WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:06.799 Hello, everybody, Welcome to Daily Hope with Pastor Rick Warren. 2 00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:10.560 So we're continuing with this series called Daring Faith The 3 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:13.679 Key to Miracles. And in this series you're learning how 4 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:17.559 to have a bold, unshakable faith that gives you courage 5 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:20.239 to impact the world around you. And I know we 6 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.559 all want that. I'm excited to hear what Rick shares 7 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:26.920 today with a message called how to get Ready for 8 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:27.760 a Miracle. 9 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:30.760 Let me show you three verses from the Bible. First, 10 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:33.960 God wants you to grow in faith, the Bible says 11 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:38.119 and Colossians too. Let your roots grow down deep into 12 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:40.600 Him and draw up a nourishment from Him, so that 13 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:43.600 you will grow in faith. Circle that grow in faith, 14 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:47.439 strong and vigorous. God wants you to grow in your faith. 15 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:50.000 It wants you to be a spiritual baby. And then 16 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:52.240 God says, I want you to sew in faith. I 17 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:55.520 want you to learn to become generous. You cannot become 18 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:58.479 like God without becoming generous. You can'tnot become like Christ 19 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:01.719 without becoming generous, the Bible says and tewod Corinthians nine. 20 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:06.519 Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And 21 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:10.760 whoever sows generously, will also reap generously. This is the 22 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:13.599 law of you reap what you sow, and it's true 23 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:15.840 in every life. If you sow criticism, you're going to 24 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:20.120 reap criticism. If you sow love, you'll reap love. If 25 00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:22.760 you sow kindness, you will reap kindness. But you always 26 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:25.359 reap more than you sow. When you plant one corn 27 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:27.920 kernel in the ground, you don't get one colonel back, 28 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:31.239 you get a whole stalk. You always get more back, 29 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:34.680 either positively or negative, of what you put out in life. 30 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:37.200 And the Bible says, if you sew generously, you will 31 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:41.000 reap generously. So grow in faith, so in faith, and 32 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:43.920 then God wants you to go in faith. I could 33 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:46.319 have used many examples, but here's an example of Abraham. 34 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:51.239 Hebrews eleven eight says it was by faith that Abraham 35 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:54.439 obeyed God's call to go. You know this story how 36 00:01:54.439 --> 00:01:58.239 he left er to go to the promised land God's 37 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:00.680 called the goat to another place that God had promised 38 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:03.959 to give him. He left his own country without knowing 39 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:08.080 where he was to go. Would you do that? Abraham 40 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:10.199 was up in years, he was at retirement, saved, it 41 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:12.360 is time to hang it up and settle down. And 42 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.280 God said, no, get it down, dust it off. You're 43 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:18.520 unready for the greatest journey of your life. And God says, 44 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:21.840 when you live by faith, it involves going off into 45 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:24.800 places you hadn't any idea you were planning to go to. 46 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:27.080 In fact, you weren't planning. So we're going to look 47 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:30.080 at faith in the areas of your growing, in ularias 48 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:32.599 of your giving, and in the areas of your lifestyle. 49 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:37.000 Now why are we doing this Because everything that God 50 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:39.960 does in your life he does because of his mercy 51 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:43.319 and grace and your faith. He does it by grace 52 00:02:44.039 --> 00:02:47.240 through faith. I could give you one hundred different verses. 53 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:49.639 Let me just give you a few. Hebrews eleven six 54 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:54.560 says this, without faith, it is impossible to please God. Well, 55 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:58.159 that's enough to study it for ten weeks, right there. 56 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:01.479 Romans fourteen twenty three says this, anything that is not 57 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:04.520 done in faith is sin. That's another reason to study 58 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:08.199 faith for ten weeks. Matthew nine twenty nine Jesus said, 59 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:11.520 according to your faith, it will be done to you. 60 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:14.039 I love that verse because Jesus says you get to 61 00:03:14.120 --> 00:03:18.000 choose how much God blesses your life, a lot of faith, 62 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:20.479 a lot of blessing. Little faith, little blessing, no faith, 63 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:23.280 no blessing. According to your faith, it will be done 64 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:26.360 to you. Now, let me explain to you what you 65 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:28.879 can expect in the next ten weeks. Four things you 66 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:32.159 ought to expect. Write these down en daring faith. Number one. 67 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:35.879 The first thing is you can expect to see some miracles. 68 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:41.039 I guarantee it. You count on it. Because when people 69 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:45.240 trust God, when people take risks, when people dream great dreams, 70 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:49.680 when people go for it in faith, God moves. God 71 00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:54.000 is not impressed with my complaining. God is not impressed 72 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:57.639 with my griping. God is not impressed with my criticizing 73 00:03:57.719 --> 00:03:59.560 all the things I don't like about my life. It 74 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:01.800 doesn't move God to act at all when I complain, 75 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:06.520 when I whine, when I'm moan. But God moves according 76 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:08.680 to faith. And when he looks down and he sees 77 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:11.319 a child of God, a son of God, a daughter 78 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:14.919 of God, believing and trusting him. All throughout Scripture we 79 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:18.000 see this over and no going. God moves. Every time 80 00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:20.959 you see God did a miracle in the Bible's and 81 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:23.720 moved out of heaven, moved on earth because somebody believed, 82 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:26.040 and because a lot of people are going to be 83 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:29.199 taking risks and steps of faith during daring faith, you're 84 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:32.560 going to see some flat out miracles. I guarantee it. 85 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:35.480 It's going to happen. Some of you will get promoted, 86 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:39.439 It just happens. Some of you will get engaged me God, 87 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:42.399 me me me me me me, me, me me God, 88 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:45.040 me mey me God. Some of you will get engaged. 89 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.519 Some of you will have unexpected income come in. Some 90 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:51.000 of you will have windfalls, some of you will have 91 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:56.839 physical healing. I have seen this seven times. When people 92 00:04:57.279 --> 00:04:59.399 start to believe God and trust Him in ways they've 93 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:02.240 never done before, they see some really neat stuff happen 94 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:04.800 in their lives. So you can expect to see miracles. 95 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:07.519 Number two. The second thing you can expect is you 96 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:12.040 can expect to grow spiritually. As I said, you're probably 97 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:16.480 going to grow more in the next ten weeks or 98 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:19.120 eight weeks now than you will in all of the 99 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:21.959 rest of the year because we're going to be focusing 100 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:25.240 on your spiritual growth. Number three. The third thing you 101 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:27.199 can expect. I hate to tell you this, but it's 102 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:29.920 part of the deal. You can expect to be hassled 103 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:34.800 by Satan, You're going to have some difficulties in the 104 00:05:34.839 --> 00:05:37.759 next ten weeks. Satan's going to try to distract you 105 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:40.240 to keep you from growing. Do you think Satan wants 106 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:42.199 you to learn how to live by faith? No? Do 107 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:44.240 you think he wants you to learn how to be generous? No? 108 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:46.040 Do you think he wants you to learn how to 109 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.439 go in ways and places that you've never gone before 110 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:53.319 with your life? Absolutely not. So He's going to throw 111 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:57.600 everything at you. And I've again seen this seven different times. 112 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:01.519 And you may have unexpected illnesses and your car make breakdown, 113 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:04.319 and some of you may get fired during this, and 114 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:06.399 some of you may go through a real crisis of 115 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:09.240 grief and lose a loved one, and some of you, 116 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:12.160 in fact, this is a high probability you may have 117 00:06:12.199 --> 00:06:15.600 a fight with your husband or wife. Okay, that's a 118 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:19.560 high probability. Conflict is Satan's favorite way to get you distracted. 119 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:21.759 So when you get in a fight, just stop and go. 120 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:25.720 Rick told us this would happened. Okay. Put me right 121 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:27.199 in the center of your fight, okay, and I'll be 122 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:30.399 right there smiling and it'll calm me down. Okay. So 123 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:33.240 I'm sorry to tell you this but you're going to 124 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:36.639 have Satan's going to try to distract you and get 125 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:38.920 you off task and get you to forget this. The 126 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:41.199 fourth thing you can expect is you can expect to 127 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:45.920 experience joy. It's because when people learn to trust God 128 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:49.399 in deeper ways, it makes them happy. When people learn 129 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:52.759 how to set great dreams, dream great dreams, and set 130 00:06:52.759 --> 00:06:55.240 big goals and take risks and live by faith and 131 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:58.959 make the sacrifice and invest their lives, you just get 132 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:03.519 happy when people give, they get happy. Now, I want 133 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:05.879 to spend the rest of my time, the last few minutes, 134 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:09.800 just talking to you about how do you prepare for 135 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:11.879 a miracle. And we're going to look at the most 136 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:16.519 famous miracle of Jesus Christ. It's the Jesus feeding the 137 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:19.600 five thousand. How he took one little boy's lunch and 138 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:22.879 was able to feed the five thousand and really this 139 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:27.399 story is all about how God turns a little into 140 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:32.720 a lot. You need to know these principles because many 141 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:34.720 times for the rest of your life, you're going to 142 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:37.800 need God to turn a little into a lot in 143 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:40.759 your life. You got a little energy, you need a 144 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:43.920 lot of energy. You got a little bit of talent, 145 00:07:44.199 --> 00:07:46.079 you need God to turn it into a lot of talent. 146 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:49.319 You got a little opportunity, you need God to turn 147 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:54.160 it into a big opportunity. You got a little connections, relationships, 148 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:56.240 you need God to turn it into some big relationships, 149 00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:59.160 some big connections. You got a little bit of money, 150 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:01.160 You need God to turn it into a lot of money. 151 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:05.240 Many times in your life, God is going to need 152 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:06.920 to turn a little into a lot. I got a 153 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:09.000 little bit of help, but I really need great help. 154 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:13.959 How does God turn a little into a lot. That's 155 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:17.319 what this story and that's what this miracle is all about. Now, 156 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:20.920 Jesus never did miracles just to show off, Like, hey, 157 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:22.800 look at this miracle. I learned this one at the 158 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:24.959 Magic Castle's really cool. You can impress your friends with 159 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:27.439 it and so use it at your next cocktail party. 160 00:08:27.480 --> 00:08:31.759 Do this little miracle. Jesus never did a miracle to 161 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:35.480 show off. Every miracle is to teach a spiritual truth. 162 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:39.039 And the spiritual truth of Jesus or the Feeding of 163 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:42.440 the five Thousand is to show us how to prepare 164 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:45.440 for a miracle where God turns a little into a 165 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:50.000 lot in your life. Very important as we start daring faith. Now, 166 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:54.039 this miracle is so important. It's the only miracle of 167 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:57.559 Jesus told four times in the New Testament. It's in 168 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:59.559 the Book of Matthew, It's in the Book of Mark, 169 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:01.440 in the Book of Luke, and it's in the Book 170 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:05.480 of John. All four authors were so impressed with this miracle, 171 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:07.799 and you couldn't deny it. I mean, there were five 172 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:11.600 thousand people who saw it that it makes all four. Now, 173 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:14.399 anytime God tells you something four times, he's saying, you 174 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:17.879 really should pay attention to this one. You should really 175 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:22.399 pay attention to this one. Now here's the story. Jesus 176 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:26.080 goes out into the Judean desert and he's out there 177 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:29.240 and he's teaching, and about five thousand people follow him 178 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:35.080 out into the Judean desert and he's teaching all day. 179 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:37.639 And at the end of the day, five thousand people 180 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:40.320 are hungry, and they're twenty five miles from the nearest 181 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:47.120 McDonald's or actually in israeli b be McDavid's, and there's 182 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:51.879 no fast food nearby, and everybody's hungry, and the disciples 183 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:54.320 come to Jesus going, hey, Lord, it's late in the 184 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:57.720 day and everybody's hungry. And Jesus says, you feed him. 185 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:00.519 I love this line. We'll get to it a minute. 186 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:05.440 You feed him, Lord, that's impossible physically, practically, you know, 187 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:10.279 humanly impossible for us twelve to feed these guys. What 188 00:10:10.679 --> 00:10:15.879 is going on here? Jesus is performing a miracle to 189 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:20.639 teach us the four steps to preparing for a miracle. 190 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:22.720 And I told you that during daring faith you're going 191 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:24.840 to see some miracles in this church. They're just going 192 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:28.679 to happen. And I literally have not hundreds, but thousands 193 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:31.840 and thousands of letters of people who have miracles in 194 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:36.399 previous campaigns. So what is Jesus telling us to do. 195 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:39.840 He's telling us the four keys to getting ready for 196 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:42.600 a miracle. Write these down. Here's the first step. Step 197 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:45.240 number one to a miracle in your life is admit 198 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:51.480 I have an unsolvable problem. I must admit that I 199 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:56.360 have an unsolvable problem. Now, let me be a real blunt. 200 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:00.440 If you don't have an unsolvable problem, you don't need 201 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:05.360 a miracle. That's kind of obvious, right, it's not unsolvedle, 202 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:10.960 you don't need a miracle. If you have a solvable problem, 203 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:16.000 solve it. Just solve it. I mean, people going to me, Rick, 204 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:19.679 I've really gotten overweight. I need a miracle. Stop eating. 205 00:11:22.919 --> 00:11:24.960 It's not like a miracle. You don't need a miracle. 206 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:28.879 You need a diet. And a lot of times we 207 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:33.000 want miracles when God says no, no, you're just overspending. 208 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:36.799 The reason you're in so much Betty, you're overspending. You 209 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:38.559 need a plan. You don't need a miracle, you need 210 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:42.320 you need a spending plan. But the first step is 211 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:46.559 to admit I have an unsolvable problem. Now in Mark 212 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:50.679 chapter six, here's the story when Jesus solved a large crowd. 213 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:55.279 He had compassion on them, so he began to teach them, 214 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:59.159 teaching them. By this time it was late in the day, 215 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:03.720 so his disciples came and said, this is a remote place. 216 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:07.679 Send the people away so they can go and buy 217 00:12:07.720 --> 00:12:11.480 something to eat. But Jesus answered, you give them something 218 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:15.480 to eat. And they said, Lord, that would take eight 219 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:18.960 months of a man's wages unless they go all economics 220 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:23.399 on Jesus. Here Now in that verse, in that passage, 221 00:12:23.480 --> 00:12:27.159 I just read, we have the three typical responses when 222 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:30.240 we have an unsolvable problem in our life. You do this, 223 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:33.440 everybody does this. I do it. We procrastinate, We passed 224 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:36.559 the buck, and we worry. All three of those things 225 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:39.759 are in that passage right there. First, we procrastinate when 226 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:41.679 we have a problem we can't solve, we just keep 227 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:43.679 putting it off. We know we need to solve it, 228 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:45.120 but we don't know how to solve it, so we 229 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:47.480 just keep putting it off. We delay, We pretend it 230 00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:50.039 doesn't exist. We look the other way. The phrase in 231 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:53.120 this passage says, by this time it was late in 232 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:57.639 the day they were procrastinating. They had all day to 233 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:00.679 figure out food service for five thousand people. Let's call 234 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:03.320 up dominoes or something. They had all data figure it out, 235 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:07.480 but they'd done nothing. Now, procrastination only makes a problem 236 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:10.039 worse in your life. If you got cancer, you deal 237 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:12.960 with it now, not tomorrow, not next week. You deal 238 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:17.039 with it now. Procrastination has never solved any problem. It 239 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:20.159 only makes it worse. I wonder what problem you have 240 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:27.480 been procrastinating over. I wonder what problem you know is 241 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:30.360 there and you're pretending isn't a problem. What problem are 242 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:33.399 you pretending isn't in your marriage? What problem are you 243 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:37.559 pretending isn't in your body? What problem are you pretending 244 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:41.600 isn't in your finances? We procrastinate, and then we pass 245 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:43.919 the buck. And what we do is we blame other 246 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.720 people say, well, it's not really my problem, it's your problem, 247 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:49.759 it's their fault. And we blame others. And you've heard 248 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:54.120 me say many times you spell blame, be blame. Every 249 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:57.759 time you blame, you are being lame. And so the 250 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:00.519 disciples say, send the people away. What are they doing? 251 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:03.039 They're passing off responsibility to say, Hey, we didn't invite 252 00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:06.000 these guys out here. We didn't ask them to come eat. 253 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:09.080 We didn't ask them, we didn't promise some food. We 254 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:11.840 didn't even invite them to come here. Jesus teach, I said, 255 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:14.440 just send them away, out of sight, out of mind. 256 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:16.720 We didn't ask them to come. Let them find their 257 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:19.759 own food. We passed the buck on our problem. And 258 00:14:19.799 --> 00:14:21.960 the third thing we do is we worry and we fret, 259 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:23.440 and we stew, and we get anxious and we get 260 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:25.799 stressed out, and we say, Lord, it would take eight 261 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:29.240 months wages to pay for these guys. And then disciples 262 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:32.000 anxiety goes into overdrive. And you know, I can just 263 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:36.600 imagine Peter doing this cost analysis. Imagine the expense five 264 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:39.559 thousand people. You know, how are we ever going to 265 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:41.960 import the food, How are we going to keep it hot? 266 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:43.879 How are we going to distribute it? How are we 267 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:45.679 going to do the cleanup? Who's going to get the 268 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:51.240 health permits? What about liability insurance? And their minds are 269 00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:55.320 just going in overdrive, and we worry, worry, worry, And 270 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:57.960 notice I love what Jesus says. He looks at these 271 00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:05.440 twelve guys and he says, you feed him, you feed him, 272 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:10.720 And they go, whah me. Peter's going, are you kidding? Lord? 273 00:15:10.759 --> 00:15:15.080 He said that? Why we can't do that? Now, here's 274 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:19.399 the point. They're procrastinating, they're passing the buck, and they're worrying. 275 00:15:19.559 --> 00:15:24.480 What's the problem with this picture. They're standing next to Jesus, 276 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:29.519 the guy who could easily turn stones to bread if 277 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:33.360 he wanted to, who could easily feed everybody instantly if 278 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.600 he wanted to. They're standing in the presence of the 279 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:38.799 Son of God, and they're going, what's going on here? 280 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:44.320 And Jesus says, you feed him? And they say, Lord, 281 00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:49.440 that's practically financially and humanly impossible. Question, has God ever 282 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:55.840 asked you to do something impossible? He loves to do that. 283 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:00.480 God loves to ask you to do something possible possible, 284 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:02.720 And you go, Lord, I don't have the time, I 285 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:05.240 don't have the money, I don't have the energy, I 286 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:11.720 don't have the education. I just you got the wrong guy, Lord, Moses, 287 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:14.399 I want you to do this, not me, you know, 288 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:21.039 you know, Jeremiah, why me? You know you know you 289 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:24.519 gotta say, like Isaiah, use me here? Am I send me? 290 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:29.320 And God says, I want you to do the impossible? 291 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:31.440 Why does he ask that? Why does God ask you 292 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:35.240 to do the impossible? He wants to stretch your faith. 293 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:39.120 Every time when God asks you to do something you 294 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:43.679 think is physically and financially impossible, he wants to stretch 295 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:47.360 your faith. And this is the first principle of a miracle. 296 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:50.639 I have to admit that the problem I'm facing right 297 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:54.360 now is unsolvable. Okay, principal number two, here's the second 298 00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:59.480 step to a miracle. Give God what little I already have. 299 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:06.720 I give God what little I already have. And now 300 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:09.720 Jesus says to the disciples, I want you to do 301 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:11.640 a little reconnaissance. Go out and see if anybody's got 302 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:14.799 any lunches. He says, how many loaves do you have? 303 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:18.759 Jesus asked, go and see. He sends them out on 304 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:22.480 a little reconnaissance to five thousand people. And when they 305 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:27.200 found out, they said, five small loaves of bread and 306 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:30.799 two fish, one little boy has a sack lunch wit 307 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:33.759 a minute. Out of five thousand people, only one guy 308 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:38.000 brought a lunch. I'm thinking a lot of rich people 309 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:41.880 are hiding the picnic basket under their robe because they 310 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:44.240 don't want to share it with anybody else. In five 311 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:47.400 thousand people, it is highly doubtful to me that only 312 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:50.920 one boy brought a lunch. His mom has packed them, 313 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:53.400 you know, three or four or five little barley rolls 314 00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:57.960 and a couple of you know, dried fish. Okay, he's 315 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:00.480 the only one, but he becomes the hero the story 316 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.759 because he's willing to offer up what he's got and 317 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:08.079 he gives God what little he had. Now, why did 318 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:11.279 Jesus do this? Why did Jesus said, find out how 319 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:13.920 many lunches are out there, find out how many loaves 320 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:17.119 of bread are among this crowd? Why did he didn't 321 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:19.720 need anything to do a miracle. He just goes bread 322 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:25.400 for everybody. Manifals a million different ways. You get another. 323 00:18:25.720 --> 00:18:28.680 Why did he do this? The second principle of the 324 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:31.599 miracle is this. God always starts with what I have. 325 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:38.160 God always starts with what I have. It may not 326 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:42.000 be much, but I give it to God. I said, God, 327 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:46.440 I don't have much time, but here's my time. God. 328 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:50.160 My finances aren't much, but here's what I've got. God. 329 00:18:50.279 --> 00:18:53.279 My talent isn't much, but here's my talent. God. My 330 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:57.799 sex life isn't much. But there's a little nervous laughter 331 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:02.640 on that one. Okay, But I give you. I give 332 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:05.759 you everything in my life. I give you my reputation. 333 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:08.680 I give you my heart, my soul, my past, my present, 334 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:10.799 my future. It didn't much, but I'm going to give 335 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:15.200 you my five loaves and two fish. Now that's interesting 336 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:18.799 that when God always starts with what I have. John 337 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:22.200 chapter six, verse six tells us a little detail this story. 338 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:25.759 It said, Jesus asked this, how many loads do we 339 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:29.119 have out there? Only to test them? For you already 340 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:33.079 hadn't mind what He's going to do. He wasn't sweating it. 341 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:35.759 When God asked you to do the impossible. He's not 342 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:38.480 sweating it. He already has in mind what he knows 343 00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:42.039 to He's seen the need long before they did, and 344 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:45.119 he had a plan. I want you to write this down, 345 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:49.480 this important truth. God always has the answer before I 346 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:54.559 even know the problem in your life. God always knows 347 00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:58.079 the answer before you even know what the problem is. 348 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:01.720 He saw the long. It's not late in the day 349 00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:03.680 for Jesus. He saw it long before he knew it 350 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:06.200 was coming. He's already has a plan for it. God 351 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:08.799 already knows the solution to your problem before you even 352 00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:13.880 recognize it's a problem. So why are you worrying? That's 353 00:20:13.880 --> 00:20:16.680 one of the principles of a miracle. I admit I 354 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:19.359 have an unsolvable problem, and then I give God what 355 00:20:19.559 --> 00:20:21.920 little I have. Number three, The third thing I do 356 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:25.039 is I put it all in the hands of Jesus. 357 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:31.400 I put it all in the hands of Jesus. And 358 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:34.640 in John's account of this miracle, it tells us this 359 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:39.240 little detail that the disciple Andrew finds this one little 360 00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:42.559 boy who'd brought a sack lunch, and his mom had 361 00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:45.160 packed him. It wasn't much had packed him, you know, 362 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:48.400 five little barley loaves or muffins, and maybe a couple 363 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:50.839 of sardines or something. I don't know, but he's got 364 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:54.480 fish and little loaves of bread. It's not much. Now, 365 00:20:54.519 --> 00:20:57.720 I imagine that a lot of other people probably bought 366 00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:02.319 bigger lunches. But this boy becomes a hero because he 367 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:06.200 gives God whatever he's got. It isn't much, but he says, 368 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:08.799 I'm giving it to you. And the Bible says in 369 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:12.680 verse forty one, Jesus took the five loaves and the 370 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:16.160 two fish, and he blessed the food, and he broke 371 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:18.759 the loaves. And as he kept breaking them, he kept 372 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:22.359 giving them to the disciples to set before the people. 373 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:26.200 And here's the third principle. God will use whatever I 374 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:31.559 give him. God will use whatever I give him. It 375 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:34.079 may not be much, but if I give him what 376 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:37.640 little time, energy, effort, whatever I've got, I give it 377 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:41.559 to God, he will use it. Now. I don't have 378 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:43.359 time to get into this, but we could do in 379 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:46.240 detailed study looking at the other verses of how this 380 00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:50.079 little boy gave. He gave willingly, cheerfully, and immediately. Which 381 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:53.119 are the keys to a miracle? He gives willingly? Matthew 382 00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:55.640 tells us that he volunteered. Let me ask you this, 383 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:59.599 would you share your lunch? You're in five thousand people, 384 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.480 crowd of five thousand. Everybody's hungry and you're the only 385 00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:04.680 one who's gonna say, hey, I got something to eat? 386 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:08.960 Would you do that? Took a great faith. He did 387 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:11.680 it willingly, did it cheerfully, didn't grumble, he didn't complain, 388 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:14.039 didn't worry, and he did it immediately. And as soon 389 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:16.039 as he saw there was need, he said, Jesus, take 390 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:20.960 my lunch. And he gives his lunch no hesitation. Now 391 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:23.079 because of that, we come to the fourth key to 392 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:27.960 a miracle. Write this, dim expect God to multiply it. 393 00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:31.759 I give God whatever I have, I put it in 394 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:36.000 the hands of Jesus, and then I expect God to 395 00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:40.960 multiply it. Now, notice what happens in Mark chapter six, 396 00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:45.119 verse forty two and forty four. It says, everybody eight, 397 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:49.039 that's all five thousand. They all had enough. And it 398 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:57.680 said afterwards, they collected twelve basketfuls of leftovers. I love this. 399 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:02.359 They're going home with doggie bags. Jesus doesn't even just 400 00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:06.119 fill satisfied, right, he makes a spiritual lesson. Obviously, the 401 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:11.440