Today I really feel like I'm on assignment to talk to anyone in this place who is experiencing doubt in what you're walking through. Has anyone ever had doubt in your life? Has anyone had moments where you feel like you're deficient? You're like, "Man, there's just some stuff in my life that doesn't quite feel like it's all working out." And we can have these moments where we say, "Man, am I enough? Do I have enough? Will I ever be enough?"

Some of you received some news this week that rocked your world. A medical diagnosis, something in your family. For some of you it might not even be something big. It might be something small, but for whatever reason you're saying, "God, do You have the ability to work on this thing? God, can You see my address? I know the Bible says You count the hairs on my head, but do You really?" Ever had that before?

I think sometimes we can come to this place of doubt. And if we're honest, we can have doubts in ourselves: "I don't know if I have what it takes." But sometimes the place I'm at isn't even that I doubt myself. It's that I doubt God. Anyone ever been there before? "Okay, God, I know You have the strength. The question is not if You have the strength. The question is this: will You show me Your strength? God, I know You have the ability. I'm not questioning Your ability. I'm just questioning whether You're going to show me Your ability. God, I know You have what it takes. I've seen You do it before, but will You do it again? I've seen You do it for them, but will You do it for me? God, I'm facing this. Can You see it?"

If you're in this place, I believe today is going to minister to you. We're in week four of our series, The Miracles of Jesus. We've been learning about the seven miracles, or signs, that happen in the book of John. The first week we talked about Jesus turning water into wine, and what it shows is that Jesus is the great Bridegroom. Jesus has the ability to transform situations, to transform things. Week two, we learned about the healing of the nobleman's son, and we learned that Jesus can speak a life-giving word. Last week it was the healing at the pool of Bethesda, which introduced us to Jesus as Healer. And today, I don't know what you're going through in your life, but I want to introduce you to Jesus as Provider. Whatever that need is, whether it's financial, emotional, spiritual, or physical, Jesus is Provider.

So Jesus, may You speak. May You hide me behind Your cross. May You do what only You can do. In Jesus' name. And all God's people said amen.

What happened at the feeding of the 5,000?

If you have your Bibles, turn to John 6. That's where we're going to be today, John chapter 6, verse 1. We're learning about a story that is probably one of the most popular stories in the Bible. This miracle is actually recorded in all four Gospels. The only other miracle recorded in all four is the resurrection. John is about 90% new information, but for some reason every single Gospel writer decided to record this one.

We're starting in verse 1: "Some time after this." After what? After the healing at Bethesda. This is happening really quickly. "Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias)."

I want to tell you something. Whenever you're reading the Bible about Jesus' life, you're often going to see that He is around the Sea of Galilee. The reason for that is that Jesus' ministry headquarters was in Capernaum, which was a fishermen's town on the Sea of Galilee. I want to show you what the Sea of Galilee looks like. It looks like this. And what's crazy about it is that when you're on it, it almost feels like an ocean. It is 13 miles wide. It is 8 miles long. It is the lowest freshwater lake in the world, and it has these massive mountains around it that can get cold. That cold air comes down the mountain, goes through the valley, and hits the warm water, and it destabilizes the weather. That's why out of nowhere the Sea of Galilee can go from calm to crazy. So whenever you read about Jesus walking on the water and the disciples freaking out, it's happening right here.

I had a friend who was once fishing on the Sea of Galilee, and they started feeling a breeze. One of the locals said, "We need to go." And within five minutes there were these massive swells, and all of a sudden they're fearing for their lives. That's important, because we're going to get to that in a second.

Why did the crowds follow Jesus?

Jesus is here, and it says, "A great crowd of people followed him." I need you to know something: people are interested in Jesus. Even today, people are interested in Jesus. They might not be interested in church. They might not be interested because someone has hurt them. But they're interested in Jesus. There is a curiosity about Jesus. Which, let me say this, be thinking about who you're inviting to Easter, because there are going to be people who are so interested to know who Jesus is. I want you to be praying about who God can bring. It's just a couple of weeks away and I can't wait. It's going to be awesome.

People followed Him, and it says this: they followed Him "because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick." They wanted to be with Jesus not for who He was, but for what they could get from Him. And I think so often we do the same thing, and we have to be careful of that.

It says that "Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples." And I love this detail Matthew gives us in Matthew 15:30: "Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them." It doesn't matter what you're going through. You can bring it to Jesus.

"They laid them at his feet." That inspires me. Here's why: because it doesn't matter how broken I am. It doesn't matter how worried I am, how angry I am, how sinful I am, how crippled I am. If I can just get to the feet of Jesus, He has what I need. If I can just humble myself and get to His feet, He has what I need.

Understand this: earthly lowliness has always been the setting required for heaven's miracles. That's why I love that as a church we go through seasons like 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. What is that? It's us humbling ourselves for a season and saying, "God, we need You. God, I need You to move." And when we do that, God can move. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." God, heal our land. But it requires humility. It requires that we come to Jesus' feet. And that's what we see here.

It says, "The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel." Understand that the purpose of a miracle is always to draw your attention to the Miracle Worker. Some of you are trusting God to do something in your life, and I believe some of us are going to see that. Understand, when it happens, it's not so you can get the glory. It's so He can get the glory. The purpose is always to draw your attention to what God is doing. It is a sign of who He is.

Does Jesus care about the small things?

It says, "The Jewish Passover Festival was near. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?'" He was concerned. Matthew gives us this detail: "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."

I want you to understand something about Jesus. Jesus cares about the permanent things you go through in your life, but He cares about the temporary things too. He cared about permanent things like people being sick, but He also cared about temporary things like hunger. And some of you in this place are bringing God the big things, but you feel like you can't bring Him the small things. Bring Him the small things. We serve a God who cares if you're facing a divorce right now and trying to figure out what that's like. And we serve a God who cares if you're a student stressed about a test. What we do is bring those things to Him. We are both body and spirit. God wants to care for our bodies, and He also wants to care for our spirits. He cares.

Why does God test us?

It says, "He asked this only to test him." Say, "It was a test." Man, I do not like tests. I do not do too good on tests. "For he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, 'It would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!'"

He's like, "We're a small ministry. This isn't going to work." He's like, "Judas, am I right?" And Judas checks all the money he's stolen: "It's not going to work. We don't have the money. Accounting error. Don't know why, but we definitely can't feed all these people."

So Jesus says, "What do you have?" Verse 8: "Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 'Here is a boy with five small barley loaves.'" That would have been a poor person's bread. "'And two small fish.'" Think sardines. "'But how far will they go among so many?' Jesus said, 'Have the people sit down.' There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there)." This is insane. This is a miracle for about 20,000 people.

Verse 11: "Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, 'Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.' So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. After the people saw the sign Jesus performed," say "sign," "they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.'"

They're quoting Deuteronomy 18, where Moses says, "I am a prophet, but a greater prophet is coming." One who's going to give you the Word. And obviously, John chapter 1: Jesus is the Word. It's happening right here.

Jesus sets up this whole situation where He's testing the disciples, testing Philip. "Philip, I need you to feed these people." And he's like, "Man, I don't know if I have what it takes." Have you ever had God test you? Anyone ever been in a place of doubt? It's crazy. I feel like so often God is working on my trust in Him, my faith in Him. And the way He works on my faith in Him is by getting me to go through situations where I have to trust. Imagine that. I'm like, "Is there another way? Can I trust You without going through a situation where I have to trust You? How about I just say I trust You, we skip the test, and then everything's good? Why do You test me?" Anyone ever had that? "Why am I in this place of doubt? God, why couldn't You just do it? I trust You."

"I just need to know that You're there"

Growing up, in 2008, the housing market crashed. My dad was a real estate broker. I was really young when this happened, and my dad's entire business crashed. What he used to make in two days, he now made in a year. We did not know how we were going to make it. We did not know how we were going to provide for food. We did not know how any of it was going to work. And my dad was so frustrated. "God, I've served. God, I've given. God, I've done everything You told me to do. Why am I here? I did it. Why am I here?"

He got a little attitude with God. Don't recommend it. But he said, "God, I just need to know that You're there. If You're there, can someone come and bring me oranges?" Which is so strange. He's like, "I can buy them, but I just need to know that You hear me." I don't recommend testing God, but for some reason in this moment God had compassion on my dad. One of his agents came into his office and said, "Hey, I brought you a bag of oranges." And he was like, "Wow, that's crazy." And then he said, "God, that's a little too easy. I want more oranges." I'm like, wow, you're bold. But he just prayed humbly: "God, can You?" And it was crazy, because a couple of hours later someone called him and said, "Bring out as many bags as you want." He comes out with potato bags, and a truck pulls up filled with oranges, and they said, "Take as much as you need."

Did everything get fixed after that moment? No. Were there still years of faith? Yes. But what it was is God saying, "I see you."

I remember when I first came to the States. I'm following God. God's told me to come to America. I'm a ministry apprentice. I'm supporting myself. I'm trying to make this whole thing work. I've told this story before. I had to renew my license, and I remember going into the DMV, standing in that long line, and asking, "How much does it cost?" They said, "$48." I checked my bank account: $12. And I do not have good luck with cops. I get deported and stuff. If you don't know that story, you'll hear it eventually. I literally went to my car and started crying. "God, I'm so frustrated with You, because I'm obeying. I'm literally doing what You told me to do, and I don't even know how You're going to provide. Why am I here?" Anyone?

You get to these places where you're like, "God, why am I in this place of doubt?" I don't know what it looks like for you. But so often we come into these places, and that's exactly where you find the disciples. The challenge with all of us is this: we were focusing on what we lacked instead of what He has. I was focusing on how I was never enough instead of focusing on how God is more than enough.

That's the same place we find the disciples. There are moments when we have the shame of something we've done before, and we're like, "God, I don't know if You can forgive that. I don't know if I can move forward." We're comparing ourselves. We have anxiety. We're struggling with all these things. We're trying to impress a bunch of people we don't even like. And we're doubting. That's where they were at.

I feel like this message dictates that you ask yourself the question: Where are you doubting? Where do you feel deficient right now? Where is God asking you to step, but for some reason you feel like you might not have what it takes?

What do you do when you don't have enough?

We find the disciples in this place, and Jesus is like, "Okay, JR, you're going to be my disciple. Congratulations. JR, see all these people? We have to feed them." And they're like, "Jesus, how? There's no Costco nearby. There's no Trader Joe's nearby. There's no Fry's nearby." And Jesus is like, "I've got it. JR, you feed them."

Has God ever asked you to do something you don't have the ability to do? Given you an assignment for which you lack the resources? "You feed them." "I don't have anything. I don't know how this is going to work." Have you ever gotten frustrated with the disciples? Anyone? Because it was a test. Say "test." He was testing them. And I'm like, "How could you not see that? It's Jesus. Haven't you been hanging out with Him? Haven't you seen what He's done before?" It was a test.

Get this: when Jesus asks you a question, how many of you know it's not because He needs the answer? He is the answer. When the Answer asks you a question, it's not because He needs the answer. If Jesus is asking you for something, it's not because He needs anything. It's because you need something.

But they're in this place, and they're like, "Oh, Jesus, I don't know how we're going to do this. Jesus, I don't know how this is going to work." They have Jesus, the Bread of Life, asking them for bread. How many of you know that when the Bread of Life is asking you for bread, He doesn't need any bread? This is the water-into-wine guy. This is the One who can turn a stone into bread. And they look internally and say, "Man, I don't have what it takes." I need you to understand something: staring at your deficiency has never been the solution to a problem.

Start with what you do have

I love this verse. In Matthew 15:33–34, "His disciples answered, 'Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?' 'How many loaves do you have?' Jesus asked." Say, "do you have."

Understand that the beginning of a miracle will always start with the recognition of what you do have. Not what you don't have, but what you do have. And so often I don't want to focus on what I do have. I want to focus on what I don't have. I want to focus on what You gave them that You didn't give me, the skills they have, the resources they have, the finances they have. I want to focus on everybody else, but not on what I do have.

He has given you resources. That's what you do have. He has given you friends. That's what you do have. He has given you abilities. That's what you do have. He has given you Him. That's all you need. What do you have? Because God will never multiply what you don't recognize. We have to recognize what God has given us, and then we can come and place it in His hands.

So they take the little they have and put it into the hands of the One who makes little much. Which just shows me that God will never multiply what we don't bring. He has given you some stuff, and He's saying, "Hey, can you give that to Me? Can you actually bring that to Me?" Some of you are carrying some stuff, and God is saying, "Can you bring it?" You know the step you need to take. You know the thing you need to do. How about you just do it?

I think so often my relationship with God feels like a chess game. Anyone else ever felt like that? Here's how chess works: you make a move, and then I make a move, and then you make a move, and then I make a move. And sometimes I'm like, "God, move." He's already told you. But I'm like, "Why aren't You showing me? Why aren't You giving me a sign?" He's like, "I've given you three." "No, I need four more. God, why won't You move?" And He's like, "It's your move. You actually need to take the step. You actually have to do the thing I called you to do. And you'll see that My provision comes when you walk."

You're like, "Brad, I'm just trying to find me a girl." Where are you looking? The bar? False. Stop it. It doesn't work. Join the team. Become a greeter. A cute girl comes in, and you're like, "Oh, hi. I just became an usher. I'll take you to your seat. Sit right over here." And then you sit right next to her. Don't do that. That's weird. You know what you're supposed to do. God has told you to do it. Get in a group. Get on mission. Do the thing. Plant the business. Do the thing He's called you to do. He will not multiply what we don't bring. If you bring what you have, He can supply what you need.

Give thanks for what isn't enough

So they bring this to Jesus. John 6:11 says, "Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks." Say "thanks." Get this: Jesus gave thanks for something that was never enough.

I'm terrible at this, because sometimes I have so much entitlement about the things I feel like I need. I'd rather spend my time complaining than actually being grateful for what we have. Coveting, envying. You need to understand that the way to get away from that is through generosity and thankfulness. Jesus gave thanks for something that was never enough.

The enemy doesn't know what to do with people who are grateful. Have you ever seen that? Paul's like, "Man, if you kill me, I go to be with Jesus. If I live, I preach about Jesus. So kill me, don't kill me, what does it matter?" What do you do with someone like that? Job: everything gets taken, and his wife says, "Curse God and die!" And he's like, "No, no, no. Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him."

Some of us need to get to a place where we say, "God, it doesn't matter what You do. It doesn't matter if the wind is against me or the wind is for me. It doesn't matter if I'm high or low, on a mountain or in a valley. No matter the season, I will give thanks for what You have given me." If we can't be grateful, if we can't give thanks for what isn't enough, how do we expect Him to multiply it into what is more than enough? We have to be thankful. "This is the season. This is the place." And it gives me what I need to carry on. Jesus gave thanks for something that was never enough.

God does big things with little things

Not only that, He used something that wasn't enough. Some of you are so frustrated that you feel like you have so little. That's what He wants. That's what He needs. If you could do it all by yourself, He doesn't get the glory. The doctors don't know what's happening? Yes. Because in that moment, and I believe this for some of us, not for all of us, I wish I could say always, but it's not the case, for some of us God is going to do a miracle in your life. Not so you can get the glory, but so He can get the glory. And you're like, "Man, I didn't have it. I didn't have enough." That's the point.

God does big things with little things. David and Goliath: little David, little stone, big Goliath. Goliath goes down. Samson: little jawbone, kills a thousand people. A little girl, Mary, little Jesus. A little carpenter, the biggest man who's ever lived. God can do much with little.

We need to get to a place where we have a "but God" theology. "Oh, I'm so little, but God. Man, I don't have what it takes, but God. Man, I'm broken, but God." The Bible teaches us we need a "but God" theology. 1 Corinthians 1:27–29 says, "But God," say "but God," "chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise." You feel weak? Great. "God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." You feel insignificant? Awesome. "God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."

Sometimes God is going to do a miracle in your life in the place where you feel so deficient that when He does it, you will never get the glory, but He will get the glory. Can I get a good amen? That's what He wants to do.

Blessing often comes in the breaking

He thanked God for what was not enough. He decided to use what wasn't enough. And not only that, He broke what wasn't enough. Do you all know how many loaves He had? Five. Everyone got the count? How many loaves did He have? Five. Okay, we got it. So He has five loaves, and He fed about 20,000 people. How many loaves? Five. So we know He has five, but then He breaks it. And when He breaks it, we don't know when, but when He breaks it, we lose count.

I've seen this in my life: blessing often comes in the breaking. True blessing, being able to stand confident: "I know who my God is." Joy: "I know who my God is." That often happens in moments where we've seen His faithfulness in the areas where we've been broken. The most blessed people in my life, and I'm not talking about monetary, I'm talking holistically, are often the people who have been most broken. Sometimes we're like, "God, I don't want You to break me. God, I just want everything to be okay." No, no, no. When we refuse to be broken, we refuse to be blessed.

So I'm trying to skirt around something, but God is actually trying to teach me something. He is trying to test me. We learned about it last week. God tests. He does. I wish He didn't. I don't like tests, but He does. He uses things. He breaks things.

Why did the disciples doubt?

So He says, "Philip, what are we going to do?" And Philip fails because he looks at himself, which is so often what I do. It's what my dad did. It's what I did when I first moved here. I looked and said, "God, I don't have this in me. God, I don't have what it takes. I don't have the resources. I don't have any of it." And that was the problem.

What's crazy about this whole thing is that Jesus comes and says, "You feed them." And they're like, "We can't." Again, who are you talking to? Jesus. Water into wine. "Jesus, I can't do it, but You did the wine thing. Do You do bread? I remember the wine thing. If You could do it with wine, You can do it with bread."

What's even crazier: if you go to Matthew, the next chapter is the feeding of the 4,000. Two separate events. Jesus comes and says, "Oh my gosh, look at all these people. What are we going to do?" He says, "You feed them." And they say, "We can't feed them." I'm like, "Are you kidding? It's a test. Jesus, You did it with 5,000. Can't You do it with 4,000? Jesus, You did it with wine. Can't You do it with bread?" Their issue was where they focused. Inward. We look to ourselves for the problems and the challenges we're facing. That's the problem. This isn't "I am my provider." It's introducing us to Jesus as Provider.

The problem is that the disciples forgot. My problem is that I so often forget. Who of you is forgetful? Oh yeah, me too. I forget all the things.

How do you stop doubting God?

So there are a couple of things the disciples forgot that I want you to remember. I don't know what situation you're facing, but if you would just remember, you'll push through your situation.

1. Remember His faithfulness

Here's the first thing I need you to remember: His faithfulness. Can we actually come to a place where we remember His faithfulness? All across the Bible, God says, "Remember, remember, remember." Why does He say that? Because we forget.

Deuteronomy 8:2: "Remember." Say "remember." "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years." I guided you for 40 years. I gave you manna for 40 years. I provided for 40 years. You really think I'm going to leave you now? Really? No.

In the Old Testament, when Samuel got victory over the Philistines, he built an Ebenezer. What is that? It's an altar saying, "This far God has brought me." And when I want to walk back, when I want to retreat, when I want to forget, I see these piles of stones and I remember: "Oh no, He was faithful then. And if He was faithful then, He can be faithful now. If He was faithful in that season, He can be faithful in this season. If He was faithful with you, He can be faithful with me. And if He's faithful with me, He can be faithful with you." Remember His faithfulness.

But so often we're like, "It's crazy, God. That one time I was really stressed, You came through. And that time I was stressed, You came through. And that time, and that time, and that time. But this time I don't think You can do it, because Your track record is terrible." Isn't it so silly? No wonder Jesus is always saying, "Why do you doubt? You're hanging out with Me. You really don't see this?"

I need you to remember His faithfulness. What altars do we need to build in our lives so that we can be reminded of His faithfulness? Our job is obedience and taking a step. His job is faithfulness.

2. Remember the bread

The second thing I need you to remember is the bread. Say "the bread." I need you to remember the bread.

Why were there twelve baskets left over?

I've got a massive question. Every time I read the Bible, I'm always asking it questions. Why the bread? Do you ever think about that? There were 12 basketfuls left over. Why? Have you ever read the Bible and thought, "Why is that there?" How many of you believe we serve a precise God? If He wanted to be exact, He could have been exact. So why the bread?

I was like, "I've got it. Leftovers." How many of you love some good leftovers? Oh man, leftovers taste better the second day. Thanksgiving, you want it the second day. I love me some leftovers. But then I started thinking about it. I love leftovers. I just don't like yours. Think about this. They were eating the bread, and now all of a sudden it's all getting gathered into these baskets, and the sun's going down. It's gross. So I'm like, "Okay, wait. It couldn't have been leftovers."

And then I was like, "Oh, I get it. He wanted them to collect it because we don't serve a wasteful God. It's like recycling. God really loves recycling." The only problem with that is that in Exodus, when He gave manna, He gave them more than enough. And what He said was, "I need you to take what you need and leave the rest." It was an exercise of faith, because so often we want to get more than we need for that day. And Jesus says, "No, I thought I said I'm your daily bread. I'm going to give you what you need today. I'm not going to give you what you need tomorrow, because tomorrow I actually need you to trust Me for what you need that day." That's why we pray, "Give us today our daily bread." So I'm like, "Okay, it couldn't have been about waste."

And then I was like, "Oh, I've got it. It's because we serve the God of more than enough. He was producing more than enough." I could preach that. Yes, I do think that's true, but I don't think that's the point.

Now, there's some symbolism here. John is all about signs. There are 12 baskets, and there were 12 tribes of Israel. Jesus provided for the 12. He still provides for the 12. Every nation, He provides. There's some symbolism in the feeding of the 4,000 too. There are seven basketfuls. What is seven? It's the number of completion. I think there's some symbolism. But I want you to watch something as we learn about Jesus as our Provider.

Jesus does this miracle, and it says in Matthew 14:22, "Immediately." Say "immediately." "Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd." So He says, "Take all of these leftovers and get on the boat." And immediately they get on the boat.

This is the moment where the storm happens and Jesus walks on the water. The disciples are on the boat, and the boat is going crazy, because that cold wind comes and destabilizes the weather. Everything's crazy, and they're like, "We're going to die." And Jesus comes, and Peter's like, "Lord, if it's You," and the whole walking-on-water thing happens while they are fearing for their lives.

But I want you to watch this. This is crazy. Mark 6:51: "Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed." "Wow. Can you believe Jesus saved us? Can you believe how good He is? I'm amazed." One version has Jesus looking at Peter and saying, "Why did you doubt?" Why are you amazed? Why did you doubt? Verse 52: "for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened."

It's almost like Jesus gets into the boat and says, "Do you not remember? It was a couple of hours ago. Really? You think I did all of that to get you on this lake so you could die? You really think I brought you out here so you could die? You really think I provided for you and got you into this space because I'm planning on leaving you now? Do you not remember the bread? Are you so hard-hearted? Are you so forgetful? I've shown you I can provide. Why do you still doubt?"

Let me just say that some of us have to get ourselves some bread. We need to get ourselves some leftovers. Where He's been so faithful, you need to write some of that stuff down. And when you're facing something, you need to say, "Oh no, no, no. I've got me some bread. It might be a different situation, but if You were Provider then, I know You can be Provider now. So regardless of what happens, I'm going to have faith in You." Our faith is so weak because we're so forgetful. We don't look back and remember. We have to remember His faithfulness. We have to remember the bread.

3. Remember that He is the source

And then we have to remember that He is the source. Their failure came from looking at themselves. Our failure comes when we look to ourselves for what God wants to do. That's the whole point.

It reminds me of when God calls Moses in Exodus. He comes to him and says, "Hey, I need you to go free the Israelites." And what does Moses say? "I can't. I stutter." And God's like, "That's okay." And Moses says, "Well, who should I say sent me?" And God says, "I AM." "I am who?" And God says, "I AM THAT I AM." Moses is like, "What?"

Get this: God is never going to define Himself based on your situation. But know this: everything we need, He is. I AM. You need peace right now? Great. He is your peace. You need joy right now? You've been struggling to find your joy, waking up every day asking, "Where's my joy?" He is your joy. You don't have the strength? He is your strength. You have a question? He is the answer. You are broken? Well, He is healing. Everything you need, He is.

We will always make the same mistake when we look inward and forget to look upward. And not only look upward, but look backward. He didn't bring you here to die. He didn't bring you out here to fail. He's working in your life. Don't put a period where He's putting a comma. He's working. He's moving. It may not always look the way we wanted it to, but He's faithful. He's faithful.

Jesus is the Bread of Life

He is Provider. He can provide for your physical needs. This is about that. But if that's all we think this is about, we've missed it, because He also provides for your spiritual needs. Right after the moment where He calms the waves, He gets to Capernaum, and everyone runs over to Capernaum and says, "Do it again. Meet my physical needs." And that's when He says, "I am the bread of life." If I do it again, you will still be hungry. But if you come to Me, spiritually you will never be hungry again.

We're going to all these other things to fill our hunger. We're going to all these other things to build our trust. And Jesus is saying, "I am the bread. You just have to come to Me."

So I don't know what you're facing today. I don't know what you're looking at. I don't know where you're doubting. I don't know the places where you feel deficient, but I know there's some place. Can we just remember how faithful our God is today? Can we just remember that He has provided before? And if He's done it before, He can do it again. If He's done it for them, He can do it for you. If He's done it for me, He can do it for you.

Can I pray for you? Lord Jesus, I want to come before You and pray for every single person in this room. God, I don't know what they're facing. I don't know what they're walking through. I don't know the place in their life where they feel deficient. But Jesus, I pray that You will give them a revelation of You as Provider. Lord Jesus, if we walk with You, if we trust You, if we walk in step with You, God, You have the ability. It doesn't always mean that You will. It doesn't always mean it's going to happen the way we expect. But God, we thank You that You can. And we ask that You will, as we don't rely on ourselves but rely on You. May we be obedient to who You are. Help us remember. Help us remember.

I also want to take a moment, with every head still bowed and every eye closed. There are people here who have never actually experienced this Bread of Life that is Jesus. You're far from God. You've been running away. And He is saying, "Can you just come to Me? I want a relationship with you. I want to save you. I want to bring you back into relationship with the Father," because our sin has separated us. If you're here and you're not following Jesus, you're far away from Him, and you're saying, "Man, Brad, today's the day. I want to follow Jesus," I'm going to ask you to do something bold. On the count of three, no one's looking around, I just want you to lift up your hand and say, "Hey, Brad, that's me." We never want to let this moment go by. Here we go. One, two, three. If that's you, lift up your hand. Thank you, man. I love that. Bold. Proud. I love that. Praise God.

Pray this prayer after me. Just say, "Dear Jesus, I believe that You're the Son of God and the Savior of the world. I believe You came to this earth, You died on a cross, and You were raised so that I may have life. Jesus, today I give You my life. I give You my everything. Be Lord of my life. In Jesus' name. Amen."

Welcome to the family of God. Church, can you put your hands together for everyone who said that for the first time?