A Lad with No Name
More Than a Name • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Our name is given to us at birth and identifies us throughout our entire life and even beyond. None of us chose our name, but we do choose every day what kind of a name we have. When people hear our name, thoughts—positive and negative—immediately come to mind. The reputation that we build behind our name is important and valuable.
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favour rather than silver and gold.
A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
The memory of the just is blessed: But the name of the wicked shall rot.
In reality then, our reputation is far more important than our name. As Shakespeare once said, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Whether your name is Bill, Andrew, Jill, or Rosemary is secondary to the testimony that you bear. Such is the case with the characters in Scripture that we will study in this series. God has withheld their name from the record, but the lessons they taught with their life are still living and instructive to us today. As God said of Abel in Hebrews 11:4, "he being dead yet speaketh."
Many people may know your name or perhaps just a few, but will anything from your life continue to speak long after your name is etched on a tombstone? It is my prayer that these lessons from the unnamed individuals in the Bible teach us to have an undeniable impact for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The first unnamed individual we will study is a mere boy. His name is not recorded, but his generosity touched the lives of thousands of people.
School children all over the world carry sack lunches to class. When they're in grade school, it's usually their mothers who make their lunches The lunches are all pretty much the same—a sandwich, a bag of chips, an apple, and on the really good days, some type of dessert. Then, the caring mom who wants to make sure her child actually has his or her lunch at lunch time will often write the child's name in big letters on the outside of the bag. That way, no one else will mistakenly take her child's lunch, or if it somehow gets lost on the bus or playground, it can be returned to her child.
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 miracles 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 saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
And this he said to prove him: 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.
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?
The lad in John 6 was probably carrying his five loaves and two small fish in some kind of container. If his mother wrote his name on the outside, it appears that no one noticed it, for they certainly didn't call him by name. But his name didn't need to be noticed. God used this unnamed boy to display His miraculous power.
No other miracle of Christ is recorded, as this one is, in all four Gospels. Yet, despite this story being told in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the name of this little boy is unrecorded. The full and satisfied multitudes went home that day never knowing the little boy's name, nor do we, but the characteristics of his life are impossible to miss.
I. The Boy's Character
I. The Boy's Character
Scripture does not record much of anything about this boy other than the fact that he had a lunch. A closer look between the lines however reveals much about his character.
A. The Right Preparation
A. The Right Preparation
There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
Five thousand men plus the women and children (perhaps a crowd of 25,000 people) were sitting on a hillside for a good portion of the day, and only one person was wise enough to bring a lunch! Only one little boy in this entire crowd thought ahead and prepared.
Too often we look forward to the performance moments of life but spend little time in preparation for those moments. We want God to use us to influence our families, witness at work, or minister at church, but it's easy to think that somehow God's using us will just happen, with no preparation on our part.
When we neglect to prepare our hearts and minds through the study of God's Word and prayer, we fail to prepare for Him to use us.
God used Ezra in the Old Testament to stir the people to revival, but God didn't use a man who just lived his life lackadaisically, letting whatever happened happen. Notice how this man Ezra had prepared beforehand.
For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.
Our performance will only be as good as our preparation.
President Nixon once told someone that while talking to Winston Churchill's son, he told him how much he admired the prime minister's great ability at giving "extemporaneous" speeches. Churchill's son replied, "Oh, yes. I've watched my father work for hours preparing those extemporaneous speeches.”
In what ways do you want God to use your life—both over the course of your lifetime and this week? What types of preparation are necessary?
The Right Preparation
B. The Right Place
B. The Right Place
John 6:9a (KJV 1900)
There is a lad here,
The Bible does not indicate that this boy was with his parents or with friends. He appears to be there by himself. He could have chosen to be fishing, hiking, or at home in bed, but he found his way to where Jesus was.
Do others have to prompt you to be in church? Does a friend or family member have to remind you to spend time with God each day?
Joshua in the Old Testament wasn’t waiting for the crowd to provide the momentum to serve the Lord.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
The Best way to be a testimony to those around you is to always be where you should be on the Lord’s day.
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
The Right Preparation
The Right Place
C. The Right People
C. The Right People
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,
When Jesus asked the disciples to get food to feed the hungry people, it just so happened that the only person with food was standing next to Andrew. Was this a coincidence?
Verse six tells us that Jesus already knew what He would do. The Lord would have known long before anyone got hungry that the only food available was in this little boy's lunch and that He was going to use it to meet the need.
Jesus knew the boy with the lunch wouldn't get lost in the crowd. He knew the boy wasn't there just looking for friends or activity or trouble. The boy was there looking to hear Jesus, and Jesus knew the boy was going to get as close as he could to someone who was already close to Jesus.
When we associate ourselves with the right kind of people we put ourselves in a position where God can use us. Proverbs speaks succinctly to this.
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: But a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
God isn't looking for people who are sleeping in on Sunday or wasting away their time on the internet to use in His miraculous work today. He looks for people who are delighting in His Word, with His people.
Blessed is the man That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.
A. The Right Preparation
B. The Right Place
C. The Right People
D. The Right Patience
D. The Right Patience
As a kid, did you ever eat your lunch before lunch? This miracle appears to take place toward late afternoon just before the people would make their way home. Yet, this boy's lunch was still intact, Being well prepared and in the right place with the right people will all be wasted if we are not patient for God's timing.
It is possible that there actually were other people that day who had brought lunches or snacks, but if so, they must have to eaten them early. This boy waited for the right time, and everyone present experienced the benefits of his patience.
You have probably noticed in Scripture and no doubt in your own life, that God' timing is always perfect. He is never early and certainly never late.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Often God's timing is different than ours, but remember, God's ways are higher than ours.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.
Prepare yourself by being in God's Word daily and by spending time in prayer before Him. Be in the right places— stay faithful in your home and in the local church. Fellowship with the right people. Make good and godly friends who will encourage you spiritually. Then, let God work.
When those four priorities are a part of your character, God will use you.
Psalm 37:7a (KJV 1900)
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him...”
I. The Boy's Character
II. The Boy's Charity
II. The Boy's Charity
They say that the way to man's heart is through his stomach.
And I would add, the way to know a little boy's heart is to see what he does with his lunch! Jesus used that little boy's generosity to reach the hearts and minds of five thousand men, plus women and children, as He filled their stomachs with the boy's lunch.
A. He Gave Willingly
A. He Gave Willingly
We don't know if Andrew asked the boy for his lunch or if the boy offered it on his own. At the very least we know there was no resistance on the part of this boy, no desire for negotiation, no "what's in it for me?" attitude.
This story would have been totally different if the boy had withheld his lunch, or if he had insisted on being promised a return on his investment. But, this boy gave his lunch willingly, and he saw God bless.
Jim Elliot (1927—1956) was a passionate evangelist, devoted husband and father, and martyred Christian missionary. His life and legacy are a testament to the world of the absolute worthiness of Christ, and the costly call of the Christian to follow Jesus. The defining pursuit of his life was to know God, to tell others of Him, and to obey His every call.
Elliot was inspired from an early age by the examples of Missionaries - William Carey, and Amy Carmichael to name a couple. Resolved to commit his life to missions Elliot attended Wheaton College to study. It was there he would meet Elisabeth Howard, the woman who would become his wife.
Partners in the ministry following the call of the Lord, Jim and Elisabeth traveled into the Ecuadorian jungle. On January 8, 1956, while attempting to make contact with the people of the Waodani tribe, Jim and four other missionaries were speared to death - slain by those they came to minister to. Elliot’s most famous words were written in a journal on October 28, 1949. They represent the great paradigm of the Christian faith and the hope of the gospel: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
What are you withholding from God? What are you trying to negotiate? Are you willing to give only if you receive something in return?
The apostle Paul commended the churches of Macedonia who themselves were in deep poverty, yet had a willing heart to be used by God to meet the need of others.
Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
The goodness and blessing of God awaits the Christian who has a willing heart
A harden heart and stubbornness, however, have a bitter end.
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
But if ye refuse and rebel, Ye shall be devoured with the sword: For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
A. He Gave Willingly
B. He Gave Wholly
B. He Gave Wholly
This boy could have given three loaves and one fish. That would have been generous, and the Lord could have just as easily fed the five thousand with this lesser amount. After all, He made the entire universe out of nothing! But in an instant, 2 this boy put his entire lunch in the hands of Jesus.
Does God have all of you, or just a part? So often, we focus on what we are giving. God, however, is focused on what we are keeping.
First Kings 3:16-28 tells the story of two harlots who lived in who
the same house. They had each given birth to a son a few days be apart. One of the babies died in the night, and so the mother of the dead baby exchanged the two children. When the other mother woke up to feed her son, he was dead, but upon further examination she realized that it was not her son. The mother who had exchanged the children pleaded ignorance, and an argument ensued.
When the matter was brought before King Solomon, he declared, "... Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other." That would have been excellent advice if we were talking about the last piece of apple pie, and two people wanted it. But this was a living human being. The mother whose child it was immediately cried, "Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it."
A divided baby is no baby, and guess what? A divided life is no life! God doesn't desire just a part of our life or a few hours on Sunday. He desires our whole self.
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
A. He Gave Willingly
B. He Gave Wholly
C. He Gave Wisely
C. He Gave Wisely
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
What a great decision this turned out to be for this little boy.
All in verse 12 certainly would have included this little boy. He was filled right along with the rest of the multitude.
Every boy knows when it's mealtime. And, if you give a boy a choice of a sack lunch or a trip to the local buffet, what is he going to choose? Boys like full stomachs, and without hesitation, he will choose the buffet! His stomach knows a good deal when it's presented to him!
This boy who gave his lunch to Andrew may have wondered if his little lunch would even be enough for the whole day when he walked out of his house that morning, but he had no hunger pains when he returned home that evening. He was full, and perhaps Andrew gave him a little extra for his pocket from the twelve baskets of leftovers!
God will always do more with what we give Him than we could have ever done with it ourselves. God's promise to give more than we give is not merely a promise about our money, but is a surety with respect to our time, our talent, and literally everything that we possess.
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
All of us have a "lunch." We can keep it, and by doing so it will provide some purpose and be of some limited value to us. Or we can give it to the One who provided it in the first place, and watch Him multiply and bless it not only for our benefit, but for the benefit of the multitudes around us who need a miracle in their lives.
In search of doing big things, we often fail to do the little things.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Experience has likely shown all of us that we don’t naturally give the little we have - little lunches, our little money, or little talents - which would allow us to reap the blessings of seeing God do something miraculous with them.
So, if we want to reap those blessings, let us all take lessons from this boy.
We need to prepare ourselves to be used of the Lord. Invest our time in seeking Him through His Word and in prayer.
We need to be in the right place, faithful in our homes and to the services of our church.
We need to seek fellowship with people who are already close to the Lord.
We need to patiently trust His plan and His timing.
When we have prepared ourselves in these ways, we will be prepared to give at the right time. Our hearts will be prepared to give as this boy did—willingly, wholly, and wisely.
In search of doing big things, we often fail to do the little things. If we could do big things with our life it is most likely we would want to take the credit. But when our insignificant little lunch is given willingly to the Lord, suddenly a miracle takes place for which only God can receive the glory.
There are countless needs in our lives, in our churches, and in our world that only God can meet, and He usually uses people as His channels to meet those needs. He used a young boy to meet the needs of thousands of people in John 6, and He can use us to meet needs where we are.
Are you withholding something in your life from God? Are you willing to trust that He could do more with it than you could? Would you ask God, right now, to take your little and do something big with it?