How Do You Trust the Lord?
John 6:1-13
Intro:
1. Have any of you invited guests to dinner & then wondered if you had enough food?
2. ILL: One of the Temptations was to turn bread into food (Matt 4:3-4).
3. v6 - This miracle was to test His disciples.
4. One disciple flunked - the other passed.
5. Nothing the Lord asks you to do is impossible if He is in it!
I. What the Lord is Capable of Doing
A. The situation.
1. John the Baptist had just been beheaded (Matt 14:3-12).
2. Jesus went by boat to an isolated place near Bethsaida Julia to grieve (Matt 14: 13 & 15).
3. v2 - His reputation as a miraculous healer attracted a crowd of 5000 men + women & children.
4. He taught them until late in the day (Matt 14:15).
B. What the Lord did.
1. v5 - He asked His disciples to feed the hungry.
a. He is asking you to do the same.
b. ILL: Parable of the Sheep & the Goats (Matt 25:31-46).
2. v11 - He accepted the resources that they had.
a. He said Grace. The Hebrew Grace is “Blessed are You, Lord, Creator of the universe Who brings forth bread from the earth.”
b. I hope you make it a habit of thanking the Lord every time you sit down to eat.
c. He, then, distributed the food.
3. v12 - The disciples collected the leftovers. The Lord must hate waste!
C. The result.
1. Everyone who was seated ate until they were full.
a. v11 - All who were seated - obedience has always been a part of God’s plan.
b. v12 - Everyone has enough to eat.
c. v13 - 12 baskets full of scraps were left over. One for every doubting disciple!
2. The Lord provided all the food that was needed!
II. v5-7 - The Response of Doubt
A. Who was Philip?
1. He was from Bethsaida Julia (Jn 1:44), so was the logical one to ask.
2. He accepted Jesus as the great prophet Moses had predicted (Jn 1:45).
3. He brought his brother, Nathaniel, to the Lord (Jn 1:43-51).
4. However, when Greeks wanted to see Jesus, Philip was unsure what to do (Jn 12:21).
5. He was the disciple who asked, Show us the Father & we will be satisfied - Jn 14:8.
B. He had the response of doubt.
1. The Lord’s request seemed too impossible.
a. v10 - After all, there were 5000 men + women & children!
b. v7 - 8 month’s wages (200 denarii) would hardly give everyone even a bite!
c. This was his way of saying, “Lord, what You are asking is impossible. We just can’t do it”
2. Is that response typical of you?
a. How often do you look at a Christian responsibility & say, “I can’t do that!”
b. “It’s never been done before!”
c. “We tried that once before & it didn’t work!”
III. v8-9 - The Response of Trust
A. Who was Andrew?
1. He was also from Bethsaida (Jn 1:44).
2. He brought his brother Peter to the Lord (Jn 1:40-42).
3. When Philip balked, Andrew brought the inquiring Greeks to the Lord (Jn 12:20-22).
4. Andrew is known as the disciple who brings people to the Lord!
B. He had the response of trust.
1. v8-9 - He checked out the food resources - 5 graham crackers & a couple of sardines.
2. His response was not, “We can’t do it”, but rather, “How far do You think it will go?”
3. Andrew is what Robert Schuller would call a “Possibility Thinker!”
C. What is the Lord’s plan for you?
1. The Lord’s plan is to take your resources & your efforts & use them for what He wants them to be for His glory!
2. But - If the Lord is capable of all this - why doesn’t He answer all my prayers?
a. Because He’s smarter than you are. Your prayers may not have been wise ones!
b. Because He is not to be used to satisfy your desires. You are to be used to satisfy His!
Whenever the Lord wants you to do something
He will provide the way for you to do it!
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