that, bells started ringing, and so I applied for the job. I got it. And so my sophomore year, I went and went to my floor where I was going to live for that year. I played soccer and tennis in college. And my resident director had a sincere but somewhat faulty thought process. He thought because Peter's involved in athletics, he'll have an in with the other athletes on campus. So there I am, and all of a sudden I figure out he put the football players, the wrestlers, and the basketball players all on my floor. Let me tell you something. There is a universe of difference between a Tennis player and a football player. These guys did things that I can't mention in public. But let me give you an example. One night they kidnapped the security guard, wrapped him in duct tape, put him in a shopping cart and rolled him into the student lounge where the janitor found him the next morning. He was living, but I thought, I'm going to be the next burnt offering here unless I make some type of inn with these guys. So the two captains of the football team, Joey and Kenny, were a few doors down. And, you know, how can I possibly, you know, kind of hang out with these guys? Just build a relationship. So I roll up to Kenny and he was a captain of the defense. This guy had no neck, just muscles from here to his jawbone. He looked like he swallowed a flat screen tv. He had to walk, you know, like this through the door because he couldn't get through this way. So I said, joey, you have any hobbies? What are you doing in your spare time? He said, we go work out. One day I got all my courage up and I said, can I go with you sometime? I don't understand why some person laughed in the audience. But anyway, Joey took me in and some of you guys know exactly what I'm going to say. We walked into this weight training center and on all four walls are mirrors. So there I am standing next to the flat screen and it looks like Mr. Bean came to lift weights. Hi, guys. And it was horrible because I'm standing next to this guy and I'm reflected on all four walls. So he says, we're going to start out with a bench press. You lie down right there and we'll just do a repetant. We'll go to the next station. I lie down, he puts the bar in my chest and I'm going. This vein almost popped. This is no joke. He went like this. He put it back on the rack. He said, we're going to start with the bar. It weighs 40 pounds. So there I am, I'm doing go to another station. Next day I'm walking around campus like this. Not because I was huge, but because it hurt so bad to comb my hair. I'm going, joey, when can I, you know, get rid of the bed head? He said, listen, we have a day of training, then we have a day of rest. I said, praise God. Day of training, day of rest. Because, and some of you guys know this, when you lift weights, you're actually damaging the muscle tissue and they need some type of regeneration afterwards. It's stress and then rest, stress and Then rest. If you do that properly and then the right sequence, your muscle tissue begins to grow. Obviously, I did not continue, but I learned something about muscle tissue that year, and it's very simply this. A muscle needs to be used in order to grow. Some of you have had an extended stay in the hospital or a sickness and you've experienced what we call atrophy. The German word is even better. It's called muskelchwund. That means the disappearance of muscle tissue because it's not being used. Wouldn't it be great to read a book or listen to a podcast on weightlifting and increase your muscle tissue after each chapter? Wouldn't that be great? Just bam. I'll read another chapter. Bam. That's how we're trying to learn. Faith doesn't work that way. I sure wish it did, but it doesn't. There's only one way to strengthen our faith, and that's by using it. And this is why Jesus is a good teacher. And this is why he will lead us into periods of testing, because it's constructive, not destructive. Our strength is not being tested. Our faith is being tested. If anybody's strength is being tested, it's Christ's strength, not mine. And we need to decide to depend. And friends, faith will no longer be tested when faith is no longer needed. And that day will come when I'm with Jesus. But until then, it's going to be one test after another after another. And praise God for that. Because the goal of all faith is that its object might become more real. Isn't that what we want, for Jesus to become more real? That's why the tests are so important. That's why James says, consider it all Joy, my brethren, when you encounter various periods of training, knowing that the training of your faith produces muscle. Friends, we do not lack in enthusiasm today. We lack in endurance. That's what we're lacking in and that's what we need in the body of Christ today. That's what I need in my marriage. That's why I need now being a grandparent taking another lap and the training of now our grandchildren. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, there's a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are these for so many people? Jesus said, have the people sit down now. There was much grass in the place. And so the men sat down in number about 5,000. And Jesus then took the loaves. And having given thanks, he distributed to those who were seated like side, likewise also of the fish. As much as they wanted. What precedes this event is that Jesus had been teaching and healing that day. In fact, there were so many people watching this that he had to go out in a boat and then teach them while they stood on the shore. And I don't know where this little boy came from, whether the little boy drew the conclusion or his parents, but they kind of pushed him to the forefront. And after hearing the word of God taught and seeing Jesus do something that was beyond human capability, they drew the conclusion that in light of the need around us, maybe Jesus can do something with this little boy's lunch. And so it says there were five barley loaves. Barley was fed to the cattle in that day. It was not good grain for bread. My father in law is a baker, and one day he told me that the bakers would kind of tease each other because they would compare their bread, and one of the ways in which they would kind of, you know, make fun of another baker would be to say, oh, did you make barley bread today? It was kind of like, you know, poking a jab at him, you know, making fun of his poor bread. I said, really? They said that? He said, yeah. And then the NIV version, the nearly inspired version, actually gets it right where it says, there were, there were, there were, there were two small fish, more like sardines than anything else. So this was bad bread, and it was small fish. And so Andrew comes up with the evangelical, you know, conclusion, but what are these for so many people? How often do you speak about. To somebody about the. The sufficiency of Christ? And the response is, yes, yes, yes, but what are these? We find the answer in First Corinthians, chapter 1 and verse 26, where Scripture says, God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong and the base things of the world. And the despised God has chosen the things that are not, that he might nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. So I wonder this evening what our fish and loaves are. What's our barley bread and two stinky fish. So in the seventh grade, my parents had one of those parent teacher meetings. And my. My teacher told my parents, don't expect anything more than a C from Peter because he's not really the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. They didn't tell me that until years later. And then one day I read Matthew 11:25, and Jesus says, I praise you, Father, Lord of Heaven. And earth that you have revealed these things to babes, but you've hidden them from the wise and the intelligent. And I'm learning with Jesus, it's not aptitude, it's attitude of heart towards him that makes the difference. Torchbearers is primarily a lay movement and God called an army major, an accountant, a realtor, a banker, a school principal, a mountain guide, and a full fledged hippie into our ministry. And it was one of the older staff when I was considering further training, which I just. The situation didn't allow it. He just said, listen, you don't necessarily need it. You need to be a good student of God's word and put yourself to doing that. And then I read one day in Acts chapter 4, in verse 13, where the religious elite had Peter and John standing before them and they were angry at them because of what Jesus was doing through their lives. And it says, these were uneducated and untrained men. I said, thank you. So I had six months of Bible school. After high school, I went to college and I studied social science and history, thinking that I would be a teacher. But I have no formal training. My worst grade in college was a class that I wished that I could have dropped, but I had to have it to graduate. My worst grade on my transcript, it was called public speaking. I love to study God's word and I love to speak about Jesus, but I do not cherish standing in front of other people and speaking. I said that to a colleague of mine one day, and he said, peter, sometimes the Lord gifts us contrary to our personality just so that we might stay humble and dependent upon him. And then I heard an old torchbearer say something about numbers 22. And he said, listen, God opened the mouth of a jackass to speak to a disobedient prophet, so he can use any jackass today. And so I said, okay, I'm in. So what's your. What are your fish and your loaves? That's really not the main thing. Do I have an attitude of dependence upon him? And when I read scripture, I'm realizing that God is not looking for my ability, he's looking for my humility. That's what counts. And so as I read scripture, I find a lot of unlikely candidates to be used, like this little boy with the five loaves and the two fish. So here's my list of the unlikely candidates to be used by God. Noah got drunk. Abraham was too old. Sarah had stopped ovulating. Isaac was a daydreamer. Jacob was a liar. Leah was ugly. Judah committed incest. Joseph was abused, Moses murdered. So did David and Paul. Moses stuttered, tended sheep and died too young. Barak was a wimp. Deborah was a woman. Gideon was afraid and Samson had long hair. Jephthah's mother was a prostitute. Hosea's wife was a prostitute. Rahab was a prostitute. David was too young. So were Jeremiah and Timothy. David had a nervous breakdown and an affair. The widow Zarephath was dying. Elijah was suicidal and Elisha was bald. Jeremiah was depressed. Isaiah had a foul mouth and preached in the nude. Daniel was locked in with lions. Jonah ran away and Naomi was a widow. Job lost his children, his health and his wealth. John the Baptist ate bugs. Peter had a bad temper, a big mouth and broke his promise. John was self righteous. The disciples fell asleep. Matthew was a thief. Thomas doubted. Simon was fanatical. Nathanael was cynical. Martha was a worry wart and Mary didn't serve. Mary Magdalene was demon possessed. The little boy only had five loaves and two fish. The woman at Sychar had a lot of lovers and Zacchaeus was too short. The colt that Jesus wrote on was a jackass and some of his disciples were too. Simon was a passerby. Paul was single, a prisoner and a poor speaker. Philip disappeared, Mark quit, Timothy had ulcers and Lazarus was dead. So what does it matter? I'm serious. We live in the day of the American Idol. Germany's searching for a superstar. Jesus is just looking for somebody who will let him be God in their lives and get the job done himself. It says that Jesus took the loaves and he gave thanks. In fact, in Matthew 14:19 it says he looked up towards heaven and gave thanks. What was he doing? He was indicating to the disciples and to us. I'm going to do this in total dependence upon my Father. I'm going to act according to the unseen factor of my Father's presence in my life. Because it's the Father in Me who does his works. And so he gave thanks. You know, we get to crisis, we get the emergency, Jesus comes through and we say thanks. After the miracle took place, Jesus didn't live that way. He said thank you beforehand because he lived in such perfect fellowship with His Father that His Father, according to John 5 and verse 19, showed him at all times what he wanted to do. And that's our great school. To give Jesus time enough to lay upon our hearts, to speak through Scripture or to speak through his body so that we might know what his will is and what he is saying that we should do in each individual situation, and it'll bring us to the point of dependence. And he takes the bread, he breaks it, and he starts giving to the disciples. And they go and give it to others. Because participation in Christ's working provides more assurance afterwards than just observation of Christ's working. So he involves us, and he does that because he wants to give us more assurance for next time. It says, when they were filled, he said to his disciples, gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost. And so they gathered them up and filled the 12 baskets with the fragments. Fragrance. I'm sorry. Fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. It says they ate as much as they wanted. That is the generosity of Jesus. Jesus never has partial solutions. He has completed solutions. And he said, go pick up the leftovers. It's not like Jesus saying, let's leave the campground nicer than we found it. He says, guys, go fill them up. Just clean up all the leftovers. They come back with 12 baskets full. How many disciples? 12. How many baskets full? 12. As a testimony, Jesus is more than enough. Now, somebody sitting in the audience and saying, peter, this time, as we say in German, you've just leaned out the window a little bit too far. You can't draw that conclusion from that passage. You're right, I can't. But Jesus did. And we read in Mark, chapter eight, after this had taken place, it says that they were with Jesus and they had forgotten to take bread and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? And do you not remember when I broke the five loaves for the 5,000? How many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up? And they said, 12. And he said, don't you understand, Peter? Don't you understand? I'm more than enough. And you can trust me in the next crisis because of what you've learned here. We must never forget the ministry of reminder. Because the person, the teacher, the counselor, the pastor, the writer who often does me the most good, is not necessarily the one who tells me something new, but the one who reminds me of what I've forgotten. Because the human heart is intensely forgetful and tangential. I just forget what Jesus has done in the past. So if I could have the last slide. This is our benediction. For this evening now, to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask and think according to the power that works within us to him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Now that, friends, is bad grammar because it's this string of adjectives. It's like my friends in Texas saying, y', all, y', all, y', all, y'. All. He is able to do far more abundantly beyond all. Paul is groping for an expression to impress upon our hearts by the Spirit what Jesus is able to do. And he is able to do in any situation in this room this evening far more abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think. Is he enough? He's more than enough, and we can take a basket with us tonight. So let's be silent for 30 seconds and just speak to the Lord and then I'll close. Father, how we need a reminder, and I want to thank you that as the Son reckoned with the presence of his father, Lord Jesus, we may reckon with your presence in our lives. Thank you, Lord, this evening that we don't have to ask you to go with us because you do. And at least for that, we thank you, Lord Jesus, that you live within us and for whatever this passage means to an individual heart this evening, I'd simply pray that you would give them the assurance directly by your spirit that they can entrust you with the crisis for your name's sake. Am.