{"id":25379,"date":"2025-08-06T23:32:57","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T23:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/?p=25379"},"modified":"2025-08-06T23:32:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T23:32:57","slug":"the-lord-jesus-in-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/2025\/08\/the-lord-jesus-in-control\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lord Jesus In Control"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Posted by permission. Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel<\/a>.]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sermon preached at Bethel Chapel, Luton, by Mr. B. A. Ramsbottom, on Lord\u2019s day evening, 24th October, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFor He Himself knew what He would do\u201d\u2014John 6:6<\/em><\/p>\n

Special emphasis is laid in the Word of God on the feeding of the five thousand, all these events in this chapter, the wonderful miracle that took place. What is outstanding: of the Lord\u2019s many miracles, this is the only one which is recorded in each of the four gospels. So there is no vain repetition with the Lord, and if anything is repeated, it is because the Lord Himself would place a special emphasis on it, and on its importance.<\/p>\n

First of all this evening with the Lord\u2019s help, thinking generally of this wonderful, well-known miracle, the feeding of the five thousand, there are three very important points I would bring before you. The first is this: this was a display of God\u2019s divine, almighty power. To think that that five thousand should be fed, and in such an amazing way, when they had nothing to feed them with! No-one but the Son of God could have accomplished this. And the wonderful thing when we read these miracles: to think it is this same Jesus today, the Lord Jesus we worship, and with whom we meet together, we hope to serve. \u201cThis God is our God for ever and ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we think of this wonderful miracle and this display of God\u2019s almighty power, we think of the whole theme of omnipotence. Now you young ones know what omnipotence means. It means that God is able to do anything; God is able to do everything. Of course, we always think of the old saying: \u201cGod cannot lie; God cannot die; God cannot deny Himself.\u201d And so when we say that the Lord can do anything, can do everything, we understand what we mean.<\/p>\n

I thought about this, not just today, but during the last few weeks, concerning the much affliction we have had at Bethel, those of you recovering, those of you still troubled, those of you with things before you, and then the Covid which has been sweeping around and through us. Then we hear of new things, we hear of different things. But to remember that this God of John chapter 6 is still almighty, He is still on the throne, He still lives, He still reigns, and with Him still nothing is impossible.<\/p>\n

But I often go back to Isaiah 40. He holds the mighty waters of the sea in the hollow of His hand. You cannot hold much water in the hollow of your hand. He holds the mighty oceans in the hollow of His hand. He metes out \u2013 He measures out \u2013 the heavens with His span. You cannot stretch the span of your hand very far. He measures the heavens with His. The mighty nations of the earth \u2013 you think today, Russia, China, the United States \u2013 the mighty nations of the earth before Him are like a drop of a bucket. There is not much, when you speak of a drop in a bucket. Many years ago I was speaking for the Trinitarian Bible Society. I was corrected on that. They said I quoted Scripture wrong. I said, \u201cWhat did I say wrong?\u201d They said, \u201cYou said, \u2018A drop in a bucket\u2019; it says, \u2018A drop of a bucket\u2019\u201d \u2013 the drop that runs down the outside. There is nothing in the bucket. \u201cHe taketh up the isles as a very little thing.\u201d You see our great God and Saviour, the God of John chapter 6, is the God of Isaiah chapter 40.<\/p>\n

I would like you younger ones to seek to be led by the Holy Spirit to have clear views of how almighty God is. It is an easy thing to say. Surely it is one of the first things we learn in Sunday school. But to have a time in your life, if it is only once, when you get a real view of the divine, almighty power of your God! Well, that is the first thing concerning this interesting chapter: the display, the wonderful display of the power of God in performing this amazing miracle.<\/p>\n

Now the second thing that stands out to me is the compassion of the Lord Jesus. It is a beautiful subject: compassion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was compassion like a God,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That when the Saviour knew<\/p>\n

The price of pardon was His blood,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He pity ne\u2019er withdrew.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the greatest display of compassion. But it is the tender-hearted Jesus. It is His kindness. It is His mercy. It is the way He understands.<\/p>\n

It was towards evening. The shadows of evening were coming on, and there was this great multitude there. In another of the gospels, the disciples came to the Lord Jesus and they besought Him to send the multitude away that they might find something to eat, that they might be satisfied. It seems perhaps the disciples did not know what to do. In one sense, they wanted to get rid of them. And then we have that majestic word from the Lord Jesus: \u201cThey need not depart.\u201d Well, it was a shock to the disciples. \u201cThey need not depart; give ye them to eat.\u201d O the impossibility of it! But the Lord\u2019s compassion will find out a way. You cannot separate His tender heart from His divine, almighty power. One of our hymns says something like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cLook to Jesus, kind as strong \u2013 Pity joined with power.\u201d<\/p>\n

O these things that God has joined together; let no man put them asunder. It is a beautiful subject. We could go on speaking about it; it is something for you to go home and think about: the compassion of the Lord Jesus. We are told His heart is full of compassion.<\/p>\n

And then the third thing in this interesting chapter I would bring before you: the Lord supplied not just the needs of His immediate followers, but He supplied the needs of all those who were there listening to Him. Some of them were ungodly people \u2013 it seems that many of them were, perhaps most of them were \u2013 but the Lord still supplied their needs. It is that point we touched upon this morning concerning the harvest: He causes the rain to fall on the righteous and on the wicked. He opens His hand; He satisfies the desire of every living thing. That is what He did here. He satisfied the desire of every living thing, though He solemnly said to them afterwards, \u201cYe seek Me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the supply of all these needs, and they were not easy things; they were difficult things; you might say, impossible things. If the Lord did this for this mixed multitude, what shall we say of that wonderful promise: \u201cMy God shall supply all your need\u201d? He has the ability to do it and He has the willingness to do it. \u201cMy God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.\u201d That is the never-failing treasury from which He supplies His beloved people\u2019s needs. I wonder what your needs are this evening. May you be reminded of that promise. Of course, really it is an opening up of the well-known word we have in the account of Abraham and Isaac: Jehovah Jireh \u2013 the Lord will provide.<\/p>\n

Well, just to begin this evening, these three striking points in this wonderful miracle: the almighty power of the Lord Jesus, His tender heart and His compassion, and His ability to supply every need.<\/p>\n

Now let us look more closely at the word. \u201cWhen Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him.\u201d Let us be clear: He knew why they had come to Him, and this great company were the five thousand. We always say, \u201cThe feeding of the five thousand,\u201d but do not forget the Word of God says, \u201cFive thousand men, beside women and children.\u201d He asked Philip a question. You can go to the godly commentators. They will tell you all kinds of reasons why the Lord Jesus put the question just to Philip, but we leave that. The question was this: \u201cWhence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?\u201d We do not use this word whence much today. We tend to say, Where from, or something like this. But it is a scriptural word, whence.<\/p>\n

Whenever I read this little word whence, I cannot help but go back to our well-loved Psalm 121: \u201cI will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.\u201d What is the source? Where are things coming from? If it is help, where is it going to appear? \u201cI will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.\u201d In your pilgrimage heavenwards, I think you will often come across this word whence in your soul\u2019s experience. Where are these things going to come from? They are promised, but where are they going to come from? \u201cMy help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?\u201d And then we are just told in passing, \u201cThis He said to prove him,\u201d because the Lord Jesus knew the answer. But what did Philip do? He started doing a terrible lot of calculating. He worked in his mind how many were there, how much bread they would need, how much that bread would cost. If they spent two hundred pennies, well, it was not any answer to the problem at all. His calculating did not do a lot of good. Sometime we start calculating when we have difficulties, but it is better if we can leave our calculating and turn to the Lord. \u201cPhilip answered Him, Two hundred pennyworth or bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then, \u201cOne of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter\u2019s brother,\u201d he spoke; he had a suggestion, but he was not very sure of his suggestion. He had been looking around. He said, \u201cThere is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes.\u201d But the problem is not answered. \u201cWhat are they among so many?\u201d What was Andrew doing? He was not calculating. He was looking about and looking at things. He was not looking to the Lord Jesus. He was not looking to divine, almighty power. He was looking at things.<\/p>\n

There is a scripture in the epistles. Paul said, \u201cWe look not\u201d at all these things that everybody else is looking at. We cannot help seeing things, but we are not to look at them, especially not to look at them for help, not to look at them for the supply of our need. Paul says, \u201cWe look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.\u201d How often this is where our faith fails. Instead of looking upwards, heavenwards, Christwards, it looks around, and sometimes even within, sometimes at things in ourselves. But really these two disciples, with all their good thoughts and all their well meaning, they did not help at all.<\/p>\n

Then we have this sublime statement: \u201cHe Himself knew what He would do.\u201d He always did; He always does. He always knows the end from the beginning. He knows before things are coming to pass, what is going to come to pass. He knows your tomorrow as much as you know your today. He knows what is going to happen. He knows what should be done. He knows what can be done. He knows what will be done. He knows that He will do it. But whatever it is, or whoever else does it, nothing can be done apart from the divine permission of this almighty God and Saviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe holds all nature in His hand;<\/p>\n

That gracious hand on which I live<\/p>\n

Does life, and time, and death command,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And has immortal joys to give.\u201d<\/p>\n

May you feel this evening in all your concerns, your spiritual troubles, your tomorrow and next week troubles, your medical troubles, your family troubles, your fears, \u201cThe Lord God omnipotent reigneth.\u201d Everything is in His hand and He can do the most impossible thing just as easily as you can do the simplest thing.<\/p>\n

I feel this is one of the remarkable words of Scripture. It speaks of the Lord on the throne, the Lord in control, nothing at all taking Him by surprise. All these things that were troubling Philip and Andrew, all this great multitude, did not take Him by surprise. Those things in your life, those things in mine, the unknown way, it is all known to Him, the end from the beginning, nothing taking Him by surprise, and nothing can take place apart from His divine permission. \u201cMy times are in Thy hand.\u201d It is a well- known word. \u201cMy times are in Thy hand.\u201d And one hymnwriter puts it, \u201cMy God, I wish them there.\u201d We would not have them anywhere else. What would we do, where would we be, if we had the key to the unknown way, we could open every door, we could shut every door, we could make every choice? We would think we could make no mistake in our choices. But the keys are in His hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe keys of death and hell\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Are to our Jesus given.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is why we can sing,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRejoice, the Lord is King.\u201d<\/p>\n

O what a word this is \u2013 so short, so simple: \u201cThis He said to prove him.\u201d Let there be no mistake, let no-one think the Lord Jesus was saying this because He was not sure what to do, because He was a bit bewildered, because He did not know. He always knows. But the godly writer has made it clear: the only reason the Lord spoke in this way was to prove His disciples. \u201cFor He Himself knew what he would do.\u201d May the Lord in love and mercy impress this word on our hearts. May we be able to carry it with us tomorrow and in the unknown way, and as we seek to carry it, may we be able to leave it all in the Lord\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave God to order all thy ways,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And trust in Him what e\u2019er betide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis He said to prove him: for He Himself knew what He would do.\u201d What was the very next thing that the Lord Jesus said? \u201cMake the men sit down\u201d \u2013 divine authority, the Lord in control.<\/p>\n

Now there is one other thing I want to speak about this evening before closing, and it is on a very important, a vital subject. There was the feeding of the five thousand with the bread and with the fishes, but afterwards there was the application, and the application came from the Lord\u2019s own lips. He spoke of something more important than just the bread and just the fishes and just having a nice meal, and just being satisfied. He spoke of everlasting things. The people, when they found Him again, said, \u201cRabbi, when camest Thou hither?\u201d The Lord came right to the point: \u201cYe seek Me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.\u201d There is something more important. \u201cLabour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you.\u201d And then the Lord Jesus came right to the very point: \u201cVerily, verily, I say unto you … My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world…. I am the Bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.\u201d If you will, that is the conclusion of the feeding of the five thousand. It is the gracious application that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself gives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am the Bread of life.\u201d You young ones, you children know that there are a lot of times when our Lord Jesus said, \u201cI am.\u201d \u201cI am the good Shepherd\u201d; \u201cI am the true Vine.\u201d I am sure you can think of quite a few. \u201cI AM\u201d is the wonderful name that Almighty God gave to His servant Moses when Moses said, Who shall I say has sent me? \u201cI AM.\u201d What does it mean? The eternal, the everlasting, unchanging God. \u201cI am.\u201d And then when the Lord Himself speaks of it, He adds a little bit, and the little bit He adds is what suits the needs of every living soul. For instance, they are prone to wander, but, \u201cI am the good Shepherd.\u201d Here you have it: every one of them is brought to be dissatisfied with the best here below, brought to hunger and to thirst, something that only the Lord can give. This is it: \u201cI am\u201d \u2013 this is the answer \u2013 \u201cthe Bread of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

So personally, by nature, we hunger after all kinds of things. We hunger after pleasure. We hunger after happiness. We hunger after success. Some people hunger after a name. Some hunger after fame. But the Lord will never allow His own beloved people to be satisfied with these things. Why? The Holy Spirit will come and show you, teach you, you have an aching void the world can never fill. You know what an aching void is. If you are ever terribly hungry, you have not had anything to eat, there is something inside you: it is an aching void; it is empty; it has to be filled; it has to be satisfied. Gold and silver will not satisfy you. You must have something to eat, if only a little. That aching void. And then the gospel makes known the Bread of life, the blessed ability of the Lord Jesus to satisfy this aching void that the world never can, but not only that the Lord can satisfy it; He delights to satisfy it. He says, \u201cBlessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.\u201d<\/p>\n

But what is it? What is this hungry soul on about? Well, he has to die. He is not ready. He has a soul to be saved or lost. He cannot find any help, any satisfaction. He cannot save himself. And then the glorious gospel comes and reveals the perfect Saviour who has done everything for His people \u2013 shed His precious blood, lived a life of righteousness, died for them, risen again, done everything for them. He speaks that beautiful word which we read this evening: \u201cAnd him that cometh to Me\u201d \u2013 that is these hungry ones \u2013 \u201cHim that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.\u201d If Jesus as the Bread of life means anything, it means He is able to satisfy, and He is willing to satisfy, and He invites hungering, longing souls to venture on Him and be satisfied, not in a legal way, just in a gospel way. You know what it is:<\/p>\n

\u201cLo! glad I come; and Thou, blest Lamb,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shalt take me to Thee as I am;<\/p>\n

Nothing but sin I Thee can give;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nothing but love shall I receive.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is the feeding with the Bread of everlasting life. \u201cAnd Jesus said unto them, I am the Bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Jesus those happy souls does bless,<\/p>\n

Who hunger for His righteousness;<\/p>\n

Who seek the smilings of His face,<\/p>\n

And thirst for fresh supplies of grace.<\/p>\n

They cannot here contented live<\/p>\n

On all the dainties earth can give;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their souls can feast on nothing less\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Than Christ\u2019s eternal righteousness.<\/p>\n

Some sweet foretastes they have below,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the bright world, to which they go,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Will them a glorious banquet yield;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There shall their souls be ever filled.<\/p>\n

May this my blest experience be;<\/p>\n

To hunger, Lord, and thirst for Thee,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And on Thy righteousness to live,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Which can both food and comfort give!<\/p>\n

Then when at death my soul shall rise\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To the blest banquet in the skies,<\/p>\n

I shall partake the heavenly store,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And feast and sing for evermore.<\/p>\n

S. Medley<\/p>\n

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Special emphasis is laid in the Word of God on the feeding of the five thousand, all these events in this chapter, the wonderful miracle that took place. What is outstanding: of the Lord\u2019s many miracles, this is the only one which is recorded in each of the four gospels. So there is no vain repetition with the Lord, and if anything is repeated, it is because the Lord Himself would place a special emphasis on it, and on its importance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":481,"featured_media":22562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1729],"tags":[1197],"class_list":["post-25379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-benjamin-ramsbottom","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/481"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25379"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25381,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25379\/revisions\/25381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}