Have you ever noticed how we seem to be a generation of people who are always in a hurry and forever running out of time? Here we are with all the technology to do anything and everything faster than the speed of light, but we're always out of time. And I can tell you why.

It's because...we're out of time!

Remember Amos 9:13? "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of the grapes him that soweth seed...."

My friend, this is a picture and prophecy of that end-time harvest we've all been praying and looking for. But watch carefully what is really happening in this verse (Again, the key is growing time.)

How much growing time do you think is involved when the farmer is out in the field, walking a couple feet behind the guy driving the plow, poking grape seeds in the ground, and then just a few steps behind him is the fellow who's pulling ripe grapes off a mature vine?

I would say the growing time—the span of time from seed to ripe fruit—is only a matter of seconds. But then, that's not even what this scripture is saying.

This verse is actually saying, the plowman, the planter, the reaper and the winemaker are all catching up to one another and passing each other, to the point that you cannot tell which one is which. Is it beginning to look just a little impossible to you?

Well, in the natural it is. But let's find out more about this principle of growing time, and how supernatural growing time relates to our end-time harvest. Let's focus our study on John 6:5-13, and start by reading verses 5-9:

When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and say 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?
(vv. 5-9)
Before we read the rest of the passage, I want to stop here and examine these verses so we can get a good idea of what's really happening—what Jesus is saying and how His disciples are responding.

When Jesus looked up and saw the multitude coming, He knew good and well what He was about to do. He also knew class was now in session.

Jesus asked Philip, "Where are we going to buy bread for all these folks?"

The Bible is clear: Jesus already knew the answer, but He asked anyway, because He wanted to "test" Philip. In other words, Jesus wanted to get Philip's attention. He wanted to make him think.

Well, how did Philip do? His response to Jesus was, "Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little."

I am satisfied that Philip's answer is the very reason Jesus did what He did.

You see, Jesus was—and is—aware of the fact that the way you and I learn is through communication. That's to say, we never really know what we believe until we start hearing our own mouths say it.

We may think we have a pretty good handle on some things. But until the pressure gets turned up to the point where words and thoughts start jumping out of our mouths, we never really know what's deep down inside.

How many times have you suddenly found yourself in the middle of a heated argument, saying some things that even shocked you?

Dear God, why did I say that? Where did it come from? Well, out of the abundance of your heart your mouth spoke—just like Jesus said it would.

So this tells us there is no question as to what Philip had on his mind (and in his heart) that day. Little. He had little on his mind.

In fact, faced with all those hungry people, little was the biggest thing in Philip's eyes. And by that I mean, all he could see at that moment was the problem—How are we going to feed these folks?

Just getting a few crumbs into these people's hands was far bigger than any answer he could imagine.

Well, along came Andrew and he got in on the test, too. Let's see if he does any better (verses 8-9): "One of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes...."

At the start, Andrew did pretty good. He'd been taking notes in class, and up to this point he had heard the Spirit of God enough to realize the answer.

Andrew's problem, however, came when he allowed his own reasoning to talk him out of the answer. He started out in the right direction, but look where he ended up: "There is a lad here, which hat five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?"

His image of supply turned into crumbs, just like Philip's.

Truthfully, I suspect Andrew never realized that he had tapped into the answer to Jesus' question. Yet, I believe he picked up on it from the Spirit of God. Why else would he bring that little boy with a basket of lunch to Jesus?

In the end, both Philip and Andrew allowed the size of the problem and their own reasoning to block their view of the answer, though it was standing beside them the whole time, staring them in the face.

Don't reason your way out of a blessing, and don't scare yourself away from prosperity. No problem is too big for God!


Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka:  Kenneth Copeland Ministries