The Lesson of the Loaves

Series: That You May Believe
Message: The Lesson Of The Loaves
Scripture: John 6:1-15

How do you face the impossibilities in your life?

Three Key Lessons

1. The Yardstick Lesson: Do not measure a problem or challenge according to your own Ability (5-9)

Why does Jesus love the “impossible?”  Because it provides a perfect test (6)

• God puts us in impossible situations to stretch our undeveloped Faith
• God puts us in impossible situations to strengthen our eternal Hope
• God puts us in impossible situations to show his incredible Love

Notice that Jesus allowed his disciples to struggle with this problem before he worked the miracle.

Notice the difference between Jesus’ question and Philip’s answer.

Jesus asks “where do we go?”  Philip answers “how much will it cost”? 

When God asks you hard questions listen very closely... you will often find the answer in the question.

“Every problem we face is God’s invitation to trust Him.” Tom Elliff

2. The Scales lesson: Little in the hands of Jesus becomes Much (8-13)

Two perspectives....  two wrong answers!

• Philip: Impossible, it would take Too Much (Looked at the crowd and not at Christ)
• Andrew: Inadequate, we have Too Little (Looked at the loaves and not at the Lord)

“A low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils. A high view of God is the solution to ten thousand temporal problems.” A. W. Tozer

Two life changing questions we all need to be asking ourselves...

• What have I decided is too big for God to accomplish?
• What have I decided is too little for God to work with?

This miracle shows us a Biblical pattern for how God makes our “little” into His “much”

• God Reduces our resources.
• God Magnifies our need.
• Someone Trusts God with what little they have.
• God Uses the little we have to show how great He is.

Jesus teaches us...  instead of complaining about what we do not have we should Give Thanks to God for what we do have.

In verse 7 Philip calculated to give each one “a bite” but when Jesus fed them each one had “as much as they wanted.” 

The lesson of this miracle is so simple.  Begin with God’s command, look at what you have, give it all to Jesus Christ and let him do the rest.

3. The Spreadsheet lesson: Every encounter with a problem or challenge can bring an Increase (13)

An impossible Problem + An Omnipotent God = A Certain Increase

Why 12 baskets left over? 12 object lessons in faith for 12 disciples.

• The People did not learn the lesson: They wanted to make him king. (14-15)
• The Disciples did not learn the lesson: They still lived in fear. (18-20)

A problem is an opportunity to grow!

In every miracle we need to look for two truths to act upon:

• How Jesus Works
• Who Jesus Is (35)

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20–21)

Making It Personal:

• How have I responded to God’s greatest miracle of all, His provision for my sin and separation from Him through Jesus Christ? Have I responded by turning from my sin and trusting Christ with my past, present and future?
• What is it in my life that I have decided is too big for God to accomplish?
• What is it in my life that I have decided is too little for God to work with?
• What is God calling me to do by His power and strength?
• Who can I share these truths with?