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Is God Looking For Those That Have It Altogether? · Bible Tract Echoes Podcast

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hey friend, I'm Mike McCurray, the host of Bible Attract Echoes and I'm going to thank you so much for taking your time and join me right here, such a privilege to be speaking to you.
• 0:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: We are talking this week about what God is looking for.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: you know, if you see someone run past you and they're not trying to run away with a purse or they're not trying to run away from a monster, you wonder, why are they in such a hurry?
• 0:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then if you hear a clamor, there's one, two, three, five, 15 more people that run by you and you overhear snatches of conversation as they're running past you panting.
• 0:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: We found something precious.
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: We found that's what caused the gold rush back in the day.
• 0:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: You think about all those people that sprinted not literally across America to get out west and find that gold.
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: The first person found it and I wonder if they were smart enough to try to keep it under their hat or if they told everybody in town and all of a sudden there was a bunch of people
• 1:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: all the way across America, back east, people thought, you know, I'm going to strike it rich.
• 1:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to get out there and I'm going to find that gold.
• 1:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to be bigger, bolder, better.
• 1:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to find what I'm looking for.
• 1:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: And someone else is attention, what they were looking for, drew our attention, drew your attention.
• 1:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: If God is looking for something, and it draws his attention, and it's not just a select or singular time, just not one thing that he's looking for, but there's something a whole group of things, of some things that he's looking for, and it's something readily available.
• 1:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Something that is scattered across this world, accessible, not far away.
• 1:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: You don't have to go across the world to find it across America.
• 2:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: You can find it right where you are.
• 2:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: You don't have to pick up and move and get a wagon and go out to California to get in on this gold rush or this god rush.
• 2:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know you can find it right where you live.
• 2:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Wouldn't you be interested?
• 2:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: If God places enough value on it to look for it and find it, shouldn't we, what are these items of such significance, of such power that the God of all eternity would look for them?
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well,
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yesterday, on the program we talked about, we compared and contrasted what men are looking for versus what we're going to talk about today, what God is looking for.
• 2:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: You see men look to be the best and we talked about the limit games and how we watch these competitors.
• 2:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: And because they have our nation's flag on their shoulder or over their shoulders, we cheer for them.
• 3:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Why?
• 3:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because they want to be the best because we want them to be the best.
• 3:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: We want to win.
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Men want to be the biggest.
• 3:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Think of Arnold Schwarzenegger and those Mr. Olympia competitors.
• 3:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Their desire now, some would say, depending on your personal aesthetic, that maybe they get so big as to be grotesque.
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if I could not scratch my back now, I'm making excuses for the fact that I'm not in better shape here.
• 3:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: But if I could not scratch my chin because my bicep is so large, it kind of defeats the purpose.
• 3:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: It may look interesting, it may win you awards.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: But that sure must be difficult.
• 3:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if it could lay in my back and roll over by myself, as muscle bound as some of those guys are, but they do it for a purpose.
• 3:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: They want to be the biggest.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Men want to be the boldest.
• 3:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: They want to take risks.
• 3:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: They have skydivers and bungee jumpers or motorcross riders.
• 3:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's incredible the feats that humanity is capable of, but we're constantly pushing the boundaries no one wants to do the second highest motorcycle jump.
• 4:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: They want to get to be the biggest, the boldest, and the best.
• 4:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: But we've found in Scripture.
• 4:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: that isn't precisely what God is looking for.
• 4:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: So what is God looking for?
• 4:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't believe he's looking for power, prestige, or prominence.
• 4:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: God looks for that which is broken, weak, and small.
• 4:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: So let's jump in here for just a moment.
• 4:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Go to the book of John chapter six.
• 4:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: John chapter six.
• 4:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: God's not looking for the biggest.
• 4:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: The best of the boldest.
• 4:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: He is looking for something that the first item we're going to find in the book of John.
• 4:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to turn over them myself, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
• 4:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: John, here we go, chapter number six, and you may be familiar with this passage of scripture just for sake of context.
• 5:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's look at chapter 6 verse 1 after these things.
• 5:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberius, and a great multitude of followed him because they saw his miracles, which he did on them that were diseased.
• 5:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: And Jesus went up into a mountain and there he sat with his disciples in the pastor or feast of the Jews was Nye when Jesus then lifted up his eyes and saw a great company come under him.
• 5:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: He sat under Philip Wence shall we buy bread that these may eat?
• 5:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now verse 6 is going to answer this question, but was he looking to fill up to be an accountant?
• 5:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Was he looking to fill up to grab his abacus and start moving beads around and do some math and figure out, okay, if every guy eats this much food and let's see that about 5,000 of them plus their wives and the children were talking 15, 20,000 people here and I'll let's see, I will need it will cost this much and was that what Jesus was looking for?
• 6:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, but that's so often how we respond.
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: When God gives us a task, we think logically, humanly, and God gives us logic.
• 6:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: He gave us brains, they weren't just to sit on top of our shoulders, but at the same time, we still seldom trust him the way we should.
• 6:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: And for six tells us, and this, he said, to prove him, for he, Jesus himself knew what he would do and fill up, gave him the accountants answer.
• 6:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Philippe answered him for seven, two hundred penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one of them may take a little.
• 6:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now the account side of me wonders what was the exact amount that would have paid for everyone's food, everyone's lunch that day, 400 penny worth, 300, 500, you know, I wonder.
• 6:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: I recall as a young person, I read a lot and so sometimes I would read words.
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I didn't know exactly how to pronounce them as a 910 11 year old and there's that word hyperbowl, it's not hyperbowl, it's hyperbole, I wonder if Philip was using a little hyperbole here and he was just picked a big number and the people of that day would know 200 penny worth.
• 7:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that still wouldn't be enough.
• 7:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if he was using hyperbowl or hyperbole.
• 7:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: but I wonder what the number was.
• 7:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: How much would it actually have taken?
• 7:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, whatever the number was, Jesus paid the bill.
• 7:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: Jesus said, bring me the check.
• 7:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Verse 8, one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, sayeth unto him, there is a lad here, which had the five barley lows in two small fishes, but what are they, among so many?
• 7:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: What is God looking for?
• 7:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, we are going to get there in just a moment, but I want you to think about this feeding of the five thousand.
• 8:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Imagine all those people.
• 8:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: Imagine the families, the strife, and a little bit of the sharp words that were starting to come out.
• 8:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: They were enjoying listening to Jesus.
• 8:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: But somebody got elbowed a little bit, and they were starting to get a little angry.
• 8:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: They were starting to murmur just a bit, and Jesus notices that they are going to need food, stat.
• 8:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: They are going to need sustenance, post-haste.
• 8:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: They are going to need some calories.
• 8:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: You haven't been there before, they ever thought, when are we going to eat?
• 8:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: I recall as a young person.
• 8:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: The Maccurry family vacations are unique.
• 8:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: We don't go to lounge in the hotel room, at least with my dad.
• 8:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: We go to see every site possible and it's a little time as possible.
• 8:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, you realize we're trying to maximize time.
• 8:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, but my mom, great cook.
• 8:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so she would bring snacks.
• 9:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'd have this old beat up cooler.
• 9:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: They probably still have it today.
• 9:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that thing was always chock full.
• 9:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: There was some water, maybe some green tea in there.
• 9:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: And there was some snacks.
• 9:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: And Lord bless my mother, she always knew that we ate like ravenous teenage boys, myself, my two younger brothers, but every once in a while we'd get to the bottom, and the murmurs would start.
• 9:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: And the slight complaints, not loud enough, quite that my dad could hear them full voice, but we knew hunger was coming.
• 9:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: I wonder if it was just around the bend just over the horizon for all these folks, and Jesus noticed that.
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: What did he do?
• 9:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: He sat down.
• 9:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: So kindly and made all the people to sit down and organize them to hundreds and fifties and he sort of breaking apart that bread and those fish and he just kept breaking and They wouldn't go away.
• 9:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: They just kept breaking and kept breaking and he did this miracle that
• 9:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: At least 5,000, probably like I said with the families, maybe 15 or 20,000 people, maybe more than that people had a lot of children in those days, it could have easily been 30,000 people that were fed.
• 10:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: What an incredible thing.
• 10:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: But then, notice down in verse 12, when they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments.
• 10:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: that remain, that nothing be lost.
• 10:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Therefore, they gathered them together and filled 12 baskets with fragments of the five-bartered loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
• 10:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: God is looking for the fragments.
• 10:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: After feeding the 5,000, Jesus instructed his disciples to gather the leftovers.
• 10:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: The fragments were not wasted, but had
• 10:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: And just a little interesting note for those that are thinking that fish was going to spoil before the disciples could tuck into it because they were probably really hungry They were doing all the service and all that stuff and notice here in scripture Bible says they gathered a fragments of the five barley lows It sounds like maybe a fish got eaten
• 11:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: I want to have Peter complaining about that, but many people, here's the application point for you, many people feel like fragments, broken, discarded, insignificant, just one of many.
• 11:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: But God specializes in using what others often overlook, you think of that woman with the
• 11:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: But Jesus saw worship.
• 11:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: First Corinthians chapter 1 verse 27, But God had chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.
• 11:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: And God had chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
• 11:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: I wonder, what are we looking for today?
• 12:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Are we looking to be biggest, best, boldest?
• 12:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Or are we looking for what God is looking for?
• 12:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's looking for the fragments.
• 12:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Have you noticed, if you think back to the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror?
• 12:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe even this morning and thought, nobody wants me.
• 12:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just a fragment, I'm a cast off, I'm a cast away, maybe today you need to realize that God is looking for you.
• 12:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: He vows you, not as a prize to put on a pedestal, but something that could be made worthy of the use again.
• 12:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: I didn't encourage you to think about what God is looking for
• 12:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: my prayer today, as always.
• 12:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Is that what you've heard will help you encourage you to have a great day for his glory, but I'd encourage you as well to tune into tomorrow as we continue.
• 12:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: There are two more items this week that I want to talk about.
• 13:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Things that God is looking for.
• 13:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for listening.
• 13:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Talk soon.
• 13:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: God bless.
• 13:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for tuning in to Bible Tract Echoes, the radio ministry of Bible Tracts Incorporated.
• 13:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: Want to see our gospel tracks and other resources?
• 13:29
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• 13:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks again for listening.
• 13:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: May the Lord richly bless you as you live for Him.