What place do you find yourself today? Before you got to the place you are today, Jesus was already in that place, and he has a plan in place, for this place. John 6:1 (NLT) After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” 8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” 10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. 14 When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” 15 When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself. 1. Jesus is inviting us into his story. It is a story of what He can do. Jesus was going to initiate this miracle. He’s the one who thought it up. No human being would have come up with the plan that Jesus came up with. Nobody was praying for a miracle of bread. And Jesus wasn’t waiting for someone to have faith. Jesus is inviting his disciples into his story. It’s his story. It is the story of what he wants to do. And like the disciples – we are just along for the ride. There’s a name for this; trust. Trust is sort of the back door of faith. Faith is our conviction that we know what God is going to do. Trust is more like we don’t know what God is up to, we’re walking in the dark, but we are going along for the ride knowing that it’s going to be okay. Trust is leaving room for God to work when you don’t know how he’s working. Remember …Jesus was already in the place, before you ever got to the place, and had a plan in place, for that place. 2. A boy who gives what he has to Jesus. The fact is five loaves of bread and two fish is not enough to feed 5000. What this boy did was remarkable. He took what he had and he placed it into the hands of Jesus. Call it faith. Call it generosity. Call it obedience. His generosity to give what looked like not enough - what looked too small – it seemed like he was just going to lose it and he would go hungry – it was insufficient - maybe he was even thinking, “why am I doing this?” Luke 6:38 …give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. 2 Corinthians 9:10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 3. Jesus always knows what he’s going to do. John 6:6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Remember …Jesus was already in the place, before you ever got to the place, and had a plan in place, for that place. He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. When Jesus asked them to do the impossible… for he already knew what he was going to do. Place in his hands everything. Place your last meal in his hands. Place your last few dollars in his hands. Place your life in his hands. Place that problem in his hands. Place your family in his hands. Place your stuff in his hands. Place your skill in his hands.