How God Feeds Our Deepest Hunger

Do you need a miracle? Do you believe God can perform a miracle for you? Are you needing a financial breakthrough? Are facing an outwardly insurmountable problem? In this message we are studying the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. There were actually more than 5,000, because the Bible says the number of the men was 5,000. There could’ve been as many as 15,000 or more people when you add the women and children that Jesus fed with a little lad’s lunch.

Jesus had been healing many people, and the crowds are following Him because of the miracles that He did for them. When Jesus comes to the place, there are the multitudes – thousands and thousands of people. They’re tired. They’re hot. They’re hungry.

Jesus asked His disciples, “What are we going to do? How are we going to feed them?” Now Jesus was not asking for information He already knew, as we’re going to see in just a moment. Then the Lord took a little boy’s lunch, five loaves and a few fishes, and He fed the multitude with a little lad’s lunch. Jesus performed a miracle, and it was a miracle of feeding physical bodies.

With this miracle story in mind, we need to look beyond the miracle and on to Jesus. The main reason Jesus came to earth was not come to feed us physically. Jesus did not come to solve all of your physical, material problems. He is a Savior. He came to save you from sin, and you need to look beyond these miracles and on to Jesus. God alone can satisfy the hungry desires of our hearts.

We read in John 6:1-11 the following,

“And after these things, Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracle which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come unto him, he said unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? This he said to prove him [that is, to test Philip], for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.” (200 penny worth would be almost a year’s wages of a laboring man!)

And one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There’s a lad here which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.” That is, eat until you are perfectly, totally satisfied. Now that’s significant. He didn’t say, “Eat a little. Eat as much as you want.” And when, “and when they were filled, he said unto his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore, they gathered them together and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.”

All of us are hungry for more than fish and bread. We are hungry for Jesus. Whether you know it or not, Jesus is life’s hidden hunger. What we really need – the only thing that will satisfy the deepest longing of our heart and your soul is Jesus Christ.

There Is Never A Problem Too Big For Jesus To Solve

Did you read this carefully? There is never a problem too big for Jesus to solve. In verses 5 through 7, the Lord sees this multitude, and there is a problem, and He asked a man named Philip, “What are you going to do? How are we going to feed these people?” Now, folks, Jesus was not seeking advice, and the one who wrote this, the apostle John who wrote this down, made it very clear that Jesus was not seeking advice when He asked Philip, “How are we going to do this?” He already knew what He was going to do.

The late Corrie ten Boom said, “There is no panic in heaven, only plans.” God knows what He’s going to do. This world is not out of control. Nothing takes God by surprise. God never says, “Oops!” or “Oh!” No, Jesus knew what He would do.

Why did Jesus ask Philip this question? He wanted Philip to learn something about Philip. Jesus says to Philip, “how are we going to feed all of these people?” Now look in verse 7. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.” Next Jesus asked, “Philip, what are we going to do?”

Philip knew exactly how much it would take to feed these – a year’s wages that everyone would have a, about a mouthful, and he was correct except for one thing. As he figured all of this out, he left Jesus out of the equation. And therefore, any good red-blooded atheist could’ve given the same answer that Philip gave. Philip gave a good answer but a bad answer, because he left Jesus Christ out of the equation.

Now I’ve been around churches for a long time. There are three kinds of people in every church. There are the figurers, the feelers, and the faithers.

The figurers are like Philip; they just figure it out and say, “Well, we can do this, and we can’t do that.” They leave God out of the equation! And then there are the feelers. They say, “Well, I feel we can do this, or I feel we can do that.” And both are wrong. But the faithers are those who get a word from God and believe if God wants us to do it.

There’s no reason for us to send the multitudes away. Our commission from the Heavenly Father is to give them the bread of life, and he has commanded us to do it, He will enable us to do it!

Nothing wrong with figuring. Nothing wrong with feeling. But there is much wrong if you leave out faith in this matter. And so, Philip just simply said, “Well, it’s an impossibility.”

I heard of a little boy who was trying to lift a rock. His dad was up there watching the little fellow try to move the rock. And his dad heard him, as little boys are wont to do, just grunting and straining trying to roll off, roll that rock over. And he asked the little boy, “Are you using all of your strength?” He said, “Yes, Daddy, I’m using all of my strength.” He said, “No, you’re not.” He said, “Yes, I am.” He said, “No, you’re not. You haven’t asked me to help you.” And what the dad was saying, “Son, I am part of your strength. I’m your father. Ask me.”

Many times, we have a problem that we’re are trying to solve. We’re using all of our strength, so we think, but there is a heavenly Father who is ready to help us and to move in and to help us with our problem.

What is there about your life that is unexplainable? I could’ve explained Philip. Philip is working on the realm of the natural. What is there about my life that is unexplainable? Now if you can explain James O. Davis apart from Jesus Christ, then I don’t have any right to ask you to believe in the God that I serve. What is there about your life that is unexplainable? When the unexplainable is obvious in our lives, then people are going to be believing the Gospel that we preach. What makes you different from your neighbor?

Philip just gave the answer that anybody could’ve given that day. He left Jesus Christ out of the calculation, out of the figuring. Here’s the point I’m putting in your heart and in your mind by the aid of the Holy Spirit. There is no problem too big for Him to solve. And I hope you believe it. Do you believe it?

There Is No Person Too Small For God To Use

In John 6:8-11, we read, “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.”

Not even big fish! Sardines. Barley loaves- the poorest of bread. Sometimes they would feed the animals the barley loaves. Here’s a little boy and a meager lunch, a little lad, a little lunch. It was meager! Meager in quality, meager in quantity, and yet when that little boy left home, he had in his little paper sack, or his knapsack enough food to feed more than 15,000 people – 5,000 men – in a little lad’s lunch!

What was the recipe of this miracle? First, this little lad transferred his lunch to Christ. It was transferred to Christ. He simply gave all that he had to Jesus Christ. Now do you want God to use you? Have you given everything to Jesus Christ?

You say, “That’s absurd! I need some myself.” You need to give everything – I mean everything, I mean totally, I mean one hundred percent, all that you have, all that you are, your family, your friends, your reputation, I mean totally, totally to Jesus Christ, if you want Him to use you. You may say, “Well now wait a minute. A man’s got to live.” No, a man’s got to die. And he’s got to face the Lord. You say, “Well, I’d lose out if I gave it all to Him.” No, that’s the only way you’ll gain. He that will save his life shall lose it. He that will lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. You say, “James, that sounds like fanaticism to me.” You can call it whatever you want, but if He is Lord at all, He must be Lord of all. Is that right? You know it is right. He, this little lad gave his total lunch to the Lord Jesus Christ. It was transferred to Jesus Christ.

Here this little boy’s lunch was transferred completely to Christ, and what was given to Christ not only was transferred to Christ, but it was taken by Christ. When you offer it to Him – sincerely and completely, He’ll take it!  We must move from what we have and place it in the hands of the Lord.

Once it is transferred and taken, then it will be touched by Christ. Jesus Christ will do far more with it than you could ever do with it. And not only was it touched by Christ, it was transformed by Christ, and a little lad’s lunch fed everybody. It’s amazing what Jesus Christ will do with little if you will simply give it to Him. Did this little boy lose his lunch? I will promise you he had more to eat than he would’ve had had he not given it to Jesus Christ. There was food leftover when the whole thing was over, and they all ate as much as they wanted.

I encourage you not to insult God by saying that God cannot use you. Don’t say, “Well, God can use certain people.” Listen, it was not Simon Peter that God used; it wasn’t even Simon Peter, Andrew’s brother, that God used primarily. It was a little boy. God specializes in using just ordinary people in extraordinary ways.

God hath taken the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, and God will take you, me, people like us, and God will use us wonderfully if we will give all that we have to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not your ability; it is your availability. It is not your fame; it is your faith. It is not who you are; it is who you know, whose you are, that counts. Do you know the Lord Jesus?

Have you given it all to the Lord Jesus? God specializes in using the little people of this world. When I say little people, I don’t mean in a derogatory sense. You may be too big for God to use, but you’ll never be too small for God to use. God took a little lad here! I think it’s almost God’s joke, and with a little lad’s lunch, He fed the multitudes.

God needs you. God wants you. He will use you. There is no problem too big for God to solve. There is no person too small for God to use. Do you believe that? I hope you believe it. I really do.

There is No Hunger Too Deep For Jesus To Statisfy

We need to realize that Jesus did not come to this earth to feed people physical bread. He came to save souls and to give everlasting life, and you need to look beyond the miracle and on to Jesus, because this miracle is only an illustration of a much greater truth.

In John 6:25, we read, “And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because you saw the miracles [that is, because you understood them], but because you did eat the loaves, and were filled.” Jesus said, “The only thing you’re looking for is more bread. That’s the only reason you seek Me.” And then here’s what Jesus said, listen to me. “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat [that food] which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give you: for him hath the Father sealed.”

Then, in John 6:28 we read, “Then said they unto him, What should we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

What Jesus is saying is, “I am spiritual bread. You’re looking for food that will perish. You’ll eat it. In a few more hours, you will be hungry again.” He is saying, “I am to your spirit what bread is to your body. You need to see beyond the miracle!”

Now these people were following Him because He fed them. What buttered their bread determined their devotion. This is what we call today the social gospel. You know, people will say, do not build a church building but rather use that money to feed the poor. Yet, they miss the whole point. If you had eight billion dollars and could spend a dollar to give everybody on earth a portion of food, in several more hours they’d all be hungry again.

We are not talking about a social gospel. A social gospel is soup and soap, but mankind needs salvation. Now I’m not saying that we ought not to feed the hungry. I’m not saying that we ought not to care for the poor. We ought to, but what difference does it make if you feed a man, and he dies and goes to hell? Most people today are just interested in making the world a better place to go to hell from. What our Lord Jesus Christ is talking about here is everlasting life, getting a person saved. What a shame that some missed the significance the real reason for the miracle. Jesus said, “The only reason that you’re following Me is for the bread. Then, later when Jesus Christ began to talk to these people about spiritual reality, about eating His flesh and drinking His blood (that is, partaking of Him Himself), they left Him.

If we are not careful, we can have programs (suppers, plays, etc) at church that will get people to church, but if that’s all we give them without Jesus, friend, we have missed the whole thing. What you keep them with is what you catch them with. What you catch them with is what you have to keep them with. I am in favor of using methods as a platform for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but there is no substitute for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ came as the Bread of life, that people must be saved. They must be born again. And so many churches are missing this today. Jesus is spiritual bread.

Not only is Jesus spiritual bread, he is supernatural bread. In John 6:30, “They said wherefore unto him, What signs show you then, that we may see and we may believe thee? What dost thou work?”

He has just fed 5,000. Now they’re asking for another sign! You see, this is the problem with miracles. Miracles alone will never satisfy. They never meet the deepest need of a person’s life. Jesus is saying, ” You need to believe on Me. You need Me!” They say, “Well, give us a sign.” You see, an evil and an adulterous generation seeks a sign, and Jesus goes on to speak of His heavenly origin.

They said, “What sign show you, that we may see and believe thee? What dost thou work?” Here are these miracle mongers wanting signs and miracles.’ And they said, “Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.” (He’s saying, “In that day, it wasn’t Moses who gave it to you. God gave it to you. And in this day God is giving you that true bread. He is giving you supernatural bread.) “For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.”

This is the meaning of the miracle. This is the significance of the sign. Jesus said in verse 35, “I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, that ye also have seen me, and believe not.”

Jesus is supernatural bread. What they didn’t understand was that He was the Messiah. He was the Son of God, and He was God the Son.

They were saying, “Well, Moses gave us bread.” Jesus said, “Look, Moses didn’t give it to you. God gave it to you. And I have come from the Father. I am the true bread of life.” All the manna in the Old Testament did was to picture, illustrate, and prophesy the Lord Jesus. It came down from heaven like Jesus came down from heaven. It laid upon the ground, which speaks of the humility and the humanity of the Lord Jesus. It was round; that spoke of His eternality. It was white; that spoke of His purity. It had the taste of honey; that spoke of the sweetness of His life. It had in it the taste of oil; that spoke of the Holy Spirit that was upon Him. It had to be reached down and taken up, and that shows that Jesus must be appropriated and fed upon. It sustained them physically, and Jesus sustains us spiritually. All of that in the Old Testament was an illustration of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is supernatural bread.

Remember this: It’s Jesus that you need. You’ve got a hunger in your heart. I’m telling you it is Jesus that you need. He is heaven’s bread. He was bruised for us. He was baked for us. He was broken for us. You need to feed upon Jesus, who is the bread of life.

Jesus is spiritual bread, supernatural bread and is satisfying bread. In John 6:35, we read, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

What is He talking about? Is He talking about physical hunger? If He is, this is a lie. How many Christians have ever been hungry and thirsty? He is not saying if, you get saved that you will, you’ll never have another hunger pain.

Jesus is what we need. Jesus is all this world needs today.

The thing that people are hungering for, that their soul desires, whether they know it or not, is Jesus. He and He alone can satisfy the deepest longing of our hearts. Men are searching everywhere for satisfaction. They’ll never find it ’til they find it in the Lord Jesus!’ Why, what did God create you for? Well, you say, “God created, me to serve Him.” Well, that’s ridiculous. If He wanted someone to serve Him, He’d get somebody a lot better than us. He could get angels. They have abilities, and they obey in ways that you and I don’t. God made you to love Him. God is love, and what good is love if it is not shown, if it is not received. And God made us that He might have fellowship with us, that He might love us. God doesn’t love us because we’re valuable. We’re valuable because God loved us.

We were created to know Him and to love Him. God made a bird to fly in the sky. God made a fish to swim in the sea. And God made you to know Him, to love Him, and to worship Him, and until you do, you’ll be like a bird in the sea and like a fish in the air, you’ll be out of your element. Your element is Jesus. In Him we live and move and have our being. You were made to know Him, to love Him, to worship Him.

What should this world do? They are to seek food that endures to everlasting life. We need to seek the Lord preeminently. The natural man wants fame, fortune, friends, fashion, and fitness. People are looking for satisfaction in the wrong places. Now none of these are wrong, but they need to be in second place.

In Matthew 6 verse 33, we read, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you,” You see, Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Now what most people are doing is hungering and thirsting after blessedness. “Bless me, Lord. Bless me, Lord. I want a blessing.” No, quit seeking a blessing, and start seeking righteousness. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Who is righteousness? Christ is our righteousness. You are to seek the Lord Jesus as a hungry man would seek bread, and you are to seek Him first. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The most miserable people on earth are the people who are trying to be blessed. The most miserable people on earth are the people who are trying to be satisfied. They will never find it. Why? Because that dissatisfaction that you have is simply a symptom of a sickness which is sin, and the answer to that sickness is righteousness.

Suppose you had a fever, and you went to the doctor, and the doctor gave you a palliative to ease the fever and to kill the pain, but he never dealt with the infection, what kind of a doctor would that be? What kind of a doctor would that be? That would be a mighty poor doctor, and yet most people today are simply trying to kill the pain. They never deal with the disease.

Jesus said you are to hunger and thirst after righteousness. He is heaven’s bread for your hunger. When you feed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you’re going to look behind and you are going to see you’re blessed.

In addition to seeking Him preeminently, we are to seek Him purposefully. He says, “Labor for this meat.” When a man is hungry physically, when a man is hungry physically, what is the thing that he seeks? It’s bread! He’s not interested in the playoffs in a basketball game. He’s not interested in politics—Republicans and Democrats and independents. This man is not interested in art. He’s not interested in flower arrangements. If a man is a hungry man, he is interested in one thing – that is food. And if he’s starving, he’ll take food out of a garbage can. Is that not true?

When we see a person who gets critical and complains and begins to find fault with a meal, you can understand that this person is not a hungry man. One woman decided she would satisfy her bickering, complaining husband. She said, “What do you want for breakfast?” He said, “I want eggs; I want two. I want one scrambled and one fried.” “Well,” she said, “all right, dear.” And she scrambled one and fried one. He sat there with a pout. She said, “What’s wrong?” He said, “You scrambled the wrong egg.” You find people like this who complain. You know what their problem is? They’re not hungry. Did you know that you can come to church and find fault? You can go to any Sunday School class and find fault. If you want to look at any preacher, this one included, you can find fault.

It is like a person sitting down at a banquet and saying, “Well, the china is chipped. Or, the parsley is on the wrong side of the plate.” Or the silverware is not polished.” A person who complains like this is not a hungry person. A hungry person is a humble person, and a humble person says, “My poor soul! It must be fed.” And the problem with so many of us is we’re stuffed full of the bread of this world that we have no appetite for the Lord Jesus Christ.

For Jesus said, “You are following me for the fish and the loaves. Labor for that meat that endures to everlasting life.” We are to seek Jesus preeminently. We are to seek Jesus purposefully. With all of your heart, with all of your soul, with as much as in you is, seek the Lord Jesus Christ!

We are to seek Christ perpetually. Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” You know, when Jesus performed this miracle, they were filled! They had all they wanted. But I want to ask you a question: Did they get hungry again? Yes. When you feed on the Lord Jesus Christ, does that mean you just eat one meal and stop? No. Do you know what God has done? God has given you perpetual appetite that you might be perpetually satisfied. In the physical realm, if you have no appetite, you’re either fed, dead, diseased, or sick, or something. If you have no appetite, it’s just because you’ve already eaten, or because you’re sick, or because you’re dead.

Now let’s apply that to the spiritual realm. You ought to thank God for your appetite, because it’s your appetite that shows you have health spiritually. When you feed on the Lord Jesus, how do you feed on Him? Perpetually. You may say, “Well, wait a minute. If you’re satisfied, why would you want more?” Because God made you where you’d both be satisfied and then get hungry again and then get satisfied again. God made us perpetually, with an appetite that we might be continually satisfied.

Look beyond the miracle. Look beyond the physical bread and onto Jesus! What our heart yearns for, what we need, what we want is to find satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is God’s answer to your deepest hunger. Jesus alone can take the pain out of life, the sting out of sin, the gloom out of the grave, and give a hope that is steadfast and sure.

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