You Got To Wait Till It’s Over to Find Out

John 6:1-14

Scripture Reference

John 6:1-14

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 had 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? And 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. 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.

Introduction

This familiar account of Jesus feeding the five thousand is short but deep. Bro. Stacey Shiflett preached from John 6 and saw fresh truths for missions, giving, surrender, and trust. The scene shows hungry people, a humble provision from an unlikely giver, human doubt, and then heavenly multiplication. The point is simple and powerful: when we give to God what we have, we often must wait until it’s over to see what He truly does with it. That waiting by faith is part of Christian maturity.

All right, let’s turn over to the Gospel of John. Gospel of John, chapter number six. I want to say again, thank the church pastor, his family. I appreciate everybody that has contributed to this meeting. Appreciate all the hospitality. We had a great time today. We went out shopping together. The pastor promised to make all of our men’s feet beautiful. Should have seen Brother Henson and Brother Story arm wrestling on who would get the pedicure first. Fighting over the chair there. Oh, my goodness, no, we didn’t get a pedicure. We had a good time shopping, though. And any day you get to go in a gun store and browse around, it’s a good day. Amen. We had a great time over there. And appreciate the good food and the fellowship. It’s been a blessing hanging out with these missionaries and just getting to know them a little bit better. I encourage you church members, make sure you get to know them. That’s why they’re here. That’s why your pastor has them here for the whole week. He can easily come here for one night and get on the road and go to another church, but he has them here for the whole week. So you get to know them. That way you can build relationships with your missionaries. That helps you know how to pray and remember them. So we appreciate all the good fellowship and looking forward to what God has for us in the nights and days ahead. But tonight, we are going to be in John chapter number six. This is a very familiar passage of scripture, one that I’m sure everybody has heard preached, no doubt dozens of times, maybe more. But I was reading this story a few weeks back, and, man, God showed me some things that I just could not hardly believe that I had missed in the times that I had heard it preached and the times I had preached it myself. So let’s read this story here about Jesus feeding the five thousand to see what the Lord will show us after these things. This is John six, verse one. 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 did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus had 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? 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, she distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down. And likewise of the fishes as much as they would. Verse twelve. 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 remaineth 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. Father, we pray that you would bless the message. Now speak to hearts. Use the word of God, Lord, to minister to our souls. May we glean truth that would help us. Is our prayer. In Jesus name, Amen. You can be seated.

Outline

A Hungry People
1. Physical hunger
  The crowd was literally hungry — five thousand men (besides women and children) had followed Christ and had no provision. The miracle begins with need.
2. Spiritual hunger
  Bro. Shiflett expands our view: the world is hungry for life, liberty, love, and a God who hears. John 10:10 and Ephesians 2:1 remind us that Christ came to give life where there is spiritual death. The physical hunger in this miracle points us to the greater spiritual need.
A Humble Provision
1. The giver was unknown
  None of the other gospel writers names the boy; John simply calls him a lad. The focus is not the celebrity of the giver but the gift offered to the Lord. This teaches humility: God uses unnamed, ordinary servants.
2. The gift was unsolicited
  Jesus never asked the boy for his lunch — the lad volunteered it. Many Christians wait to be asked or belittle what they have. But offering what you have, uncoerced, honors God and places the matter in His hands.
3. What you have is more than most
  Bro. Shiflett gives perspective: even “little” resources in a Western context are great compared to worldwide need. Don’t dismiss smallness; offer it to God.
A Human Perspective
1. Human doubt and the “what is that among so many?” question
  Andrew’s reply is the very attitude many Christians have: “What can my small thing accomplish?” That human calculation underestimates God and leads to inaction. The Gospel calls for obedience despite doubt.
2. The danger of comparing and minimizing
  We often compare gifts and say, “It’s not enough.” The text presses us away from that mindset. God values obedience more than size.
A Heavenly Participation
1. Jesus takes what we give
  Verse 11: “And Jesus took the loaves…” — the Lord accepts offerings. Our role is surrender; His role is multiplication. When heaven gets involved, human math fails.
2. The miracle: they were all filled
  All four gospels highlight the same climax: “they were all filled.” The outcome is miraculous and beyond human calculation. God is glorified when He uses surrendered things.
3. The unexpected overflow
  Not only were they fed, but twelve baskets of fragments remained. God doesn’t only meet need — He provides abundance and leaves testimony.
Conclusion: Give All and Wait Till It’s Over
1. Everything belongs to God
  Paul reminds us we are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Our time, talent, and treasure belong to the Lord; giving them to Him is our reasonable service.
2. Trust without prior guarantees
  God rarely gives specific guarantees about outcomes. He requires faith and obedience. Bro. Shiflett’s main point: you give, and you wait until it’s over to find out what God does.
3. Long-term fruit
  Ministry investments often continue to bear fruit long after our immediate involvement. The preacher’s personal testimony of responses years later shows the unseen returns of obedience.

Summary

This passage teaches that needs should awaken our compassion; humble, unsolicited gifts placed in Christ’s hands become the means through which heaven acts. The lad’s small lunch did three things: it exposed the need, demonstrated willing surrender, and became the seed through which Jesus supplied abundance. The central spiritual discipline here is faith — to give without knowing the full outcome and to trust God to multiply what we offer. You don’t need a nameplate, a guarantee, or a perfect gift — you need a yielded heart. Then you must wait till it’s over to see God’s work.

That was the title. Now watch this right here. Watch this right here. It was only after he gave was only after he gave the five loaves and two fishes that he saw what God was truly capable of doing with something so little. He had no heads up, no warning. He had no lesson in if you’ll just give it to me, this is what I’m going to do with it. He just gave it. He had to wait until it was all over to find out what God could do with it.

Quote to Ponder

Reflect on that line: Bro. Shiflett presses us to understand that obedience often requires waiting. God may not tell you the end before you begin; He asks for faith in the present and patience for the result.

Application for the Week

Make this practical. The sermon calls for immediate, measured steps of obedience and learning to trust God with what you have. Below are specific actions to live out this message during the coming week.

Offer a small, specific gift to God
Choose a tangible thing you can give this week — an amount of money, a meal, or a service — and give it freely to God without expecting to know the results. Write it down and record how you felt when you gave.
Pray for hungry people
Spend five minutes each day this week praying specifically for the spiritually hungry in this town and around the world: for life, liberty from sin, love, and for God to be heard in their lives (use John 10:10 and Romans 10:14 as guide prayers).
Volunteer an unsolicited act of service
Find one unmet need in the church or community and meet it without being asked. It might be making a meal for a family in need, visiting a shut-in, helping with a youth activity, or handing out gospel tracts at your workplace.
Share the story and ask someone to pray with you
Tell one other Christian friend or family member about this sermon and commit together to trust God with one small offering or act this month. Accountability helps faith become practice.
Keep a “Wait Till It’s Over” journal
Begin a short journal entry each week noting what you offered or surrendered to God and leave a space to record later how God used it. Over months and years you will see patterns of God’s unseen multiplication.
Consider a long-term ministry commitment
If God speaks toward missions, ministry, or vocational service, respond with a step: make a faith-promise amount, sign up for a short-term trip, attend the missions class, or schedule a meeting with the missions pastor. Decide to give and to wait on God’s greater work.

Lord willing, if we practice these steps, our small sacrifices will be placed in Christ’s hands, and we will one day see the full harvest — even if we must wait until it is over to find out. Will you give what you have and trust Him?