It Depends Whose Hand It’s In

 

John 6:8-12 (KJV)

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,

9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

10 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.

11 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.

12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

 

A basketball in my hands is worth about $20. A basketball in Michael Jordan’s hands is $33 million.

It Depends Whose Hands It’s In.

A baseball in my hands is worth about $6.

A baseball in Mark McGuire’s hands is $19 million.

It Depends Whose Hands It’s In.

Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse. Nails in Jesus Christ’s hands produced salvation for the entire world.

It Depends Whose Hands It’s In.

Two fish and five loaves of bread in my hands is a couple of sandwiches. Two fish and five loaves of bread in God’s hands will feed thousands.

It Depends Whose Hands It’s In

The setting of this great miracle of the five loaves and two fish started because Jesus was performing miracles everywhere he went.

People were no longer just intrigued by Him, they were influenced and addicted to Him.

Even the scribes and Pharisees were now following Him, though for different reasons. Jesus’s fame had spread throughout Jerusalem and the surrounding cities.

Jesus had just healed a man that had laid beside the pool for over 30 years. Commanded him to take up his bed and walk. The man was made whole and word spread that Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. To the religious faction this was against the oracles. But Jesus gives them a lecture and puts them in their place and then departs over the sea of Galilee.

It is there that a great multitude followed Him.

When we gather because we want to get close to Him, Jesus has compassion. He wants to do miracles and bless us.

 

John 6:5-6 (KJV)

5 When Jesus then 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?

6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

It’s amazing how many times we find the Lord doing this sort of thing. He is omniscient, He knows all things, He is in control of all things. He knows what He is going to do before He does it.

 

It’s important to realize something that this scripture teaches us about Jesus. He already had the answer to the problem.

You say your problems are pretty big?

I say, He already has the solution.

It’s probable that the situation that you may be facing this week is entirely God’s way of finding out just how much faith you have.

Can I encourage you today with 4 little words?

“Have Faith In God.”

Your problem is not God’s problem.

He’s already got the answer to your problem.

God’s problem is whether or not you are going to have the kind of faith He needs you to have so He can bring a miracle your way.

 

John 6:7 (KJV)

7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

 

The disciples recognized that there wasn’t enough and then even Andrew trying to help a little says, “there is a lad here that in his lunch has five loaves and two small fish: but what are they among so many.”

Let me remind you:

It Depends Whose Hands It’s In.

When a person offers the little they have, Jesus can turn that little into more than enough.

Have you ever wondered if anybody else there that day had any food? We know that one man had five loaves and two fish, but surely someone else had something as well. What about the disciples? Did any of them have any food with them? If they did, why didn’t they offer it when the need arose?

I think they weren’t looking at what they had, they were focused on what they didn’t have. They saw they were lacking, and they were lacking in a major way. The disciples weren’t well enough equipped to meet a basic need like feeding the people. They hadn’t made any plans or provisions for such an event. They were caught short and found wanting.

All they could see was what they didn’t have.

Many times in the scriptures people were told to use what they had. Look at the parable of talents. They were told to use what they had been given.

Another event that comes to mind is the widow in 2 Kings 4. There was the widow of a prophet whose sons were going to be taken into slavery to pay their debts, so she went to the prophet Elisha to ask his help. This is what he said:

 

2 Kings 4:2 (KJV)

2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

 

The widow was told to get as many empty vessels as she could borrow, and go into her house, and shut the door, and pour the oil into the vessels.

Enough oil came from that little jar of oil she had to fill every empty vessel she had collected, and then the oil stopped. She sold the oil and paid her debts.

Once again, the woman was focused on what she didn’t have instead of what she did. She was so consumed by her lack that she never thought of using it.

Every one of us is lacking in some way. None of us are perfect; we all have weaknesses and problems.

We cannot be so focused on what we don’t have that we miss recognizing, appreciating, and using what we do have.

5,000 men sat down.

Jesus took the bread and fish in his hands, gave thanks, and gave out the bread and the fish and the Bible says:

 

John 6:12 (KJV)

12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

 

It Depends Whose Hands It’s In.

So put your concerns, your worries, your fears, your hopes, your dreams, your families, and your relationships in God’s hands, because…

It Depends Whose Hand It’s In.

When you try to live a Godly life by yourself, you will fail.

Put your life in the hands of a Limitless God.

The Limitless God:

There was a large need and a little offering, but there was also a limitless God!

God is not restricted by circumstances. He can roll the Red Sea back like a blanket. He can transform ordinary water into flavorful wine. The laws of earth are subject to His command and the powers of hell tremble in His presence. His authority over sickness and death are limitless. His knowledge is infinite.

Faith looks at potential. Unbelief only sees obstacles.

Jesus did not ask what the disciples didn’t have; He asked what they did have.

God never changes His ways.

He asked the disciples what they had to offer. He asked Moses what he had to offer:

They may have started out with a small lunch, but put it in the hands of a limitless God and every need is supplied.

We may feel like our prayers before service don’t get much accomplished.

Put it in the hands of a limitless God…

We may feel like our meager praise doesn’t move heaven very far.

Put it in the hands of a limitless God…

We may feel like our pennies are powerless compared to the financial needs of running a church.

Put it in the hands of a limitless God…

We may feel like our witness is shallow and lacking the charisma to change our world.

Put it in the hands of a limitless God…

Put anything in the hands of a limitless God and when He is done with it, He meets the need and more!

All God is looking for is something to use.

He’s waiting on you to bring Him what He needs.

It’s important to realize that none of the other gospel writers mentioned the fact that a little boy had given the food to feed the people with.

In the other three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke; the fact that a little boy donated the food for the miracle was omitted.

In fact, it was a little boy who made the contribution that Jesus used to perform a miracle.

Apparently, it was not important for the other gospels to mention this, but I’m glad that John told the story as well.

You see, it’s important to me to know where the miracle come from.

I don’t just want to see a miracle; I want to see the process that led to the miracle happening.

If we can see and understand the process of the miracle, it’s entirely possible that the next time we find ourselves in a tight spot, we can duplicate the process of the miracle again and possibly get a similar result.

Apparently, all Jesus was looking for was somebody to show some faith for the situation.

Why is it that none of the other gospel writers mention this little boy?

I believe John understood some things about Jesus that the other disciples didn’t understand. John was so close to Jesus, that on one occasion, we find John laying his head on Jesus’s chest. John was the one who was the feet of Jesus’s cross the day he was crucified.

John understood the value of mentioning the little boy. John knew that there is importance in mentioning the source of the smallest offering. John knew that Jesus would want the little lad mentioned in the telling of the story.

Why?

Because Jesus is looking for Faith today!

He’s looking for someone who can identify with the little lad enough to say, “Hey God, I’m not much, and I don’t have much, but what I am and what I have is all yours for the taking if you ever need a source for a miracle.”

God is waiting for you.

He didn’t need the food, He was waiting for a lad to step out and say, “It’s not much, but you can have it.”

That’s all God wants is somebody to say, “Here I am.”