Philip: Learning to Trust

Learning to trust. I love that this is the theme today. And I think that our word, thank

! you Sonia for bringing that. I could listen to you read all day. So much steady peace and clarity

for us to hear what God is saying to us this morning. I just pray Lord as I speak this morning.

Amen. Holy Spirit would you come and open our hearts to hear what you would have us hear.

Lord I offer to you in my hands what I've prepared and Lord I pray that you would take it and you

would use it for your glory. In Jesus name. Amen. So Tim I didn't know you would be praying for TLG

this morning, Transforming Lives for Good. Lots of you know it's the organisation that I now work for

and we have in one of our booklets, one of our resources, a lovely activity that we do with

children and it says who I would get to hold the rope for me and you can't probably see it very

clearly but there's a little person hanging off a cliff holding desperately onto a rope

and there's nobody at the top and we just do some colouring together and we chat about

who might you like to be at the top of that cliff holding tight onto that rope and who would you trust

to do that? So just hold that in mind as we explore this passage this morning and I'm going to invite you

to just connect with your inner child or perhaps as an adult this is something that you find easy to do

anyway. I'm going to ask you to use your imaginations. I think some of us just are like yes let's just

imagine and probably some of us are like not so easy but I'm going to ask you to imagine yourself

into this passage this morning. I've been doing the same. So I imagine being swept into this huge crowd

we get to hear that there's 5,000 men there but we know that there would also have been lots of women

and probably children who would have travelled following Jesus. Desperate to see what might happen

next on this incredible adventure that was unfolding. Let's remember our perspective is 2,000 years later

at this moment in time where we are now in our imaginations we're following Jesus wondering

are we going to see any more miracles? Are we going to see anything else that is going to convince us

that this man is the one chosen by God to be the Messiah? And now here we are in a spacious place.

We're on the far shore of the Sea of Galilee. Sounds delightful but there's a problem because we've

been travelling for a few days and we are hungry and we don't have enough food. In fact we don't have any food

food to go round. Now Jesus' disciples are closest to him and we notice them. They're having a little bit

of a chat and we overhear two interactions and what do we notice in our response as we hear this? Well firstly

we hear Jesus asking Philip where to buy bread for all these people.

I think I see that Jesus cares. He cares that we're hungry and that we need to be fed.

But Philip replies

well we just can't. We would need more than half a year's wages in some translations that's how it comes

through. More than half a year's wages to be able to buy enough bread for all these people. So it's a bit

of a no-go. But then we hear Andrew. Andrew draws Peter's attention, Jesus' attention to this young lad

who actually does have a little bit of food. He's got five loaves and a couple of fish.

Now what are you thinking at this point? Are you thinking

well we've seen some miracles happen

maybe maybe we might have another miracle or are you thinking Andrew you're mad?

as a child he's got five bread two fish. He's probably quite capable. When it was a child it

might have been kind of a young teenager. I've got two well not only one of them is still a teenager

but I'm thinking could easily get through five loaves of bread in about five minutes.

So perhaps it's a bit irrelevant and a bit unhelpful Andrew that you're pointing out that

there's a child with five loaves and two fishes. But before we know it what are we seeing? We're seeing

Jesus break this bread, give thanks to God for it and then it's starting to be distributed and it goes on

and on and on and on. In fact we hear that there was more than enough for everyone and then at the end

Jesus asks his disciples to just gather up all the leftovers.

That blows my mind. It's so confusing that there's stuff left over enough for 12 basketfuls.

I like the numbers here. It's very specific isn't it? Five loaves, two fish, feed more than 5,000 people,

12 baskets left over. Crazy. What have we just seen happen? An absolute miracle.

Something outside of what we can understand or imagine. What have we noticed?

And what does God want us to notice today and learn from this?

Well interestingly when Jesus asked Philip about where to buy the bread, thinking as if there's

just going to be like a corner shop, we're told that he only asked this to stretch Philip's faith.

To stretch Philip's faith. He already knew what he was going to do. Jesus of course already knew what he was going to do.

And Philip uses his logic and his kind of human perspective of what he sees in front of him

to conclude that it's actually impossible to feed everybody.

So that's the first thing I notice.

And I wonder how often do we immediately engage our logical thinking,

our human perspective of the resources that we can see in front of us

and swiftly conclude or assume that this situation is impossible.

It's not going to change.

But then there's Andrew's response.

A bit of a contrast.

He notices this small boy with barely any food,

but at least there's something.

A starting point.

So I wonder if faith was stirring in Andrew.

If he was remembering recent experiences,

seeing Jesus heal a paralyzed man in Jerusalem.

Or that son that he brought back to life from the dead.

Or the miracle in Cana,

when Jesus had turned all that water into wine.

Andrew does the noticing.

He looks around and he sees what there is,

not what there isn't.

And the young boy simply offers what he has in his hands.

And Jesus does the rest.

And the result is multiplication and abundance.

Not a little bit more.

Multiplication and abundance.

How often are we seeking God's intervention?

Wanting him to bring change to things that we are facing?

Quite often would be my response.

Quite often I'm having that conversation with God.

But how often do I forget

that what he is wanting is for me to notice

what I've already got in my hands?

What little do I have

that I haven't really noticed

that I can bring before him

no matter how small

and trust him

to multiply it

or grow it.

Maybe in a miraculous, incredible,

in the moment kind of way.

Or maybe steadily

over time

when we get to then one day

look back and see,

oh yeah,

I remember that moment in time

when just that

tiniest bit of faith

that I was managing to muster

encouraged me in my spirit

to offer to God

what I have in my hands.

And we see the fruit.

I believe that Jesus is always asking us

to look at what we've got in our hands

no matter how inadequate it might seem

or how inadequate we may feel.

And in today's passage

I think something that I am learning

again

is through the actions of a small child

that child-like response.

Here.

Yeah, have it.

Have what I've got.

He gives all that he's got

to Jesus.

He doesn't say

oh go on then

you can just have one loaf

I'll keep the rest.

He clearly gives it all

to Jesus

in the hope

that it can be

so much more.

So again

I wonder

how often

are we so focused

on what is in our hands

and judging it

to be a very

very limited resource

or insignificant offering

that we forget

to look up

to have our head

lifted

by God

and see his invitation

to bring it

fully

totally

and offer it.

or perhaps

we recognise

the feeling

of

knowing

and noticing

what's in our hands

we can see

what's there

but we cannot

quite trust God

enough

to let it go

to bring it

to offer it

and trust

that he is able

to do so much more

than we can do alone.

Maybe faith in action

is this learning

to trust

that if we take

the little we have

and offer it

to Jesus

it's this very act

of obedience

and hope

that we'll see

God

change

the circumstances

and the situations

that we've written off

as impossible

to change.

No point in trying.

So let's just pause

and just consider

just in your own spirit

what areas of life

perhaps

that you've noticed

over the years

or right at the moment

do we struggle

to trust Jesus with?

Where are we

holding on

just a little bit

too tightly

to our own resources

desperately

just trying to make

them enough

for the situations

we're facing

when really

we need a miracle.

as I thought

about this

I felt

God prompt me

to share

three

little things

that I noticed

have noticed

over the years

so

my background

is in teaching

I loved teaching

I thought

I would

teach

forever

and when we

had Tom

our youngest

child

I had an

experience that

I hadn't

experienced before

I felt a very

clear call

on my life

and I had

help from others

around me to

discern that

and it felt like

it was a call

to the church

and in the end

I concluded

that it must

have been God

because it really

wasn't something

that I was planning

or particularly

thinking

would be

like a next

step for me

but in that

period of time

something very

practical

happened

as I

sort of like

prayed

and

journeyed

a little bit

about what

would that look

like to maybe

move and work

for the church

I explored

ministry

it definitely

was like

full-time

ministry

whatever that's

called

ordination

but it wasn't

the right time

for that

God had

other plans

but I was

thinking

practically

you know

I'm supposed

to be going

back to work

God

and in that

time

a couple

from our

church

came forward

and without

knowing our

circumstances

fully

I don't think

at the time

offered to

support us

financially

a little bit

each month

so I didn't

go back to

work

I started

doing quite a

lot of work

with the church

but it wasn't

a job

and we had

this financial

support from

this couple

but what I

didn't know

at that time

as well

there was

something called

child tax credit

and we then

became eligible

for this

and cut a

longer story

short

the first

month that

we should

have had my

salary back

for teaching

I hadn't

gone back

to teaching

we had

the support

that we were

being given

by this

couple

and this

child tax

credit

that was

new to

us

and do

you know

the amount

that came

into our

bank account

that month

was exactly

the same

to the

pound

that was

my teaching

salary

if I'd

gone back

to teaching

it was

such an

exact

thing

it felt

like

something

that God

was showing

us

trust me

and

you will

be resourced

for this

period of

time

and then

I found

in my

the oldest

Bible I've

got at the

moment

from when

I came

to faith

I would

say I

came into

a relationship

with God

in my

early 20s

when I did

an alpha

course

and I

bought this

Bible at

that time

and then

I found

in Proverbs

where it

says

trust in

the Lord

with all

your heart

and it

says

baby

and that

was after

Peter and

I had got

married and

we were

hoping that

we would

have a

family

we weren't

sure if

that was

going to

happen

and someone

read this

verse to

me and I've

got it

underlined

and we now

have Martha

who's 25

so I

just remembered

that that

was somewhere

in my

Bible

and another

time that

I felt I

wanted to

share where

I was pregnant

for a second

time and had

a lot of

complications

and the song

I'm going to

trust in God

Martha was

little at that

time she used

to love that

song and all

the actions

but those

words are

just all over

my journal

at that time

because we

needed to

trust

and the

last time

or last

thing that

I wanted

to share

was an

experience I

had when

my dad

was dying

and I

didn't know

where dad

was at

with faith

he was

quite young

he was

just 60

and I

was driving

up the

seafront

and it

was such

a tangible

experience

I was praying

I was kind

of crying

out to God

I need

to know

God

I need

to know

like where

is dad

with faith

and is

he you

know is

there something

beyond this

life for

him

and I

felt it

wasn't an

audible voice

it was like

that where

you hear

God in

your spirit

as strong

as if it's

an audible

voice and

I felt like

God said

to me

you don't

need to

know

Kate

you need

to trust

and that

phrase

has stuck

with me

that's 17

18 years

ago now

you don't

need

to know

you need

to trust

so for me

remembering

God's

faithfulness

just sharing

just a few

nuggets of

times that I

remember where

trust was so

important

remembering

those

is so

important

for me

it helps

strengthen

my trust

journaling

helps me

with that

keeping

notes of

kind of

what God

is saying

in this

day or

this week

or this

year

and being

able to

look back

and see

patterns

others have

different

things I

know

but how

else do

we grow

in trust

how else

do we

learn

to trust

well

thankfully

we are

not alone

in this

challenge

ask anyone

around you

and they

will have a

conversation

with you

about when

it's hard

to trust

and how

they hope

to or how

they have

grown in

trust

so community

together

doing life

together

doing faith

together

journeying

together in

faith

is so

important

and then

praise God

for his

word

for scripture

because it

is full

of people

just like

you

and I

and very

helpfully

I think

at the

back

just look

up the

word trust

and here

are all

the verses

and I was

looking through

them yesterday

reading them

all through

just these

ones that

have been

pointed out

here

like reading

about how

in 1 Samuel

David

strengthened

himself

with trust

in his

God

and how

in 2 Kings

Hezekiah

put his

whole trust

in the God

of Israel

and God

held fast

to him

through all

his adventures

I could go

on and on

and you

don't need

me to do

that

I think

all you

need me

to do

is encourage

you

to either

go to a

Bible

or get

online

on the Bible

on your phone

and look up

the word trust

and allow

time for those

scriptures

to speak

to you

but the one

that stuck out

for me

yesterday

is in the

message version

in Romans 8

and it says

this

I felt like

God was speaking

this to me

and I'm sharing

it with you

take what you

will

those who

think they

can do it

on their

own

end up

obsessed with

measuring their

own moral

muscle

but never

get around

to exercising

it in real

life

those who

trust

God's

action

in them

find that

God's

spirit

is in

them

living

and

breathing

God

obsession

with self

in these

matters

is a

dead

end

attention

to

God

leads us

out

into the

open

into a

spacious

free

life

and that

reminded me

of our

verse this

morning

talking about

being out

in a

spacious

place

that can

be a

real

space

or it

can be

a picture

of where

God wants

to draw

us to a

space

that feels

spacious

enough

for us

to be

safe

with

him

that

felt

safety

so we

can grow

in our

trust

of him

praying

sitting

with

God

sharing

our

hearts

listening

building

relationship

and wondering

in that

way of

spiritual

connection

builds

trust

so we've

got one

another

we've got

his word

we've got

prayer

and as we

worship and

give thanks

let's be asking

God to

strengthen

this trust

in us

and underpinning

all of these

rhythms

is an

attitude

of

being

willing

to

surrender

taking

what's

in our

hands

and being

able to

release

it

surrendering

our own

worries

our

resources

our

circumstances

our

relationships

to the

one

who is

able

to do

abundantly

so much

more than

we can

ever

hope

or imagine

so just

as we

come towards

an end

I want us

to just

jump back

and think

about this

notion

of there

being

more

than

enough

because that

caught my

attention

and in

2

2 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter 9

it says

this

God is

able to

bless

you

abundantly

so that

in all

things

at all

times

having all

that you

need

you will

abound

in every

good work

as it is

written

they have

freely

scattered

their

gifts

to the

poor

their

righteousness

endures

forever

now he

who supplies

the seed

to the

sower

and the

bread

for food

will also

supply

and increase

your

store

of seed

and will

enlarge

your harvest

of righteousness

you will

be enriched

in every

way

so that

you can

be generous

on every

occasion

and through

us your

generosity

will result

in thanksgiving

to God

Philip's doubt

was met

with Jesus'

multiplication

of a

limited human

resource

that was

offered to

him

and because

of that

he shared

a miraculous

and abundant

provision

that fed

everyone

and

there was

more than

enough

let's

remember

that

Philip's

lack of

trust

was gently

pointed out

to him

by Jesus

asking a

pertinent

question

I love

that

so I

wonder

is Jesus

asking us

any questions

this morning

is he

asking us

to notice

what's in

our hands

is he

asking us

to

notice

the need

to release

what's in

our hands

to him

to trust

him

with it

more

to

choose

him

to be

at the

top

holding

our

rope

is he

asking us

what does

more than

enough

look like

and what

does it

mean

to be

generous

with the

enough

that we

have

that is

left over

for us

to share

so we're

just going

to pause

and before

we draw

our time

to a

close

with one

last time

of worship

through song

in the

quiet

let's

ask God

is there

a question

he is

asking us

this morning

to stir

some noticing

in us

Lord we

pray that

you would

help us

as we

go from

this place

notice

what you're

asking us

today

how may

we grow

in our

faith

learn to

trust you

more

notice

what's

in our

hands

and offer

it to

you

wholly

Jesus

would you

help us

we ask

in your

name

Amen

Amen

Thank you.