Lunch with Jesus (#2 of 3)

Greg Laurie: We need to come to God and offer what we have and let him multiply it.
Guest (Male): We all want to be used by the Lord, and he wants to use us. Today, Pastor Greg Laurie says the Lord gives us gifts to equip us for effective service for his kingdom.
Greg Laurie: Gifts from God don't come fully developed. You have to cultivate them. That's why Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:6, fan into flames the spiritual gift that God has given to you. Sometimes we treat prayer as a last resort. In reality, it's our best option, and sometimes it's our only option. So many of us could testify to the power of prayer and even tell a story of how God came through just in the nick of time. So why aren't we calling on God more often? And why don't we let him use us to step out boldly for him? We'll consider those questions today on A New Beginning as Pastor Greg Laurie helps us examine the feeding of the 5,000 in John chapter 6. So I heard this story about an elderly woman. Her husband had died. She was lonely, and she wanted someone to talk to. She heard that there was a parrot down at the local pet shop that talked a lot. Someone suggested, you want to buy that parrot. Then you'll have someone to talk to. So she went down to the pet store and said, I'd like to buy this parrot, but you have to guarantee to me this parrot will talk. The pet shop owner said, ma'am, this parrot will talk. So she bought a ticket home. We can have one by she came back to the pet shop and said, that parrot hasn't said a word. He hasn't said anything. Pet shop owner said, did you buy him a mirror? No, she said. Oh, a parrot will talk if it has a mirror. Get him a mirror. You'll see. So she bought a mirror, took it home. Another week and a half passes, she comes back to the pet store. The parrot still isn't talking. Oh, did you get the parrot a ladder? Every parrot needs a ladder. If he has a ladder to walk up and down, he'll start talking. She said, okay, I'll buy the ladder. Took it home. Another week and a half passes. She comes back to the pet store. The parrot still doesn't talk. Did you get him a swing? The pet shop owner asks, no, get him a swing. If the parrot has a swing, he 'll start talking. Okay. She bought the swing, took it home. Still the parrot wasn't talking, and a 2 weeks passed, and she came back to the pet shop, and she was so angry. She said, none of those things worked. Not only did that parrot not talk, he died. The man said, did he ever say anything to you at all? She said, he did say one thing. Really? What did he say? He said, do they have any food down at that pet store? Now that's not a true story cuz oh, it's so sad. There's no parrot. There's no old woman. It's all fiction. But it's about eating. It's a story of the feeding of the 5,000. John chapter 6 starting at verse 1. After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went because they saw the miraculous signs as he healed the sick. Then Jesus climbed a hill, sat down with his disciples around him. It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration. Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him, and turning to Philip, he asked, where can we buy bread to feed all of these people? Verse 6 is is very important. You might underline it. He was testing Philip for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them. Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke, well, there's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with such a huge crowd? Jesus said, tell everyone to sit down. They all sat down on the grassy slopes. The men alone numbered about 5,000. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterwards, he did the same with the fish, and they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, now gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted. So they picked up the pieces and filled 12 baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. When the people saw this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, surely he is the prophet we've been expecting. We'll stop there. So there are three primary characters that stand out in this story. Philip, Andrew, and the little boy. We don't know his name, but he's a big part of the story. Let's start with Philip. Understand that every one of the disciples had a distinct personality, just like people you know. Now Philip is quiet, perceptive, a deep thinker. And it is worth noting that Jesus turns to Philip with a question, his first test. And by the way, Jesus never asked anyone else for advice ever except on this occasion when he turns to Philip and asks John 6 5. Turning to Philip, he asked, where can we buy bread to feed all these people? He was testing Philip for he knew what he was going to do. Seems like a no-brainer. Philip could have said, well, considering the fact that you've already done all these amazing miracles starting with turning water into wine, I would think this is pretty easy for you. You could just speak the word and and everyone would be fed. But instead, Philip is perplexed, and he says, well, you know, even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to pay for the food to get to all of these people. I mean, despite uh 2 years at this point of walking personally with Jesus and seeing him do miracle after miracle, Philip is like, I don't I don't know what to do with this. And you know, we can criticize Philip, but isn't that just like us? Haven't you ever had a moment where you've had doubt in your mind? A crisis hits. An unexpected problem comes, and you freak out. You have a complete meltdown. Wait, has God not been faithful to you up to this point? Has he not met your needs? Has he not taken care of you? Somehow you have a case of spiritual amnesia. You forget everything, and you think this is the end. Well, that happens all the time. It happened to the disciples. They didn't simply see that God could do something in this set of circumstances. We often forget how faithful God has been. Here's the problem. We forget what we ought to remember, and we remember what we ought to forget. So don't forget God's faithfulness to you. He's been faithful in the past. He'll be faithful in your present, and he'll be faithful to you in your future as well. Now it's Andrew's turn. Philip didn't do too well. If we were grading him, I don't know what grade we would give him. It wouldn't be very high. But Andrew chimes in interestingly. Jesus doesn't ask Andrew for his opinion, but he has one nonetheless. And Andrew is a really interesting guy. He was more of a behind-the-scenes person. He was a person who liked to connect people to Jesus. And here we have Andrew showing up with a little boy, and he he's really close to the answer, but not quite. Well, he says to Jesus, there's this little kid here. He has five loaves of bread and two little fish. But then he quickly says, but what good is that with such a huge crowd? Here's all these adults perplexed by this problem, and here's a little kid that says, well, I've I've got this. If this could be of any help, I'd like to offer it to you, Jesus. The lunch was as insignificant as it could be. The little boy was as insignificant as he could be. But here's the point of the story, that which was insufficient and insignificant became sufficient and significant when placed in the hands of Jesus. Let me say it again. That which was insufficient from the hands of the insignificant became sufficient and significant when placed in the hands of Jesus. So you say, Lord, okay, here I am. I don't have a lot to offer, but I do give it to you, and I give it all to you. And I ask you to take what I've given and use it for your glory. So I encourage you, bring your loaves and fish to Jesus.
Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.
Dave: Well, Pastor Greg, it's such a such an encouragement to us here at A New Beginning. When listeners tell us how this broadcast has impacted their life, in fact, some people even call us and leave a recording of how the program has affected them. That's really the way that impacts us most cuz we get to hear that in their actual voice. Isn't that true?
Greg Laurie: Yeah. Mhm. Oh yes, I can tell you, Dave, how many times I've met people just out and about who will tell me, I maybe in an airport or you know, walking through a market or whatever, and they'll say, are you Greg Laurie? I'll say yes, and then they'll slap me. That happens most of the time, and I don't like that. Uh no, they don't. But no, generally people are so nice, and they say, I have to tell you a story. Do you have a moment? Yes, I do. And they'll tell me of how they came to Christ hearing our radio broadcast. That's such a blessing to me, and I want other people to hear those stories. So here's my question to you. Have you made a commitment to Jesus Christ listening to a new beginning? And maybe you came to Christ at one of our harvest crusades or are watching something we did online or whatever it is. But if you came to Christ through our media ministry, I'd love to hear your story. I I want you to tell me what happened to you, and we just might use it and put it on air, and a lot of people will be blessed to hear what God has done in your life. So there's a number you can call. It's a designated number to share your story. And Dave, what is that number?
Dave: Yes, 866-871-1144. You can call anytime. Again, 866-871-1144. Tell us how the Lord has used this ministry to bring you to the Lord. Well, we're taking a close look at the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6 and Pastor Greg's message today, Lunch with Jesus.
Greg Laurie: Another thing I love about Andrew is maybe he wasn't the most outspoken one and the one people noticed, but he helped bring people to Jesus and help people find their spiritual gift. And maybe that's you. You're more of the behind-the-scenes person, but you're significant too. And you see the potential in someone. Sometimes someone else can see your giftedness better than you can see it. And they might say, you know, I've just noticed that I think you have this gift. No, not me. No, you do. I see it. Maybe you should help out in the church and serve in Sunday school, or maybe you should help out over here or do this other thing cuz you have a gift here. I'm so thankful that Pastor Chuck Smith saw something in a 17-year-old kid named Greg and gave me a chance when I showed up at his house unannounced and uninvited and knocked on the door. And I said, hi Chuck, my name is Greg, and I have this little cartoon track that I drew, and I don't know if it could be of use to anyone. And Chuck said, hey, let's change the format of it and print it. And now I want to talk for a moment just about the Jesus Revolution film because there's this one scene people really love. And it's when Chuck gives the keys to Greg for the new church, right? And someone asked me the other day, what was it like when Chuck gave you the keys to your new church? Hate to break this to you, this never happened. What you're saying it didn't happen. Now in a way the the essence of the story is true, but let me tell you the whole story. So uh I started serving the Lord and helping out and volunteering to do whatever I could at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. And there were a group of pastors there that were all around 8 or 9 years older than I was. And I had my drawing board set up in the back office there and and so I would do what no one else wanted to do. So when they would go to lunch, they would let me answer the phones in the church office. Someone's calling for counsel. They're getting advice from a 19-year-old kid. It's only been a believer for 2 years, but they gave me that opportunity. So how did the whole thing with the church happen? Okay, so Lonnie Frisbee was invited up to Riverside to start a Bible study because they wanted to have a Jesus movement like they were seen happening down here in Costa Mesa. And so Lonnie was invited up to Riverside. He began this Bible study, and it grew to 300 people, and it was going really well. But then Lonnie left for Florida. And so it was being passed around to various Calvary Chapel pastors there. And so one day I was sitting in the back office, and someone said, who's going to Riverside this week? Another said, well, I went last week. I don't want to go. Another said, well, I'm going in 2 weeks. Do you want to go? No one wanted to go. And I'm sitting back there and I said, I'll go. And I even started that way, I'll I'll go. Okay, Greg, go for it. Okay. So I went to Riverside, and it was about 30 people at this point. And I began to teach God's word to the best of my ability, and it began to grow and grow a little more. And then it was getting kind of like a church in a church. This was all happening at a church called All Saints Episcopal Church. So we outgrew this building. We needed our own building. So I went to Pastor Chuck and I said, Chuck, we need a building for our church. He said, Greg, start looking around. And I did, and I found this building that had been abandoned because they had a church split that's shown in the movie. And uh so I said, Chuck, I found this building. Will you come look at it? So he drove up, and we're walking around looking at this building, imagining its potential. And I see Chuck sitting in the front pew talking to the realtor, and he pulls out his checkbook, and he writes a check and gives it to the realtor. And then he walks up to me and says, well, Greg, you got yourself a church. And he got in his car and drove home. Okay, so this is the true story. Now Chuck did not write a check for the purchase of the church. He wrote our first payment because we had no money for the lease of the church. He later gave us a loan which we paid him back with full interest because Chuck was a good businessman as well. And that's the story of how we got our church. So but here's what I want to tell you, is that it would have never happened if he didn't have that vision. It would have never happened if he didn't give me that chance. So harvest exists today because of the faith of Pastor Chuck Smith. That's important. So back to our story, you hear the people, they have a need. And when you have a need, you need to call on the Lord. Do you have a need right now? Is there something in your life you need from God? The Bible says, you have not because you ask not. Have you prayed about what you're facing? Don't worry about anything, Paul reminds us in Philippians 4, but pray about everything. Jesus said, ask and it shall be given. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be open. Pray about it, and know this. God loves to answer your prayers. I think sometimes we think God is kind of, you know, reluctant to answer our prayers. Really, you again? Come on. Oh no. Jesus said, fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. I love that. It's his good pleasure. He he loves to give you these things. He loves to bless you. Heard a story about a very wise father whose son was going to leave for college. And the father said, son, I'm going to pay all of your bills for college. I want you to just study hard and uh enjoy the process. But I'm just going to do this every month. I'll give you your check with this condition. You have to come home in person and get your check. I'm not going to mail it to some address. You come home and I'll write you your check. That son came home every single month, right? So God says to us, I'm going to provide for you, but I want you to keep coming to me for it. God doesn't give us everything we want in one big lump sum. Here's all of your blessings, all of your healings, all of your provision. Kaboom. No, he says, I want you to keep coming to me over and over again so you remember who gave it to you. Remember in the Lord's prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, give us this day our daily bread. So that's the principle here. So Mark gives us a little detail in his version of the feeding of the 5,000. And he tells that that Jesus had the people sit down in groups of 50 and 100. So it was very organized. And then Mark describes it this way. Jesus took five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, asked God's blessing on the food, breaking the loaves into pieces, and kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples to give to the people. It's not like Jesus just extended his hand, and there was a mountain of bread. Bread. Now here's a mountain of fish. Fish. Now he says, just just fill the baskets, distribute it, then go distribute it, come back. Oh, there's more. Yeah, just keep giving it out. This is how he did it. Listen to this. God gives you what you need when you need it uh not necessarily before and never after. Okay. So sometimes you'll look at somebody going through some hardship. You'll say, man, I could never do what they're doing. Yeah, you could. If God had you go through that hardship, he would give you the strength you need to deal with it. He's giving you the strength you need to deal with what you're facing right here right now. That's what he did for us. So in the same way, we need to come to God and offer what we have and let him multiply it. Gifts from God don't come fully developed. You have to start somewhere. You know, you have to cultivate your gift. If you're a musician, you practice. If you're an artist, you practice. Ever since I was a little kid, I always loved to draw. And for me, my little cartoon world was a place for me escape to escape to when I was waiting for my mother to be done in some smoke-filled bar. And uh so you know, my mom was married and divorced seven times, and she had a lot of boyfriends in between. So one day she brings home a man who says he's an animator for Disney. I didn't believe him. He says, no, I'm an animator for Disney. I said, prove it. He pulls out a pencil and he draws a perfect Donald Duck. By the way, Donald Duck is very hard to draw. And I was like, wow. Wow. And he said, I'll tell you what, Greg, this is a magic pencil. This is a true story. This is a magic pencil, and if you place it under your pillow, when you wake up in the morning, you will be able to draw just like me. So go to bed now. Now as an adult, I look back on that and say, uh-huh. I know what that was all about, but I believed them. Sadly, I was 30. Not really. I was 28, but still. No, I was I was very very little. I put that pencil into my pillow. I was so excited I could hardly sleep. I woke up the next morning, grabbed the pencil, went over to a piece of paper, I'm going to draw Donald Duck. It was the same old me. Because gifts don't come fully developed. You have to cultivate them. That's why Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:6, fan into flames the spiritual gift that God has given to you.
Guest (Male): Great encouragement from Pastor Greg Laurie today here on A New Beginning. We're considering the rich insight we can draw from various dimensions of the feeding of the 5,000, and there's more to come. And then Pastor Greg, I know you had a further word you wanted to share.
Greg Laurie: So as you've been listening today, maybe you've thought to yourself, man, I wish I had this relationship with God that is being talked about. Well, you can. He's only a prayer away. You see, becoming a Christian, it doesn't take years. It doesn't take months. It doesn't take weeks. It it doesn't even take hours. It can happen in a moment. The Bible describes it as turning from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. But before that happens, the Bible says you need to have your eyes open. And here's the amazing thing. It's just like in a flash, a light goes on, and you say, this is all true. That's how it happened for me. I just heard the gospel, and all of a sudden I realized this is all true. And maybe you've realized that as well. Let me ask you, would you like Jesus Christ to come into your life? Would you like him to forgive you of your sin? Would you like this relationship with God we've been talking about today? If so, why don't you just pray a simple prayer with me? You could pray it out loud if you like, but say this to God. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. Jesus, I turn from my sin, and I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my Savior and Lord, as my God and friend. Thank you for hearing this prayer. And I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. If did you just pray that prayer, if so, I want to send you at no charge what we call A New Believer's Bible. Here's Dave to tell you more. And let me just say congratulations. You've made the right decision.
Guest (Male): Yeah, yeah, that's right. And to help you begin to live this new life, this life where you're at peace with God and can begin to enjoy the peace of God, let us send you Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible. It's the perfect resource for someone who's new to the faith. We'll send it free of charge if you just contact us and request it. Call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning box 4000 Riverside, California 92514 or go online to harvest.org and click Know God. And then thank you for partnering with us to help these daily studies continue. Your investments have eternal benefits. Want to make this a part of your personal ministry to partner in an effort that's making a real difference with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for your prayers and for prayerfully considering how God might lead you to help tangibly. Online you'll find us at harvest.org, and there you'll see the way we'd like to thank you for your donation right now. That's harvest.org or write us at A New Beginning box 4000 Riverside, California 92514 or call us at 1-800-821-3300. We're here around the clock to take your call again at 1-800-821-3300. Well, next time more rich insights from our studies in John chapter 6. We're learning how to fan into flame the gifts God has given to us. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.