Engedi Church - July 12, 2026

Hey, come on, let's put our hands like this. Come on, let's sing. Come on, let's sing the way across the room. Come on. Come on, someone say, oh, praise. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Come on, church, declare. Come on, sing it to your church. Come on, sing it to your church. Come on, sing. I will not be defeated. I will not be defeated. I will not be defeated. I will not be. I will not be defeated. Come on, someone say, oh, praise the Lord. Say. Oh, praise the Lord. He is strong and mighty. Oh, praise the Lord. He's giving us the victory. How great Your name. Yahweh, Yahweh. Oh, praise. Oh, praise. The great I am. The great I am is moving. I'm walking in my kingdom. I'm alive and I've got faith. I will not be defeated.

The great I am is moving. I'm walking in my kingdom. I'm alive and I've got faith. I will not be defeated. I will not be defeated. I will not be defeated. Thank You, Lord. I will not be defeated. Come on, if you're victorious in Jesus, can you give one shout of praise? Hallelujah. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ How many angels at Your throne? ♪ ♪ But none of them can open up the scroll. ♪ ♪ It's Yours alone. ♪ ♪ How many saints have joined the song? ♪ ♪ Still there's room for us to sing along ♪ ♪ Forevermore ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord, is the Lord ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord, is the Lord ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord, is the Lord ♪ ♪ All yours, all yours, all yours, all yours, all yours ♪ ♪ How many kings with earthly crowns before your feet ♪ ♪ You surely cast them down, they're worthless now ♪ ♪ And now worthless, the Lamb of God, who was and is ♪ ♪ The Son, the East, the Come, the King, the Lord ♪ ♪ We're singing holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord, is the Lord ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord, is the Lord ♪

♪ Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord, is the Lord ♪ ♪ And everybody shouts holy and everybody cries holy ♪ ♪ Worthy of your glory fills the room, your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ And everybody shouts holy and everybody cries holy ♪ ♪ Worthy of your glory fills the room, your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ All your glories fill this room Lord, thank you Jesus ♪ Come on, can you declare that today? Thank you Lord. ♪ But you're in the room, nothing else matters, you're in the room ♪ ♪ And everybody shouts holy and everybody cries worthy ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room, your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ And everybody shouts holy and everybody cries worthy ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room, your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ We're all in the room, nothing can stop me ♪ ♪ You're in the room, we're all in the room, we're all in the room ♪ ♪ Nothing else matters, you're in the room, you're in the room ♪ ♪ You're in the room, if it can't happen, you're in the room ♪ ♪ We're all in the room, nothing else matters, you're in the room ♪ ♪ Holy feeling right now, holy feeling now ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room, your glory fills the room, yeah ♪ ♪ You're in the room, holy feeling now, holy feeling now, yeah yeah ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ And everybody shouts holy ♪ ♪ Everybody cries worthy ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ And everybody shouts holy ♪ ♪ Everybody cries worthy ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ Sing it again, sing it again.

♪ And everybody shouts holy ♪ ♪ Everybody cries worthy ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ And everybody shouts holy ♪ ♪ Everybody cries worthy ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ He blesses us ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ You give us Your glory ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ Your glory fills the room ♪ ♪ When you're in the room, heaven can't happen ♪ ♪ When you're in the room, when you're in the room ♪ ♪ Nothing else matters when you're in the room ♪ ♪ Just the glory to heaven when you're in the room ♪ ♪ Heaven can't happen when you're in the room ♪ ♪ When you're in the room, when you're in the room ♪ Thank you, Jesus. Just fix your eyes to heaven. Just fix your eyes to heaven. To worship You, I live. And to worship You, I live, I live to worship You. Thank you, Jesus. And to worship You, I live. To worship You, I live, I live to worship You. Oh, just lift your voice and declare, to worship You, I live. And to worship You, I live.

And to worship You, I live, I live to worship You. Oh, to worship me, Jesus. Lord, this is to worship. And to worship You, I live. And to worship You, I live, I live to worship You. Oh sing, to worship You I live, oh. And to worship You, I live. And to worship You, I live, I live to worship You. Oh, to worship You, oh. And to worship You, I live. And to worship You, I live. I live to worship You. Would you sing to worship You, I live. Sing it, yeah. And to worship You, I live. And to worship You, I live, I live to worship You. Oh, thank You, Lord. Thank You, Jesus. And to worship You, I live. To worship You, I live, I live to worship You. To worship You, I live. From my heart to the heavens. Jesus, be the center. It's all about You. Yes, it's all about You. From my heart to the heavens. Jesus, be the center. ♪ It's all about You, yes it's all about You ♪ Come on, sing from your heart. ♪ From my heart to the heaven, Jesus be the center ♪

♪ It's all about You, yes it's all about You ♪ Come on, church, let your voice say. ♪ From my heart to the heaven, Jesus be the center ♪ ♪ It's all about You, yes it's all about You ♪ ♪ Nothing else matters, nothing in this world will do, Lord ♪ ♪ Jesus be the center, Jesus be the center ♪ ♪ You're the center, everything revolves around You, Jesus ♪ ♪ So nothing else matters, so nothing in this world will do, Lord ♪ Thank You, Lord. ♪ So Jesus, You're the center, everything revolves around You, Jesus ♪ ♪ Everything revolves around You, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, we cry out to You, Lord, we cry out to You ♪ ♪ Oh, we thank You, oh, we cry out to You, Lord, oh, we thank You ♪ ♪ Nothing else will do, nothing else, and nothing else, nothing else will do ♪ ♪ I just want You, and nothing else, and nothing else, nothing else will do ♪ ♪ I just want You, and nothing else, Jesus, and nothing else, Jesus, nothing else will do ♪ ♪ I just want You, and nothing else, and nothing else, Jesus, nothing else will do ♪ ♪ I just want You, and nothing else, and nothing else, Jesus, nothing else will do ♪ ♪ I just want You, and nothing else, and nothing else, Jesus, nothing else will do ♪ ♪ Nothing that this world could give, nothing I could bring, nothing else will do ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ I just feel the presence of God so, so deeply in this room, and I feel like we just need to sit here and experience His presence right now. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus. Come on, I feel like there's a... I wanna let you know that you are in the right place today. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Come on, there is freedom in the room today. Come on, if you have the Spirit of heaviness on your life, would you just lift your hands right there? Come on, I believe chains are about to break in the room today. I believe that shackles are about to break loose in the room. Come on, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Father, we declare freedom on your church today. Father, we declare freedom on your bride. Freedom in the room. Oh, we want freedom. We want freedom, Jesus. We want to walk in your truth, Lord. To break every chain, to break every spoil. Sing, I say. For there is power in the name of Jesus. For there is power in the name of Jesus. For there is power in the name of Jesus. So break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. For there is power in the name of Jesus. There is power. There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the room today. For there is power in the name of Jesus. So break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain.

Break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. So break every chain. So break every chain. So break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. Break every chain. We fix our eyes to you Lord. We set our eyes to you Jesus. We take captive over our thoughts and make them obedient to you Lord. Obedient to your word. We praise you, we praise you. So hallelujah. Holy, holy. The God almighty. The great I Am. And who is worthy. None beside thee. The God almighty. The great I Am. Hallelujah. Holy, holy. God almighty.

The great I Am. And who is worthy. None beside thee. The God almighty. The great I Am. Hallelujah. Holy, holy. God almighty. The great I Am. And who is worthy. None beside thee. The God almighty. The great I Am. Until mountains shake before you. The demons run and flee. Then I come and sing of your name. King of majesty. There is no power in hell. Or any who could stand. Before your power and the power of your love. ♪ Hey ♪ ♪ Hey ♪ ♪ With your mouth to shake before you ♪ ♪ The demons are on their way ♪ ♪ They have no mention of your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ is here ♪ ♪ Hey ♪ ♪ There is no power in hell ♪ ♪ For any who can stand ♪ ♪ Before the power of the presence of the great God ♪

♪ The great I Am ♪ ♪ The great I Am ♪ ♪ The great I Am ♪ ♪ Say hallelujah ♪ ♪ So high in the air ♪ ♪ Be holy, holy ♪ ♪ The God Almighty ♪ ♪ The great I Am ♪ ♪ There is no one who is worthy ♪ ♪ No one beside me ♪ ♪ Oh God Almighty ♪ ♪ The great I Am ♪ ♪ And hallelujah ♪ ♪ Holy, holy ♪ ♪ God Almighty ♪ ♪ The great I Am ♪ ♪ And who is worthy ♪ ♪ No one beside me ♪ ♪ The God Almighty ♪ Come on, no matter what you're going through, no matter what situation, can we just sing that one more time? Say hallelujah. ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Just the voice, say it. ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Holy, holy ♪ ♪ God Almighty ♪ ♪ The great I Am ♪ ♪ And who is worthy ♪

♪ No one beside me ♪ ♪ The God Almighty ♪ ♪ The great I Am ♪ Say hallelujah, say it. ♪ And hallelujah ♪ ♪ Holy, holy ♪ ♪ God Almighty ♪ ♪ The great I Am ♪ ♪ And who is worthy ♪ ♪ No one beside me ♪ ♪ The God Almighty ♪ ♪ The great I Am ♪ Lord, we just adore you and we thank you beyond our words can express. Forgive us. We wish we could give you a better hallelujah, but we give you this broken one anyways. Thank you for your great love for us, God. Thank you that you are here, not because we were loud enough, but because you promised you would be. Thank you, Jesus, that that same power that you possess, that rose you up from that grave is here before us right now. That same power, that same grave-shaking, stone-rolling power is here before your people. And we recognize it in faith and we give you glory because of it.

And we, as your children, say, lead us, Father, have your way. Would the worship not stop? It may not be through song in these next moments, but would our hearts continue to worship you as we open your scriptures and hear from you? Thank you, Lord. Every way we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen, amen. Why don't you give God a hand, clap of praise. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And you can find your way to your seat. So good to be with you this morning. If we haven't had a chance to meet, my name's Jordan and I serve as one of the pastors here. My wife Zoe and I, we'd love to meet you in the lobby after our gathering. So if we hadn't had a chance to meet, come find us, we'd love to chat with you. Otherwise, church fam, so grateful to have you here, who call this church home.

Want you to know we got some people joining us online today. We are church in multiple locations. We have En Gedi Español and En Gedi GR joining us. And I know we have a bunch of folks who are joining as well through jails and prisons all throughout the United States. And so real grateful to be able to minister to people wherever they're at. And today I'm just excited, just to open up my heart and the scriptures with you in one of my favorite books in the Bible right now, and that is in the book of John, Gospel of John. So if you do have your Bibles, you can go ahead and turn to John. I'm going to give you a little bit of time before we go on to John chapter six, that way I give you some time before we head into it. And in this scene, in the scriptures in John six, just setting it up, the people here, the crowd of people that have gathered around Jesus have many needs like I believe many of us do this morning. Many needs, they are coming to Jesus and say, Lord, I have a need, would you fill it? Lord, I have a desire, would you

fill it? That's a good thing, okay, and I know many of these people, like many of us, we've come to the Lord because we feel like we've hit a wall in our life and we don't know which way to go or we've come up against a struggle that we just can't overcome or a sorrow that has caused us to get depressed and we need the Lord to lift us up and we need the Lord to lift us up and many of us are like, God, if you don't come through, I don't know what's going to happen, maybe there's something you've been praying for and you're saying, God, please, would you provide, would you help me, would you do this miracle, and that is a good thing to cause you to run to the Lord with that need, but there is a danger this morning I want us to be aware of that the text says, and I pray you would not leave here today with just what Jesus wants to give you, but you would receive fully who he is, and it's

under that scope and lens we're going to go to John chapter 6 starting in verse 1 where a crowd of people has gathered before Jesus and it says this, verse 1, after this Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias, and a large crowd was following him because they saw the signs, the miracles that he was doing on the sick, and Jesus went up on the mountain and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews was at hand, and lifting up his eyes then and seeing that a large crowd was coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat? I just love verse 6. He said this to test them, for he himself knew what he would do. If you're a note taker today, this is the title of my teaching and direction we're headed, and that is you need more than a miracle. You need more than a miracle.

Let's pray and invite Holy Spirit to teach us words. Father, thanks so much for your word. Thanks that you love us. We're children in your sight, and you want to give us good gifts. And you show that by giving us the greatest gift, your son Jesus Christ. Might we receive him today. Help us, Holy Spirit, to take hold of Jesus in a new way, to see him in a new way so we could have which this life can't take away from us. Would you speak that personal word each and every one of us needs this morning? Maybe it's a word of encouragement where we feel defeated, or maybe it's a word of conviction we need most to stay on the track of that good plan and purpose you have for each and every one of us. Whatever it is, Holy Spirit, right now in unison, say, yes, Lord, I want to hear from you, and I want to receive from you and you alone. And if that's your heart posture and prayer, would you say, in Jesus' name, amen. Amen, amen. Now, we'll continue reading

more of John 6, but I want to stop there because I noticed something real interesting in the text, and I don't know if you notice it, and that is the way Jesus involved his disciple into the problem. The way Jesus involved Philip into this problem of feeding this large crowd that is coming. Now, our parents in the room, you might know this just a little bit better than most, but it's a good thing to involve your kids, right? It's a good thing to involve your kids. That's a good parent. They involve their kids in what they're doing so the kids can learn. But how many of you know that as soon as you involve your kids in the mix, what happens? It's two times longer and ten times more difficult. But we do it anyways because we love them, right? We do it anyways. And I was thinking about, you know, me and Zoe, we try to involve our kids, try to involve Vale and Ari and the mix of things that we got going on, and so I'm like, instead of cleaning this room, Vale, how about you're going to help clean this room? Alright, Dad, I got it. I can clean this room. I don't even need your help. I can do it all by myself.

Wonderful, son. I'm going to let you do it. You and Zoe are going to be so proud. Okay, awesome, dude. So he goes and cleans his room, comes downstairs a little while later. Dad, I did it. I finished cleaning my room. Oh, man, I can't wait. Come on, let's go. Close your eyes. So I'm closing my eyes, going upstairs. I go in his room. He opens it. Open your eyes, Dad. And I look, and I go, wow. The room is spotless. There is nothing. It is, wow, it is all in this corner of the room now. Everything is piled up, even the bed sheets and pillows. Yeah, I cleaned the bed. There's nothing there. It's clean. Well, I go to the drawers. Wow, no clothes in any of your drawers. You cleaned out the drawers too. Babe, come take a look at this. Wow. I was gonna show the video too of the proof of this happening. I mean, I couldn't believe it. You know, yep, clean the room, Dad. You know, we involve the kids. And then Ari, Ari sees, you know, Zoe always cooking. And so she's like, mama, I wanna cook.

Okay, what do you want? I wanna cook some cookies for the family. All right, you know, we'll let you cook some cookies. I'm gonna do it all by myself. All right, Ari, go ahead and cook it. So she's putting in the mixes, grabbing the bowls, putting the things, and very quickly, we are realizing we are missing ingredients at home, but she is cooking it anyways. And she, the directions, she don't need directions. She don't need directions, she's got this. And you know, she's making the cookies. It is one giant sheet of a cookie on the pan. Puts it in the oven, you know, temps it. It's about done, you know, pulls it out. Wow, we look at it and we try it. I'll tell you what, she made a cookie I don't think any of us have ever tasted before. It is a brand new cookie. We need a patent, I'm telling you. It had this equal consistency of crunchy and goopy. I don't know how she did it at the same time. Man, it was like the best of the cookie dough, but with the crunch of the eggshell. And I was like, Harry, how'd you know I love crunchy cookies? You know I love those crunchy, how'd you know? You know, we try to be good parents and involve our kids in things, but as you know, it does present some new problems.

And Jesus foresees a problem about to appear, and he invites Philip into it. He invites Philip into this. And what does he say, verses five through six? Let's take a look again. Lifting up his eyes then, and seeing the large crowd was coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat? Now he said this to test him. I want you to get this line. For he himself knew what he would do. For he himself knew what he would do. Jesus isn't like, oh my gosh, what are we gonna do through this question? I want you to hear his tone. He's not freaking out having a meltdown, okay? He's not like, oh man, what are we gonna do, Philip? What are we gonna do? I don't know what we're gonna do. I'm freaking out right now. My heart is beating. What are we gonna do? It's not his tone here. No, no, no. For he himself knew what he would do. Before the crowd even felt a grumble in their stomach, he knew what he would do. Before Philip even pondered in his mind, what are we gonna do?

Jesus knew what he was gonna do. Before that need ever appeared in your life, Jesus knew what he was going to do. Before you prayed that prayer, long before you asked, he prepared. Long before you sought after him, he was getting it ready. Before that bill came, before that family member shared that difficult diagnosis, before that bad conversation happened between you and your spouse, before the news hit your brain about what happened with your kids, Jesus already knew what he was gonna do. His provision far outruns your prayers. He has never had to react to your life. He has never had a panic moment in the throne of heaven. He has never had a worry in his mind about the battle before him. He has never had anxiety rushing through him as he sits there on heaven's throne as the king of kings and Lord of lords. For he is the God of Psalm 121 who never sleeps nor slumbers and always watches over us day and night. And we know where our help comes from. Our help comes from the Lord. The Lord knew what he was gonna do before that need appeared in your life. Husband and father,

who you're staring at the mountain of bills and you're not sure how the money's gonna come through, the Lord already knows. Widow and single mother, you are facing an issue, you don't feel like you have the resource and networks to face, he already knew what he would do. Young person in this room who is hustling to try to make ends meet and find a way to what God has for you, he already knew what he was going to do before that need was ever in your heart presented before the Lord. He already knew because 2,000 years ago he saw your greatest need before you even knew it existed and that was your sins and that's why God the Father sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for you and if he could see your greatest need years before you could even realize it was a reality in your life, how many of you know he is taking note of everything that has come across your path and everything that comes across your path into your life has already had a pass through his nail-pierced hands, he already knows what he's gonna do and he can provide for you.

And yet even still he asks the question, what are we gonna do? Isn't that ironic how the bread of life himself asks where are we gonna buy bread? He asks us this question and I believe the Lord's probably asking some of you some questions as well. What are we gonna do about this? Not because he doesn't have. the answer. He's actually asking you a question that your logic can't answer to awaken faith in you. He poses questions to you, doesn't just give commands. Maybe that's why you're not hearing the Lord. You think he just wants to demand and command you to do these things when he says, no, no, here's a question. I want to invite you into relationship. I want to invite you in closer. I want to take you deeper. He asks these questions to get past our excuses and to expose the truth in our heart. What question has the Lord put to your heart? The question he put to Philip's heart was, what are we going to do? Are we going to buy bread? And let's see the response here. Verses five through seven again. Jesus said to Philip, where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat? I said this to test him, for he himself knew what he'd do. And then Philip answered him. Two hundred denarii's worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get even a little Jesus. I mean, he's freaking out. He did the math. It doesn't add up. It says Jesus said this to test him. That's the first lesson we learn here. Jesus always tests what we trust in. Jesus always tests what we trust in. He's not testing Philip's intelligence here. He's not going, all right, bring out the spreadsheets. I know you're good at math, Philip. I know you got those accounting skills, bro. Let's bring out the spreadsheet. Let's see what we can do here to feed everybody here in the most effective, efficient way. And he's like, mm, I ran him, Jesus. It doesn't work. He's not inspecting and testing his intelligence. He's testing his instinct. Where do you run to first? When trouble

comes, where do you put your trust in first? Is it in a call to your best friend or your parents, or is it a prayer before the Lord? Is it in a haste act of, this is what I got to do. I got to take control of this thing. You try to take control because it gives you some sense of comfort and peace, or is it getting on your knees before the Lord honestly and saying, Lord, I don't know what to do, so I'm going to go to you first before making any decisions here. What is your first instinct? Where do you trust? Is it in your own wisdom? Oh, I have plenty of experience in this area. I've been down this road before. I know exactly what to do. I'm basically a consultant and coach in this area. Or is it to go before the Lord? Lord, I know I may have some experience in this, but I know every single season you're trying to teach me something new. And so, Lord, I want to hear from you. What is your first instinct? Is it to trust in the Lord? What is presented before you right now in this life, right now in this moment, God has given you as an opportunity to test what you trust in. And over this holiday weekend, we had a brief moment as a family with some of our friends on a boat, what we were going to trust in real soon. You guys hear about that storm that came in? Oh, my goodness. I mean, we were just leaving Lake Michigan, heading into the channel, into Lake Mac, and that storm hit us out of nowhere. And I mean, it was terrifying. The kids were screaming. People were crying. The waves were splashing up on the boat. I mean, it looked like it was going to be Titanic 2.0, you know, in Lake Mac. And, you know, we were really getting tested there on where our trust was. You know, seeing your kids terrified, seeing the storm here. But it wasn't just showing the weather in that moment. It was showing us, what do you trust in? You know, thank God for His sovereign grace that we made it safely. But it was terrifying. And in that moment, our instinct kicked in, what do you trust in? Do you trust I'll provide you safely? What is the storm waging in your life right now? Do you trust Him, just as Philip had to learn? Maybe it's an area where you feel real confident in. That's okay. God wants you to trust Him in that, too. That's why he said this to Philip. Do you ever ask questions when you're reading the Bible? I do all the time. Look, I

probably ask more questions than I have answers when I'm reading the text, okay? You might be thinking, man, this Bible is tough to read. I just feel like I don't know anything. I feel that all the time, too. The only reason why I end up getting to some answers is because I just ask a lot of questions. I'm like, Lord, I don't get this. Help me out. I need some help. And so I asked, why Philip? Why not Peter? He's bold. He's courageous. He feels like he's got some faith. Why not Judas? He's got the money. Maybe he's got it in the bag. Maybe he can cover for everybody. Why not Andrew, the also a disciple with him, who in chapter 1 of John proclaims Jesus as, you know, the Messiah, the one who has come? Why Philip? It's because if you know Philip, Philip knows the terrain. Philip is from Bethsaida. Philip is from this area. So if there was anybody there who would have the local connection network, if there's anybody there who would know the terrain and people, if there was anybody there who would have any... just shred of an idea of what to do, it would be Philip, and that's who Jesus goes to. Jesus goes to the most capable to show him, even in this situation, you're not. And God will allow you in your life, with all your experience, sir, with all your wisdom, with all your following of Jesus, still lead you to places and seasons and times where none of that is enough, because he will lead you to the end of yourself so you can discover the beginning of his, the depths of his resources, the depths of his wisdom, the depths of his strength, the greatness of who he is. Jesus will bring you to the end

of your resources and capabilities to reveal the depth of his. And that's what he does with Philip. That's why he said this to Philip. And Philip comes to grips in this moment, look, I don't even know what to do. There's nothing we can do here, Jesus. And he's not doing this to embarrass him. He's doing it because he's inviting him to experience a power he has never experienced before. Some of you have experienced the power of your own self-made self. And I'm telling you, it's gonna run out soon. Pride always comes before the fall. He wants you to learn from him and his resources. He wants to take you deeper. You think you've made it. No, no, no, he has more for you. He has greater for you. He has better for you. And he's gonna lead you to a place where you come to the end of yourself so you can learn about what he has for you. Just like the disciples learned when they thought it was the end on that darkest day of history when Jesus died on that cross and they learned on the third day, oh no, that's the new beginning. For our Lord is risen.

And you may have come to the end of yourself, but that's the beginning of God's strength in your life. And he allows you to get to that place. Are you there today? Because if so, you're in good hands. God wants to teach you something. And this is what we learn. As the disciples are discussing their limits, a little boy approaches. John 6, verses eight through nine. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, as they're freaking out, what are we gonna do? Well, there's a boy here who has about five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many? I just love this scene that some little boy just comes up with his Lunchable. You know, he just, I don't know, here, I got this. Like, Jesus didn't say, go find me the little boy with the lunch. He didn't say that. Matter of fact, Jesus doesn't even need that. Because we've seen in Luke chapter four, the devil tempts Jesus to turn stones into bread. Jesus could turn all those stones on that mountain into bread. We know from the Old Testament, manna came down from heaven. He could just do it like that.

Talk to his father and bread will appear before him. And we know in John chapter two, he turned water into wine. Why is he waiting for this little boy to bring his lunch? To teach us something. This little boy wasn't there by accident. It was divine providence that led him. And I'm telling you, God has divinely orchestrated your life. You think there are moments where I don't know which way to turn, God, how did I even get here? His sovereign will has still got a hand on your life. It doesn't matter if it looks dark and bleak and you don't know which way to turn, you don't know where the answer's gonna come to, you don't know where the help's gonna come from. I do, the help comes from the Lord. Divine providence will lead you wherever you need to go if you trust him and do what we learn in this story. And that is, Jesus isn't looking for your skills first, he's looking for your surrender. He knew Philip was the most skilled to do something about this problem, and yet he couldn't. That's exactly why he brought the little boy. Because the little boy was willing to surrender his lunch. He's teaching us something. It's not self-sufficiency, it's surrender. It's surrender, it's a life of surrender. That's what following Jesus looks like, a life of surrender in every area, of every moment, of every problem that you come before. It's a life saying, God, I'm willing to give this to you.

God, I'm willing to trust you, I don't know what. The little boy didn't know Jesus was gonna multiply it? No way, I bet he was freaking out thinking, man, mom's gonna get so mad at me that I gave my lunch to these people. She packed this for me, you know? Andrew didn't bully the little boy, he didn't bully, come here, give me that lunch, we need all that we can get. That's not what happened. The little boy saw Jesus, and because he's childlike, felt prompted to trust, even though he doesn't know how. It's teaching us something. To follow Jesus means you are childlike, not self-made. Not sufficient, not fully sufficient. You are missing out if you think you got all the wisdom and strength and willpower and endurance and ability and capabilities and experience and networks. You are missing out on what God has for you. But if you are childlike, I'm telling you, he will give you more than you think you could ever get. Childlike, it's teaching us to be dependent. That's why he chose this little boy. And I know in my life. I've had to learn this time and time again. As a pastor, I come across conversations and people with problems that I have no idea how to pastor them through. I have nothing but tears to give them. I have nothing but I don't knows, but I'll sit here with you.

I don't know, I've run into moments many times where I feel like, God, I don't know what to say or do, but I surrender and I just trust you. I come to that moment as a father. God, I don't know how I'm gonna continue to provide for all these needs that keep happening, but I trust you're a good father and you've always provided for me. God, I don't know why all my childhood trauma keeps coming up and it's leaking itself out, but God, would you help me because I don't know how to get through this. I don't know how to deal with this. There are so many times in my life where all I know how to do is just get on my hands and knees and say, God, I surrender, I don't know what to do. And church, can I tell you, that's exactly where he wants you to be. That's exactly where you need to be. That's where you receive from him when you're open-handed before him. That's what he's teaching us in this text. But I think some of us, we're like Andrew, and we say to the problems, but what are they for so many? There's so much before me. We say this as parents and spouses, as coworkers, as bosses, as students. What am I gonna do against so many problems in my life? I got this happening in my life. This is happening with my family.

We got these unforeseen bills and debts we gotta pay. We got this problem happening in this relationship. I got these things due at work. I don't know what I'm gonna do about this. I'm feeling inadequate in this area of my life. I've always been trying to get this thing together, and I felt like this was a dream of mine for years, and it hasn't materialized. What am I gonna do against so many, God? I'm feeling cynical and defeated. I'm feeling overwhelmed by this mountain before me. What am I gonna do against so many? And although that question is right in a sense, what are you gonna do against so many? You're not asking the best question. The better question is, whose hands is it in? Because the problem may be real, but it is small compared to the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. And those same hands, when you place it in his, those same hands were hands that were stretched out for you 2,000 years ago and fought against the greatest battle that we ever had and won for us and had a victory for us. It doesn't matter what little you have. It doesn't matter what lack you have. What this story teaches us is little is much in God's hands. And so the question isn't how much do I have left? The question is, will I put it in his hands? I don't have the power to get through it. That's not what he's asking. He's not asking, do you have the strength to get through?

But do you have the weakness to surrender? He's got enough strength on his own. He doesn't have any weakness. That's why he's looking to receive yours, so he can impart you with his strength. Will you surrender and receive what he has for you, church? Will you put it back in his hands? Would you put that plan back in his hands? Will you put that decision back in his hands? Put your family back in his hands? Put your life back in his hands? Put that unanswered prayer you quit praying years ago back in his hands? Would you put it back in the potter's hands? Because when you put it in the potter's hands, he will mold it like clay into the perfect image he's meant for it long before you were even born. He knew how he was gonna form it. Will you put it back into those nail-pierced hands that died for you? Put it back in his hands. You could trust him. And so then the little boy puts his lunch in Jesus' hands and surrenders, and watch what happens. John 6, 10 through 13. Jesus said to him, have the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down, about 5,000 in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated.

So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told the disciples, gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost. And so they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. I love that. There was even more. They couldn't even eat all of it. There was even more left over. That tells me Jesus always gives us more than we could ever ask, want, or need. He always has more to give, church. He's not up there counting his pennies. Oh man, yeah, you're right, this is looking a little tight. What are we gonna do? He has an abundance to give. An abundance, church, an abundance for you. And we see in John, the gospel of John, the crowd is following, of course, because this is what they were waiting for. They are waiting to see another miracle. We read that in verse two, remember? They're waiting to see the signs. They were following Jesus because they're like, ooh, I can't wait to see what he's gonna do next. This is amazing. Oh man, what's he gonna do? And then they see this, wow, how'd he do it? How does he keep doing that?

This is incredible, and John records it. Now, John's not recording it just because it's a cool miracle. Now, I know the Lord has done miracles in this church. I've seen the Lord do miracles in people's lives. I still haven't seen the Lord multiply any food at a. but I'll be praying for y'alls that it would happen, okay? I know that'll save a lot of money. I've been talking to some of you parents, you're like, I got three kids who are getting married this summer. I can't do this, too much money. May the Lord provide the John 6 miracle for you, okay? Multiply that Chick-fil-A at the wedding. If he's gonna do it, it'll be for Chick-fil-A. John's not just doing this because it's a cool flex. Like, oh yeah, Jesus can multiply food, no big deal. No. Every miracle that is written in the Gospel of John is a sign pointing to Jesus as the promised Messiah. It's a sign pointed to him as the son of God. It's a sign pointing that you could believe in him and have life in his name. We see in John chapter six, verse four, a really important note. Now this, to us, is just information, but to them, it was very meaningful. Because in John 6, verse four, it says, now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Now, let me nerd out for a moment, go Old Testament, okay?

So hang with me, I'm gonna tell you an Old Testament story because it's real meaningful to the people and for us today. In Exodus 16, this is the reference here. The Passover was a time where they were celebrating here about how God provided for them in the wilderness. The people of God, for 40 years, wandered the wilderness and had needs and wants and needed help from God. And God tested them in that time. And one time, they were hungry, grumbling, oh, what do we, we need to eat. Oh, why don't you just send us back to slavery in Egypt? We had leeks there, we had food there. God led us out here to die. And Moses was like, man, quit grumbling. God, what are we gonna do? And God sends manna down from heaven, bread from heaven for them to eat, and then they eat it. And it's a miracle. Now this is important because we see here some really beautiful parallels in our story. That Jesus provides bread, just as God did in the Old Testament to the people. That Jesus tested Philip, just like God did to the people in the Old Testament. That we see 12 baskets left over, just like there are 12 tribes of Israel, and there are 12 disciples, showing that he counts all of his people. He knows who they are.

We see these prophetic fulfillments that Jesus really is the greater Moses, that the story of Moses was never about Moses. It was always about Jesus. That the Old Testament, every page in it whispers his name. Every prophecy points to him. Every story stands in relation to Jesus Christ. So every time you read the Old Testament, ask the question, how can I see you here, Jesus? Because I know you're here. It all is about him, and it's always been about him, and it will always be about him for all time. And because Jesus fulfilled every promise of scripture in the Old Testament, you can trust him with every part of your story. If he fulfilled over 300 different prophecies in the Old Testament, surely he will fulfill every promise he's made to you. He will faithfully provide to you. He will turn evil into good in your life. He will take you where you need to go, and that good plan and purpose he has on your life, he will accomplish because it will lead to the saving of many lives. You can trust in him, that he didn't just fulfill those scriptures, he didn't just die for your sins, but he rose again so you can have an unshakable faith, so you can have a firm foundation, so you can know your faith rests

on the rock of ages, Jesus Christ. That's when you read the Old Testament, it ought to give you faith. It ought to give you faith in who Jesus is. That's why it's written. And so we can stop here and we can go, man, oh man, Jesus, if I just trust you, you'll provide and maybe you'll do a miracle. And that's good and amen, yes and amen. But if that's all you take away today, you missed the greater point. Because what a tragedy it is to receive from his hand, but then to turn away from his face. To leave with a full stomach, but an empty heart. What a problem it is to take what he gives and miss who he is. And that's what happens with this crowd. For we saw in verses two of chapter six, and then later in verse 26, it said, the large crowd was following him because they saw the signs. And what were they really after? Verse 26 tells us, you were seeking me because you ate your fill of the loaves. They just wanted from Jesus. They didn't really wanna follow him too. Maybe you just today want help from Jesus. You don't really wanna surrender all your life. You just want him to fix this part. God, would you just fix this part?

No, no, no, no, no. You don't need to be the point of my life, just fix this part. Have we done that church? Have we presented a problem before him just for him to fix, only for us to turn away? away from his face after it, because that's what this crowd is doing. They wanted just a miracle in their life. They didn't want a Messiah to follow. That's the danger presented to us today, that God could give you the miracle you've been praying for, and you would stop and walk away without him. That's the tragedy today, the possibility, the choice you have, that you could receive your miracle and still walk away from him, and still not receive him, still not have more of him. What a tragedy that would be. To better your circumstances, to better your circumstances without him is far worse than broken circumstances with him. Far worse, far worse. A better life, a better marriage, a better job, a better family situation, a better circumstance is not better if it is without a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. A better life is not better than the bread of life himself.

As we see in this story, go ahead and read at home, you can get bread from his hand, you can get that miracle bread, you can get your miracle and still walk away without him. You could still get it and walk away without him. I think we've all been guilty of just wanting to pray for a miracle, pray for a healing, pray for provision, and that's good, pray for it, okay? That's God's will to provide, God's will to heal. You pray for it, that's okay. But even if he doesn't, will you keep trusting him? And if he does, will you keep following him? Will you keep following him? Because you can get the money, but the money's gonna run out when you die. You can get the healing, but our body's still gonna die. But the one thing that this life and this death can't take away is Jesus Christ. And when you get him, you get an eternal treasure that nothing can take from your hand. The enemy cannot snatch away and you cannot lose. He is the only thing that is eternal. And because of his eternal life, he imparts it to us so we can step into eternity with him. You must have him. That's what John is teaching. That's why he calls them signs in the gospel, John, and not miracles. He doesn't say miracles, he says signs.

Why? Because the miracle isn't the point. It's a sign pointing to the Messiah. It's like if you were trying to go to the beach, right, and you're driving to the beach with your family and you see a sign of the beach, you know, one of those big old banner signs that you, wow, that's beautiful. Children, look at that. Oh my goodness, that's gorgeous, wow. Oh man, let's go home now. You'd be a fool, wouldn't you? All you did was see the sign. Go experience the real thing. That's what this invitation is. Jesus did it to say, now come to me, I am the bread of life. I don't just give you bread, I am bread. The same way bread does to your body, I do for your soul and spirit. So what he says here in John 6, 33 through 35 later on, Jesus says, for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. All those ambitions you have, sir, all those dreams you have in your mind, all those desires and wants you have for a spouse, all those desires you have for comfort and security in life

that your anxiety brings up, beneath all those desires and longings is the longing of Jesus Christ. And it's all pointing to him. And if you have him, I promise you, no matter which way it turns out, you have the best. Because you have the one who gives the peace this world can't give or take away. To have him, to have him is eternal life. To know him is eternal life. But you can get what he gives from his hand, that's okay. You could get that. Just don't miss him too. Because this story is not just a lunch miracle, it's a living metaphor. And what Jesus does with this bread, he would soon do with his body on the cross. And what Jesus teaches us through John six, this is this one big principle. And that is Jesus wants to give you more than a miracle. He wants to give you himself. He wants to give you all that he is. He doesn't just do miracles, he is the resurrection and the life. He doesn't just give you a better life, he is life. And he gave us a picture of it in John six, 11, when Jesus took the loaves and gave them to the sheep. gave thanks, and the other gospel says he breaks it and distributes it. Where else does he do this, church?

At communion. Luke 22, 19. He took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, this is my body given for you. Do it in remembrance of me. The real miracle that day was not just that more bread appeared out of nowhere, and more bread multiplied from these small baskets. The real miracle that day was that the one who was multiplying the bread would also stretch his arms on the cross for us. It was not just the multiplication, it was his substitution, that he would be a substitute offering for sins on the cross for you and I. It wasn't just that he took that bread in his hands and he multiplied it. It's that those same hands that held the bread would be nailed on the cross for you and I. That is the true miracle, that the bread of life came down from heaven for us. Can you see it? Can you adore him for it? Is that what excites you most when you read the story? Because if not, keep reading until it gets you on your hands and knees with adoration before the Lord. It shouldn't be the miracle that excites you most. It should be that the Messiah himself has come for sinners like you and I.

We who are hungry and inadequate and have nothing to give but brokenness and sin, and he takes it anyways, and he gives us himself. That's the miracle. If that doesn't excite you, the miracle ain't gonna fix what you think it's gonna fix. It's him. You need him. You've always needed him, and you'll never stop needing him. That's what this story's about. That's what this story's about, sir. That's what this story's about, ma'am. You need Jesus Christ. He is the miracle you need. You need more of his presence. You are so desperate for it, you don't even realize. Thank you, Jesus, for giving yourself for us, for becoming our provision and sacrifice, for doing what you alone could do that we couldn't do in ourselves. Thank you, Jesus. Lord, where my words fall short now, come on, this isn't even just a sermon. This is your time to commune with the Father. Where my words fall short now, Holy Spirit, would you minister this conviction and reality to the hearts of your people that we need you, Jesus, the bread of life, and if we don't have you, we have no life at all. Even if we have all in this life we thought we ever wanted,

we are more poor for it if we don't have more of you, Jesus. You are true riches, you are the treasure. You are the darling of heaven. Jesus, we want and we need you. This is our confession to you in this moment. This is our humble act of surrender to you. God, would you humble us and convict us. Holy Spirit, would you give us a sight of Jesus we couldn't lose hold of. Give us a sight of Jesus, of his beauty and his arms stretched wide for us. His arms stretched wide for us. His great love poured out for us. How you died and loved me and gave yourself for me. That our life is not our own, our life is yours. We live by faith in the Son of God. Jesus, would you do this in your people? Staying in the same place of surrender, it would be fitting for us to respond. If you have your communion elements, would you grab those? And in response to Jesus breaking and giving this breath and doing a miracle, Jesus can do the same thing in your heart and life. He can take that dead heart of sin and make it come alive. He can forgive you of your sins and make you brand new on the inside. And communion reminds us of that. And so we're gonna take this in response. And so we're gonna take this in response. And so by opening the bread,

would you hold the bread in your hand? Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread and broke it and he gave thanks and he said, this is my body given for you. Every time you eat this, do it in remembrance of me. Thank you, Lord, that your body was given for us on the cross, broken for us. So all our brokenness from now until we die could be made whole in you. So you could live your life in and through us. And that's what we want. We wanna be a part of your body, Jesus. Would you be the head, not us anymore? Would you call the shots, not us anymore? Thank you, Lord, for your body broken. And when you are ready, would you take this bread with me in giving thanks for the broken body of Jesus? Thank you. And staying in the same place of surrender and reverence to the Lord, would you open the cup? And he says, this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood poured out. for many and every time you drink this do it in remembrance of me. I don't know where you're at in this room but would you would you bow your heads with me and close your eyes because I want to give an opportunity before we drink from this cup together for anybody in here under the sound of my voice or maybe watching online right now even from a jail cell. If you don't have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if he is not the bread of life to you, if he is not your Lord I want you right now to know that he is his arms open to you, nothing but grace

and joy and delight in his heart to give himself to you, to take your sins in exchange give you his life and if that's you in this room and you'd say I need the life of Jesus no longer do I want to live this on my own I want his life would you just slip up your hand and say I'm surrendering to Jesus today I'm giving my life to him. Just say yeah that's me I'm surrendering to Jesus today. Lord I give you my life forgive me of my sins and make me brand new. Father thank you for those who are coming home to you thank you forgiveness that is found only through your shed blood on the cross Jesus which forgives all of our iniquities and sins no matter how dark no matter how many you wash us clean by your precious blood thank you that I am made new in you would you take the cup with me. Thanks Jesus for new life in you and church would we celebrate right now all those who prayed that prayer and put their trust in Jesus heaven rejoices and church would you stand with me if you prayed that prayer we want you know we would love to walk alongside you on this journey of faith we want to give you a Bible we want to encourage you so just raise your hand to the ushers as they walk by there and give you a Bible and some resources and we want to know headed to the back of the room or the prayer corner we'd love to pray with you so you don't walk out this journey alone but we're gonna right now in this gathering and worship an adoration to Jesus come on can we celebrate our Lord who was given to us together cause you never run dry, you are for me, your love will never end cause you never run dry, no no, you never run, sing it again I can come back time and time I can come back time and time again cause you never run dry, I can drink until my heart's contained cause you never run dry, you are for me, your love will never end cause you never run dry, no no, you never run dry cause you are, you are the river love will always bring me life you are the fountain overflowing all the time

and I found that nothing else could ever satisfy so I'll run to the well that will never run dry come on give me praise