Let's open our Bibles together
to John chapter six. John chapter six. And we'll begin reading at verse
five. And when Jesus then lifted up
his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto
Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? And this verse six is our text
this morning. And this he said to prove him
for he himself knew what he would do. The Lord never ask a question
because he doesn't know the answer. He asked Philip this question. There's 5,000 men, not counting
the women and children. And the Lord Jesus turns to one
of the disciples by the name of Philip and says, how are we
going to feed these people? And Philip answered in verse
7, 200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for
that every one of them may take a little." A whole lot more money than we
have. If we had that much money and we had a place where we could
buy that much food, it still would not be sufficient. And
one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith
unto him, There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves
and two small fishes, but what are they among so many? Andrew's
response to our Lord's question was laughable. This little boy
here with his lunch, but how are we possibly going to feed
these people with that? And Jesus said, make the people
sit down. Now there was much grass in the
place, so the men sat down in number about 5,000. I've titled this message, When Faith
is Proved. When Faith is Proved. Why is
it that God proves faith? Why is it that he tries it in
order to prove it? Well, there's lots of different
kinds of faiths and the Lord's not going to allow his children
to find rest in a false refuge. He's not going to allow us to to find peace in a faith that's
not saving faith. So the Lord proves our faith
in order to prove it as being God-given saving faith. That's
the whole objective to proving it. Not for his benefit, but
for ours. That our faith would be proven. He knows his sheep. He knows
who it is that is resting the hope of their salvation in a
false gospel. But he proves the faith of his
children in order that they might have hope in Christ. Secondly, he proves our faith
to show forth his glory. The Lord's not going to allow his
children to find comfort in anything less than the rest that he gives
that he might get the glory for it. His glory is our greatest
need. And so again, we find that the
Lord proves our faith for our benefit. If we fail to glorify God, it
doesn't diminish His glory. If we do glorify Him, it doesn't
add to His glory. The glory of the Lord is for
our good. It's for our benefit. He's content
and complete in Himself. He doesn't need us to glorify
Him. but oh how we need to glorify
Him and what a great blessing it is when the Lord proves our
faith to the intent that we believe and that we see His glory. Some would find a false refuge in having
their faith proved by looking at the evidence of that faith
in their works. You hear of it all the time.
I talk to people, and I said this Wednesday night, the older
I get and the more I talk to people concerning the things
of the gospel, the more convinced I am that And all of those who
are unrighteous before God believe themselves to be righteous. And all those who are truly righteous
before God in Christ believe themselves to be unrighteous.
But the unbeliever Those who hold on to a hope of salvation
based on some outward evidence of faith in their life, they're
walking by sight. Now, don't misunderstand me. Every child of God desires there
to be evidence of faith. Every child of God desires obedience. They desire a walk that would
honor Christ. God has put a love of Christ
in their heart. They want to follow him and they
do by his grace. They want to be zealous for good
works and they will. We are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which he hath ordained for us.
But just as soon as we start looking to the evidence of our
faith in some outward behavior, now we're walking by sight, not
by faith. We're looking at those outward
appearances rather than looking at Christ. who can only be seen
through the eye of faith. When the rich young ruler came
to the Lord Jesus and said, good master, what must I do to inherit
eternal life? The Lord recited to him the law. And what was his response? These
things have I done since my youth. If that's what I need to do to
have eternal life, then I must have it because I've been doing
that all my life. That's the response of those
who would try to prove their faith by their outward behavior. He knew what he would do. I love
that. He said this to prove him, for
he himself knew what he would do. One of the evidences of faith
that's been proved is to rest in Lord who knows what he's going
to do. We, you know, we have to consider the circumstances
of our lives and then determine what we're going to do based
on what happens. The Lord never does that. He
knew what he would do. He knew what he would do in John
chapter 11 when Lazarus was back in Bethany in the tomb. And he
said to the disciples where they were, he said, I'm glad for your
sakes that we were not there, that I was not there to heal
Lazarus. But to the intent that you might
believe, let us go unto him. The Lord knew what he was going
to do. The Lord knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.
In John chapter 4, when The disciples wanted to go around Samaria.
The Lord Jesus knew what he would do. He said, I must needs go
through Samaria. There's some lost sheep there.
He knew what he would do. The Lord always knows what he's
going to do. We don't know what we're going to do. We can't figure
it out. But faith is proved when we're
able to rest in a God who holds our future and knows already
what he's gonna do. When the Lord was asleep in the
boat with the disciples on the Sea of Galilee and a great tempest
arose so that these fishermen threatened, they were feared
for their lives. They woke him up. Lord, carest
thou not that we perish? He knew what he was gonna do.
They didn't know, but He knew. What manner of man is this that
even the waves and the wind obey His voice? They found hope and
comfort. And a God who always knows what
He's going to do. When the children of Israel were
being brought out of Egypt, by Moses and they found themselves
with a Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind
them. The Lord knew what he was gonna do. Moses didn't know,
but the Lord knew. Moses thought, this is it. Where
are we gonna go? We've got no place to go. The
Lord opened up the sea. And when they got across the
sea into the wilderness and they were brought by God into the
wilderness where there was no water and they murmured and thought
they were gonna die of thirst in the desert, the Lord knew
what he was gonna do. The Lord had already placed that rock
there. Moses, a picture of the law, was gonna take his rod and
smite that rock and water was gonna come forth out of that
rock and provide everything that the children of Israel needed.
God knew what he was gonna do. He always knows what he's gonna
do. We don't know what tomorrow holds
but we know who holds tomorrow and we know that he is able. He's able to keep that which
we've committed unto him against that day. Here's when faith is
proved. He said this not because he was
looking for a solution to the problem, they didn't have a solution.
He said this to prove them for he knew what he would do. And in proving them, he taught
them that he always knows what he's going to do. Our God never responds to circumstances
like we do. He controls the circumstances to the predetermined response
that he knows he's going to do. The greatest evidence of this
has to do with the gospel and the fall. The gospel was not God's response
to the fall. The fall was God's purpose in
bringing about the gospel. There was a Savior long before
there was ever any sin. You see, God knew what he was
gonna do from eternity past when the Lord Jesus was God's ordained
lamb slain before the foundation of the world. And the fall and
everything following that was God's ordained purpose to bring
about what he already had purpose to do. The Lord Jesus was not the victim
of circumstances when he went to the cross. He said when he
was burdened with the reality of what was about to happen,
he said, should I pray to escape this hour? Nay, but for this
hour came I into the world. The Lord Jesus came, all the
circumstances surrounding His crucifixion were purposed of
God because they were required in order for Him to accomplish
what He would do. And that's true, brethren, in
every part of our lives. We know. Here's faith proved. Faith proved is we know. that our God is working all things
together for good for them that love Him and those that are called
according to His purpose. We know that. He proves us with these trials
in order to bring us to that place where we can rest knowing
that He knows what He's gonna do. We don't know what He's gonna
do. And we fear the worst in our
unbelief. But what a blessing it is when
God tries and proves our faith to the point to where we're able
to say, Lord, you know what you're gonna do. That's all I need. I love when the Lord takes those five barley loaves
and two small fishes and feeds this mass of people. And this isn't the Lord saying,
God will help those who help themselves. This is God saying,
bring what you have. And I will show you how glorious
I am in taking and taking something so small and bringing about something
so glorious. This is true of every child of God. The Lord presents to us an impossible
scenario And brings us to that place where we confess how small
we are and how little we have. Oh, how glorious it is when little
becomes much in the hand of God. That's what's happening here.
The Lord proving our faith by causing us to come before him
saying, Lord, this is nothing. And give it to me. I'm going
to make something out of it. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
1. Look at verse 26. For you see
your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble are called? The Lord called the disciples.
There were men that were much more highly esteemed. Well, matter
of fact, the ones, the men that he called, fishermen, the Lord
himself was but a carpenter. How the Lord takes the lowly
and the small. And he says to these disciples,
not many of you, but look at verse 27, but God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God
has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
that are mighty, and the base things of the world and the things
which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and the things which are
not to bring to naught the things that are. that no flesh should
glory in his presence. Here's what the Lord does in
proving our faith. We're like Philip. Lord, 200
penny worth would not be sufficient. If I had that much, it wouldn't
be enough. We're like Andrew. You know,
Lord, there's five barley loaves here. Barley bread was the bread
of poor people. And the word small fish here
means a really small fish. We're talking about sardines. We're talking about five loaves
of a poor man's bread and two little sardines and we're gonna
feed maybe 20,000 people with that? What is the Lord saying to you
and I? Lay what you have down before
me and watch me multiply it. to my glory. When the Lord raised up Gideon
to defeat an army of Midianites, 130,000 Midianites armed with
shields and swords, and what's the Lord do with Gideon? He whittles
his army down to 300 men. Gideon's got 10,000, God said,
no, too much. 10,000 against 130,000, that's
too much. Finally widows him down to 1,300
men. Okay, now that'll work. That'll
work. When God sent Samuel to Jesse's
house to find the son of Jesse that would replace Saul as king
of Israel, Jesse brings all of his sons before before Samuel,
and they were all kingly looking men, strong, strapping men. And one by one, God said to Samuel,
not that one, not that one, not that one. Until Samuel finally
said to Jesse, any more? Well, you know, the youngest,
he's out in the field tending to sheep, but surely you wouldn't
be interested in him. Yep, that's the one I want. That's
the one I want. When God proves faith, he takes
the most unlikely means and brings glory to himself by multiplying
it beyond our ability. I can remember having debates with men back
in religion before the Lord taught us the gospel, before we came
to believe that he was sovereign in salvation and that he had
to do a work of grace in the heart giving us a new birth apart
from any participation on our part before we could believe.
And we debated as to whether or not it was fair. We actually had this debate.
How could it be fair for God to command something that we
couldn't do? Does the Bible not say, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved? And does
that command not suppose that we have the ability to believe? And then the Lord showed us that
every single thing that God commands, everything that he commands,
he must provide. that we do not have the ability
to do anything that God commands. The Lord's telling these disciples,
sit the men down, how are we gonna feed them? How are we gonna feed them? Lord,
it's impossible. Good. That's how the Lord proves
our faith. He proves our faith when we hear
the command of God and we respond with, Lord, I can't. It's impossible. Completely dependent upon you
to do something. Lord, we don't have the means. We're like Lazarus. Lazarus didn't
have the ability to respond to the voice of God. He was dead.
He was in the grave, been there four days. His body was decaying. Lazarus come forth. Is somebody
gonna stand there and object? Well, wait a minute, Lord, you
can't command him to do that. He's not able. What God commands, God must provide,
and God gets the glory. You see, man in his pride will
glory in his faith, believing that he was the one who brought
what God required in order for him to be saved. God said to believe and I believed.
I decided to follow Jesus. I asked the Lord to save me and... Peter was in the boat and the
Lord was walking on the water. Peter had to ask the Lord, Lord
bid me to come unto thee. And the Lord said, come. Our warrant for coming to Christ
and our ability to come to Christ is the command of God. He has
to make us able. The Lord said to a crippled man,
take up your bed and walk. And I'm sure there was somebody
there thinking, He can't command that. He's commanding something
this man can't do. Everything that God commands
you and I to do, just like with these disciples in our story
here, everything he commands us to do, he must enable us to
do so that no flesh can glory in
his presence. He commanded a blind man to look. He can't look. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
42, Isaiah 42. Look at verse 18. Hear ye deaf
and look ye blind that ye may see. God says to a deaf man, hear. God says to a blind man, see. God says to a dead man, come
forth. God says to One who can't believe, believe. Lord, I can't. Good. Good. Pharisees asked the Lord, are
you saying that we're blind? And what did the Lord Jesus say
to those Pharisees who thought they could see? If you were blind,
you'd be able to see. But because you say that you
can see, therefore your sins remain. God is proving the faith of these
disciples by bringing them to the end of their resources and causing them to say, Lord,
what you're requiring, I can't do. The Lord commands men who are
in love with themselves to love their neighbors as themselves. The Lord commands men who esteem
themselves very highly to esteem others more highly than themselves.
Lord, you see everything that God commands of us in salvation,
And in faith, he must provide. The Lord tells those who would get revenge to love their
enemies. He tells those who would want
by nature to get even to forgive those who have trespassed against
you. He tells those who are by nature
self-sufficient to pray without ceasing. You see, everything
that God commands, he must provide. He tells wives that what the
Lord told Adam that his wife Eve would have authority over
him. In other words, she would want
to take authority over him. And then the Lord says, so that's
what we are by nature, ladies. And then the Lord says, wives,
submit unto your husbands as unto the Lord. Lord, you're gonna
have to give me that grace. Husbands, love your wives as
Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Lord, you're
gonna have to give me that grace. Every commandment of God is given
by God to prove our faith. And if we respond like the rich
young ruler, well I've been doing that since my youth, give me
something else. You said believe on you, Lord, I made a decision,
I believe, give me something else to do. Those who are easily prone to
temptation are told to resist the devil that he might flee
from them. Lord, how can I do that? Every single thing that
God commands, he must provide everything. Matthew chapter six, I'm sorry, John chapter six. Verse five, when Jesus then lifted
up his eyes and saw a great company coming unto him, he saith unto
Philip, whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? And this
he said to prove them, for he knew what he would do. The Lord is always proving our
faith for our benefit. Prove it to
be God-given faith and the evidence that it's God-given faith, the
evidence that it's saving faith is for us to respond, Lord, I
can't, but I know that you know what you're gonna do. Lord, help
me. because the resources I have
are laughable. They're laughable. Five barley loaves and two small
fish. The fact that Philip would even
bring that up. God truly has chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise. that no flesh should
glory in his presence. Let's pray together. Our heavenly
father, thank you for the grace that
you give in faith and in proving faith. Lord, might we be brought by
your spirit always see our need for thee,
our dependence upon thee. We ask it in Christ's name, amen. Number 37, let's stand together.