Sermon Outline  Dec 2, 2007 Morning Service

Topic: What To Do When You Have A Humanly Impossible Task 

Text:   John 6:1-13 (Matthew 14:14-21; Mark 6:34-44; Luke 9:10-17)  

Introduction

I.    Each of the gospels records Jesus feeding 5,000.

II.   There are a number of powerful lessons to be gleaned from this passage.

III.  The lesson we want to focus on is how to handle humanly impossible tasks.

IV.  But notice it was Jesus that told them to do what was humanly impossible.

Text

I.    When You Face A Humanly Impossible Task Take The Problem To Jesus.

A.   When Jesus found out about the boy’s lunch, He said, “Bring them here to Me.” (Matthew 14:8).

B.   When you are facing an impossible situation you need to learn how to take it to Jesus.

C.  No matter how the situation looks, we need to take it to the Lord in prayer.

II.   When You Face A Humanly Impossible Task Trust Jesus To Help With The Problem.

A.   In the face of what seemed impossible Jesus gave two instructions that only those who trusted Him could obey.

1.   To the crowd: sit down in the grass.

2.   To the apostles: feed them.

B.   Trusting Him does not mean understanding Him.

C.  God asks us to trust, not to understand (Proverbs 3:5-6).

D.  Jesus has a strategy on how to accomplish your humanly impossible situation too.

III.  When You Face A Humanly Impossible Task Thank God For What You Do Have.

A.   In all four accounts of this event “Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks…” (John 6:11).

B.   We don’t doubt for a minute that every person here has problems.

IV.  When You Face A Humanly Impossible Task Work With God.

A.   Jesus certainly could have fed all 5,000 people by himself but he enlisted the help of his disciples to help feed them.

B.   Just as Jesus used the disciples to be a blessing to the multitude to feed them with some fish and bread, God will use us to be a blessing to someone else.

Conclusion

I.    So, keep in mind what happened here:

A.   First, the twelve gave the two fish and five loaves of bread to Jesus.

B.   Secondly, Jesus gave them instructions on how to organize the crowd so they can be fed.

C.  Jesus gave thanks to the Father for these two fish and the five loaves of bread.

D.  Jesus gives the apostles the fish and the bread to feed the multitude.

E.   When they gathered the fragments they found more left over than they began with.

II.   When you learn to give your little bit to Jesus, He is able to bless you over and above.