TD Jakes - Remember the Goodness of God
Though they are fewer in number, they have a greater appetite. All congregations are not the same; it is not the number of people present that determines the flow of miracles in a place, but rather how hungry those people are that controls the flow of miracles. I was in Bible class with ten percent of this crowd, and we experienced one hundred percent of glory. God does not rely on a headcount; He relies on a hunger count. He who hungers and thirsts after righteousness shall be filled. If all the people in this room became hungry, it would create a demand on the gift that would saturate the place. God does not care about numbers; He cares about appetite.
To a house that desired much bread, He sent an abundance of manna; to a house with a poor appetite, He sent little manna. How hungry are you? Is this just your Sunday morning routine? I want to walk through this text and show you some curiosities: how could you leave with twelve baskets full and seven baskets full, totaling 19 baskets of fish and bread, yet walk away with only one loaf? My first issue with the disciples is that they forgot to bring the bread after Jesus had invested so much in them. The Bible states that the disciples had forgotten the bread.
So, the Lord told me to ask you: have you forgotten the bread? Nineteen baskets of bread, and all you have is one loaf? That is discouraging for any ministry. Any minister pouring out at this level to people who hold onto so little is disheartening. All you have to show for all that Jesus did in your life is one loaf of bread. There are many church folks here right now for whom God has performed countless miracles, and yet you only possess one loaf of bread. Don’t let hell trick you into forgetting the bread that God has already provided in your life. If I’m speaking to you, give God some praise.
Wait a minute; let’s go deeper. They were with Jesus and still forgot to bring with them what Jesus had done. They were in the presence of the Lord, who is keeping an account of what He has invested in their lives, and He recounts how much they should have left. Yet, here you are, after being saved 20 years, with one measly little McDonald’s loaf of bread. Given how old you are, how saved you are, how gifted you are, and how many times God has raised you up, brought you out of trouble, delivered you from depression, and rescued you from the hospital, jail, tragedy, and adversity—how is it that you come here with one measly little decrepit loaf of bread? That is my first problem with the text: we don’t keep enough left. We forget, once we escape trouble, to value what remains.
While we’re in trouble, we pray with fervor for God to deliver us, and then we leave the bread on the boat, showing up with one pitiful-looking sad loaf. I’m embarrassed; how many times have I walked away from a 19-basket situation with one measly loaf of bread? That’s pitiful, sad even. You would have so little to show for 40 years of life; that God protected you when you were in your mother’s womb; raised you in undesirable situations yet still brought you through it and raised you up by His grace and miracles; that God provided you with a job, sometimes one you weren’t even qualified for, and placed you in a position where you lacked experience. And now you’re sitting here with your entitled self, acting as if you deserve to be where you are, saying, «I don’t know whether I believe in giving; I don’t know whether I believe in tithing.»
How could you not? You wouldn’t have anything to tithe on if you were still receiving WIC, food stamps, government cheese, powdered eggs, and powdered milk. The only reason you are conceited about your giving is because you left the bread on the boat. People who remember say, «All of my help comes from the Lord; all of my needs, everything I desire, comes from the Lord.» Is there anybody here who remembers the 19 baskets? This is how I converse with Him when I ask for something. Sometimes, I plead for things, and when I do, I also remind Him, «But if you don’t do it, if you don’t give it, if you don’t send it, and if you change your mind, you have already done enough. You have been so good to me; you brought me from such a long way.»
When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that He has done for me, my soul cries out hallelujah, for I still have enough left. If you have something left, make some noise in this place. Sit down; I’m going to go a bit deeper with you. Can I go deeper? Can I go deeper? Tell someone, «Something is about to happen in this place; something’s about to happen in this place; something’s about to happen in this place.» If nothing else, I’m going to go back and retrieve that bread off my boat. I will remember and stir up the gifts that lie within me.
If nothing else, I’m going to change my attitude and act like the blessed woman I am, the blessed man I am, and the blessed preacher I am. I have too much on my boat to show up at the party with one little measly loaf of bread. The devil is a liar. Jesus speaks to them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Beware of the influence of your friends, associates, and those you converse with who seek to devalue me in your life. Jesus refers to them as leaven because who you associate with affects how you rise.
Can I repeat that for the people in the back? Who you associate with affects how you rise. Jesus called the Pharisees leaven and warned them, for they may dilute or pollute you down to one loaf of bread. Then He conducts His accounting, saying, «Do you remember how you fed five thousand?» Yes, Lord, «And I took two fish and five loaves of bread and fed five thousand. How much did you have left?» Oh my God, God isn’t just concerned with how many you fed; He cares about how much you have left. Now, this is important. I have four principles to share quickly before I’m done. The first principle is the principle of multiplication. Jesus performs a miracle to teach them that you don’t need to have enough to work with for me to meet the need.
I say to you today, in this house, among this people, I will take the little you will sacrifice to me, and when I touch it, I will multiply it. Don’t be afraid of their faces or what they lack. Don’t be intimidated by how they look at you; stop counting what’s in your bag. I am bringing you into a season of multiplication. I will take what you have, and you will be amazed by what I can do with it. You are not entering into addition; you are not entering into subtraction; you are entering into multiplication. All those who receive that word give Him a crazy praise. I dare you to praise Him! I dare you to praise Him! I dare you to pray while you’re praising Him; He is multiplying you while you praise Him, renewing your strength while you praise Him, adding to you while you praise Him, blessing it, breaking it, increasing it, and serving it.
Type on the line, «I’m going into multiplication.» It’s happening in my life; it’s happening on my job; it’s happening in my finances; it’s happening in my body; it’s happening in my strength; it’s happening in my social environment. I am meeting people I thought I would never meet because God is bringing me into the principle of multiplication. Pressed down, shaken together, running over, supernatural. Who can receive this word? Jesus didn’t perform this miracle just for the sake of it; He didn’t do it because He enjoys making lunch for adults. Jesus did it so they would step into the principle of multiplication and understand that not only are you enough, you are more than enough. If you turn it over to God, He will bring you into an increase like you’ve never seen before. Who am I talking to? I’d like to know who I’m talking to.