John 6:1-15
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was
near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Lesson #1: The Measuring Tape Lesson — How Do You Measure a Problem?
Takeaway from first lesson: Stop measuring your
The measuring tape of faith doesn’t begin with what you can do. It starts with what God can do.
Because He wants to show us that He is enough.
What’s your impossible situation today?
If He is all-powerful, then nothing is impossible.
He allows the impossible not to depress us, but to develop us.
Three reasons puts into impossible situations:
1.To stretch our undeveloped
2.To strengthen our
3.To show us His incredible
It’s in the wrestling that faith is stretched, hope is deepened, and love is revealed.
This is where faith begins—by simply coming to Jesus.
If we could just stop measuring every challenge by our own ability, we’d cut our anxiety in half.
You were created to walk with God and trust Him.
Lesson #2: The Scales Lesson — How Do You Weigh What You Have?
So, what Philip actually said was, “It would take too much.”
And what Andrew is saying is, “We have too little.”
Here’s a takeaway from this second lesson: Little in the hands of Jesus becomes much.
two challenging questions this morning:
1.What have you decided is too
2.What is it you’ve written off because it just seems impossible?
Start with what you have, and put it in Jesus’
.
Just Jesus, the bread, and obedience.
Lesson #3: The spreadsheet lesson – How you calculate.
Every challenge can lead to increase, because every problem is Father-filtered. God allows it, God uses it, and God can bring something greater out of it if you will turn to him.
Here is the equation: Take one impossible situation + one omnipotent God = a guaranteed increase.
Takeaway for the third lesson: When you factor God into the equation, every challenge becomes an opportunity for increase.
Let God into the