A New Beginning

Greg Laurie: A crisis hits, an expected problem comes, and you freak out. You have a complete meltdown. Wait, has God not been faithful to you up to this point?

Guest (Male): The more we focus on our challenges, the bigger they seem. Pastor Greg Laurie urges us to focus on our God who's bigger than them all.

Greg Laurie: Somehow you have a case of spiritual amnesia. You forget everything and you think this is the end. Here's a problem. We forget what we ought to remember and we remember what we ought to forget.

Guest (Male): How many of us are up in the wee hours of the morning worrying if the sun will rise? Didn't it rise yesterday and the day before? Has it not risen every day in all of human history? When something has been that reliable in the past, we can trust it will be reliable in the future. Well, today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us pause and consider the faithfulness and reliability of the Lord. In addition to making the sunrise each morning, was he just how well God takes care of his own.

Greg Laurie: Turn in your Bibles to John chapter 6. John chapter 6. And the title of my message is lunch with Jesus. How many of you like to eat? Raise your hand. Ah, nice. You're my people. You're a very gluttonous bunch, I might add. How many of you don't really care much about food at all? If food, who cares about food? Nobody's raising their hand. All right. So, hey, I love to eat and you can set a clock by my stomach. I don't have to look at my watch and say is it almost lunchtime? My stomach tells me.

About an hour out, 10:00. I eat at 11 by the way. I'm an early eater. I eat dinner at 5:00. I eat breakfast early early. My stomach says it's coming. It's coming. Let's go, you know. And uh my favorite meal of the day is lunch followed by breakfast and dinner. But I I love to eat. Guess who else loved to eat? Jesus Christ. When he walked this earth, we always are reading in the Gospels of him eating with his disciples because a meal back in those days was sort of the main event of the day.

You would relax. See, you would take time to enjoy the meal. They didn't have fast food back then. They didn't have, you know, McDonald's you need to ride through in your chariot, order a falafel, something like that, you know. No, they they enjoyed a meal. It was a time to talk. It was a time to communicate. Even after Jesus rose again from the dead, one of the first things he does is he eats a piece of fish. He was waiting for the disciples by the Sea of Galilee with a fire going and he said bring some of the fish that you have caught.

And he cooked it up for them and he said come and have breakfast. Eating a meal with Jesus, how amazing would that be? And even use this metaphor of eating to describe his desire to have a relationship with us. He says in Revelation 3:20, behold I stand at the door and I knock. If any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and dine with him. King James says sup with him. Uh some translations say have fellowship with him, but the idea is he wants to have a long leisurely meal with you or to put it more directly, he wants a relationship with you.

Well, this miracle that we're going to look at is the only miracle found in all four Gospels. It's a story of the feeding of the 5,000. Now, this is a series we're doing called the Seven Signs of Jesus. We've already looked at Jesus turning water into wine. That was sign number one. Cleansing the temple, sign number two. Healing the Centurion's son, that's number three. Healing the lame man in Jerusalem, that's number four. Now we're at number five, the feeding of the 5,000. The author of this Gospel, John, uses these signs like building blocks. The Seven Signs crescendo in the final seventh sign where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.

So, it starts with a wedding and it ends with a funeral and more specifically a resurrection because that was the ultimate sign. Everything's pointing to the ultimate sign. What is the most significant sign that Jesus gave? It wasn't the raising of Lazarus. It wasn't the restoration of sight. It wasn't feeding the 5,000. It was his death and resurrection again. He said a wicked and an adulterous generation seeks after a sign and no sign will be given to them but that of the prophet Jonah. And as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so I the son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Lose paraphrase, Jesus is saying you want a sign? Here it is. I'm going to die on the cross for your sin and rise again from the dead. So, with that in mind, let's look at this very familiar and powerful story of the feeding of the 5,000. We're going to read about 14 verses together. And I'm reading from the New Living Translation, 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 work 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. Heard a story about a little boy that was asked what is your favorite miracle in the Bible? The little guy answered, I like the one where everyone loaves and fishes. So, I I don't I don't You know, that's a great way to look at it, but here's something that is happening before us now. Jesus, his ministry is building. Looking back chronologically, you could say he was sort of on a roll. His fame was growing. The crowds were growing.

Everyone followed him everywhere to see what he would say or do next. But why were they following him? The answer is clear. Verse 2 of John 6, a huge crowd kept following him wherever he went because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. Unfortunately, they were not following him because they understood this is the Messiah. This is the Savior. They were following him because hey, he does amazing stuff. And what's he going to do next? They were dazzled. They were entertained. Uh but they were missing the point. They were into the signs, but they weren't looking at where the signs were pointing.

Uh these things were written according to John 20 that we might believe. So, there was a purpose for these signs. You know, sometimes we want the benefits of the Christian life, but we don't want to make the commitment. We want the healings. We just don't want the healer. We want the benefits, but we don't want the cure. And Jesus could have dismissed these people cuz he knew what was going on in the human heart and mind. He could have said you know, you guys, you're just a bunch of thrill seekers. You're waiting for me to do my next trick in your estimation.

You're not following me for the right reason. And besides, I know all y'all are going to eventually turn on me. So, I'm not going to feed you today. In fact, I'm going to eat in front of you. That's what I would have done. I would have pulled out an In-N-Out Burger. Where did you get that? It's from the future. Can we have one? No, it's mine cuz you're going to turn on me. Drop Jesus. He cared about the people. In fact, we read that he had a heart of compassion toward them.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Greg Laurie: You know, I've heard people describe a trip to Israel as seeing the Bible actually come to life. Hey everybody, Greg Laurie. And I've been to Israel many times and I've led a lot of tours and I have to say that's absolutely true. Listen, when you're walking on the same stones that Jesus himself walked on, well, that's something that's enriching to your faith. It's not just a travel experience, it actually energizes and enhances your study of the Bible. Think of it this way. It's a vacation with a purpose. And we're going to be taking a tour of Israel April 6 to 15 20 27.

You can find out more at israel.harvest.org.

Guest (Male): Step right into biblical history. Join Pastor Greg for a tour of the Holy Land April 6 through 15 2027. Get details at israel.harvest.org.

Greg Laurie: Well, we're considering the first 14 verses of John 6 and Pastor Greg's message today titled Lunch with Jesus. Let's continue. 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. They were just like you. There was Peter, brash, outspoken, dominated conversations, said things when things shouldn't be said. Do you know someone like that? You invite them over, they're going to dominate the whole conversation.

Nobody gets a word in edgewise, or maybe you are that person. The problem is when you are that person, you usually don't know it. Someone else needs to tell you. So, if they're that person, can a nudge them and say that's you, right? So, that was uh Peter. But then there's James and John. These guys are fiery. You know people that get all worked up. They love to argue. They love to debate. They're always worked up about something. That's James and John. They are worked up guys. They were passionate guys. You don't get the nickname Sons of Thunder for nothing.

They were alive today, they'd probably be in an outlaw motorcycle gang. And then there's Philip. Now Philip is more quiet, more 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 two 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, 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. I have a lot of useless information in my brain. I don't even know how some of it got there. I know the words to stupid songs going back 40 years. Some of them songs I wish I never knew. Going back to my childhood, 1877 Cars for Kids. Okay, that's just You ever heard that song as make them stop now? Or other songs. I remember really old jingles. I don't consciously remember I will now memorize these lyrics, but they're in there.

And then I forget stuff I should remember. Oh wait, what was that first again? How did that go again? So, we need to be reminded over and over of certain spiritual truths cuz sometimes we forget things that we've learned. When I was in school, I would get called up by teachers all the time cuz I disrupted class. I I was disrespectful to our teachers. I would say stupid things. I'd be sent to the principal's office constantly. And uh a teacher would say to me, Greg Laurie, will you just grow up? And I think sometimes some of us need to grow up spiritually.

We still act like little babies uh in our spiritual life. We need to be spoon-fed spiritual truths. We still need to be dazzled. Hey, it's time to grow up and become a mature believer. Some of us have known the Lord 10, 15, 20 years and and we don't know the basics of Christian theology. Uh we need everything cut up in little pieces and spoon-fed to us. We haven't learned to just open up the Bible and read it and study it and learn for ourselves. We're still like little babies. Uh in fact, the author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 5:12, you've been Christians a long time now and you ought to be teaching others.

Instead, you need someone to teach you again and again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You're like babies who drink only milk and you can't eat solid food. So, don't forget God's faithfulness to you. He has 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. His brother was Simon Peter. That meant that he was overshadowed for his whole life because Peter dominated the conversation. Peter was the one that would always sort of take control. Andrew was kind of in the, you know, shadows a little bit. But Andrew had this great gift of pointing others to Christ. And in fact, it was Andrew that brought his brother Peter 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? That brings us to the little boy. Who was this little dude anyway? We don't know his name, but what an amazing kid he is. 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. So, what do we know about this little boy?

We know he was poor. And the reason we know that is barley bread was the cheapest of all bread. And in fact, it was held in contempt. It was thought of as food for animals, not people. And he had two small fish, not big fish, small fish. It's like having crackers and stale crackers at that. Crackers and sardines or maybe spam and wonder bread. Now, some people love spam, right? In Hawaii, it's kind of a delicacy, but uh spam, wonder bread, crackers and sardines, whatever you want to use as an illustration, it wasn't a gourmet lunch.

It wasn't a lot. But that little boy gave his lunch as poor as he was to 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. I think sometimes we feel like well, I don't have much to offer.

I'm not talented like that person over there. I'm not gifted. I have nothing to bring to the table. You have more than you think. Why? Because God can do a lot with a little. Okay? So, here's a guitar on the stage. I could walk over, plug that guitar into the amp, turn it up all the way and hit maybe five chords. And you would say that guitar is a piece of junk. Why? Because I really have no skills playing guitars. But if I were to take that same guitar and place it into the hands of Eric Clapton, who's one of the greatest guitar players of all time, and he did a few riffs on it, you would say I want that guitar.

In fact, if he signs it, it will be a collectible. See, it's not about the guitar. It's about who is playing the guitar. And in the same way for us, it's not the magnitude of the gift, it's into whose hands the gift is given. 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.

Bring your spam and wonder bread. Bring your crackers and sardines and watch what God will do.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie with great encouragement today on the blessing of placing our trust in the Lord. And Pastor Greg has more to come from this message here on A New Beginning. Uh it may go without saying that being used by God requires having a relationship with God. And that comes from accepting Jesus as our Savior. Pastor Greg, what would you say to the person who's frankly not sure if they've ever come to the Lord and asked them to be their Savior?

Greg Laurie: Yes, I think they need to make this commitment to Christ. Here's what the Bible says. Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. So, you need to reach out to God, not just think about it, not just say one of these days I would like to just do it. In fact, you can do it right now. You say well, how do I call out to the name of the Lord? You do it through prayer. God is just a prayer away. How about if I lead you in a prayer? And you could pray this prayer after me.

You can pray it out loud if you like. You can pray it quietly in your heart, but direct this prayer toward God and you could pray it after me right now. You ready? Pray this after me. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior. And I want a relationship with you. So, as your word says, I'm calling on the name of the Lord. I'm asking you to save me from my sin. And I'm asking that we begin a new relationship today. Thank you for loving me and sending your son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and then raising him from the dead.

I now put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Guest (Male): Amen. Now listen, if you have just prayed along with Pastor Greg and if you've meant those words sincerely, let us be the first to welcome you into the family of God. And we want to help you get started off right in this new daily walk with the Lord. Pastor Greg would like to send you his New Believer's Bible. It's a special edition of God's word for those who are new to the faith with scores of helps for new believers written by Pastor Greg. So, get in touch and ask for the New Believer's Bible. We'll send it your way free of charge.

Just call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org and click the words Know God. And Pastor Greg, we're so thankful for the work God is doing through this ministry.

Greg Laurie: Yeah.

Guest (Male): We're touching lives for eternity. And we're really thankful for our friends who see the fruit of this ministry and invest so this work can reach even further. Isn't that right?

Greg Laurie: Absolutely. When you invest in harvest ministries, you're investing in the souls of men and women, boys and girls. And what is the value of a soul? Well, let me personalize it. What's the value of your soul? What's the value of the soul of your husband, your wife, your son or your daughter, or your mom or your dad, or your best friend? Well, I would say you probably couldn't put a price tag on it. It's so valuable. Listen, God says all souls are mine. God loves us and sent his son to die on the cross to pay the price for all of our sins so we could be forgiven and come into a relationship with him.

I can't think of a better investment of my resources, of my money than in the work of the kingdom of God. So, we would ask you to prayerfully consider investing in harvest ministries as we continue on to fulfill the Great Commission.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. And you can make your donation right now at harvest.org or call 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24/7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300. Well, next time more insight from the story of the feeding of the 5,000. It's part of Pastor Greg's series The Seven Signs of Jesus. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.