I wanna take you down a little bit of a memory lane for Burnt Hickory. For more than 50 years, God has been at work here. Building a church that is reaching the families in the heart of West Cobb and Paulding County impacting the nations and really pointing people to Jesus. From the very first gatherings in a small space to where we are today, God has shown up faithfully in every step, providing leaders and resources and vision beyond what any of us could imagine. I truly believe though we're sitting at yet another tipping point for his church and his community. We have an opportunity right now to take the next step and continue the story of what God has been writing through this church from the beginning. You know, when Burnt Hickory first started as a mission in 1973, a small group of about seven to 10 families felt a calling to reach the families in the rapidly growing West ,Cobb.
They started meeting and praying, inviting their neighbors and laying a foundation for a church that would deeply care for the people of this community.

Well, welcome to the first service of the Burnt Hickory Baptist Church here on the 4th of November 1973.

In that first service, they were committed to prioritizing prayer, kids' ministry to reach every hurting person in this community and every family that was growing into the quote rapidly growing West Cobb area. And does that sound familiar to anyone? From those first gatherings, they quickly outgrew the space. They pooled the resources together, purchased land, and they built the first permanent structure of a church over at the corner of Du West and Du West. And over the years, they built educational spaces. They added worship services. We moved on to this current campus in 2004. We expanded our children's ministry. And most recently, we opened What's Behind Me, our new common space and counseling center to further reach what they said on that day one, the hurting needs of our community. And as a result of that, God's faithfulness has brought us to this point again, and we have run out of space again with his providing.
You know, through these years, God has blessed us with thousands of baptisms and answer prayers, kids coming to Jesus, teenagers being on fire for Jesus, entire families finding hope and grace here in every generation has contributed to the story. And today, we have an opportunity to take the next step forward and go all in.
We're calling this next season of our church all in. All together, all committed, and all for his glory. Let me explain that to you all together means every generation, every family, and every person that calls Burnt Hickory home, stepping forward in faith. This next project for us is not a project for a few, but it's a movement for all and the whole of the church. God is calling us to fully live missionally, to build a legacy just like those generations did before us. When God's people move in unity, what happens is his power is unleashed among us.

I think being all together means that we all have the same focus and goal.

Knowing how God is going to touch literally thousands of lives for eternity over the next 10, 20 years, and we get to be a part of that, that's just so awesome.

Secondly, we're all committed. Why? Because this is really and truly about faith and about our generosity. Together, our vision is that we have to build a new multi-purpose worship space with 2,400 seats to welcome this community. We need to expand our life group discipleship space into eight new life group rooms, increase our parking to welcome people onto this campus for all of our services. Every seat, every classroom, every parking space can represent a life in this community that's changed by the gospel. Listen, this is way more than about buildings. This is a chance for us as a church to grow deeper in our faith, to trust God can do more than we can imagine, and to prepare for the future. Everybody is called to this vision.

I wanna hear other people's stories of what God's doing in their lives and how he's working in their families and how their kids are seeing it. And I think it's just gonna be really exciting to see the way that God moves- Yeah. ... when we're faithful.

The third step is that we're looking to be all for God's glory. This is not just about Burnt Hickory, it's about us lifting up the name of God. Hi, in this community, as well as beyond this community, just like the goal of those. First families in 1973. Every step we take, every sacrifice we make points to the glory of God.

I think what excited me the most about Allen is knowing the history of the church and the vision of the church.

And it's cool to see 50 years later that they're still fulfilling that mission from the original, uh, people that we're sitting together meeting at the hardware store.

The vision of growth and expansion and even purchasing this land, knowing that they would build on that front lawn is really reassuring because it just feels as part of God's plan and we're just gonna put in place here at the right time, at the moment that we can expand.

I'm asking you to go all in with me in three different ways. Number one, I'm asking you to go all in and prayer. Pray for God, to unite our hearts, to guide our steps, to prepare us to be faithful, and ask God boldly to show us how we can serve this community for the generations to come. Secondly, I'm asking you to go all in in your presence. That just means we're asking you to step into this season as an active participant, to use your voice, your gifts, to move this vision forward. And to be involved with ministry, be involved with life groups, be involved with serving and opportunities, and be a voice to this community about the excitement of what is happening here. Third, I'm asking you to go all in financially. The reality is we have to have resources to continually do what we're doing now.
But would you just trust God to allow you to step forward in sacrificial generosity for this next chapter? This next opportunity is gonna be an opportunity for all of us to give boldly, to invest in the future mission of this church, and really for us to see what happens in only ways it happens when God does what he does for us. We don't know exactly how he's gonna do it in each of us and what each of us are gonna give, but we know that God has always been faithful. And he always moves and he will move even more mightily than any of us can think when we put our yes on the table. This is so much more than a building project. This next season is a generational kingdom impact project, and we have the opportunity just like those that we are standing on their shoulders today, to lay down tracks for many, many, many more years of ministry here at Burnt Hickory, really for our kids, for our kids' kids.
And at the same time, all of this is happening. What God is going to do in us is he's going to continually prepare us to be a planting church, a multiplying church, a church of leaders that is loving like we have never loved before. So here's what I'm asking of you. Are you ready to be all in? All together, all committed and all for his glory. Let's step forward in faith trusting that God will do what only he can do, and let's let him move mightily, and us personally, in this place called Burnt Hickory, and the community that he's put around us, and ultimately in the world.
Well, good morning, church, and it is great to see you here today. And also, it is great to see you at this moment where we are actually beginning this next season of our church's life that you just saw in the video that we're calling all in. Now, here's what I know about the building today. There is a lot of buzz, right? There's a lot of buzz going on, a lot of excitement going on about this next season, but on the other end, there's a whole lot of question, all right? There's a lot of question about what is this? What is all of this stuff? I mean, my goodness, we're not in the Book of Acts. We've been in that for like 10 months, right? What is going on with that? Secondly, you hand us this little, this guide. There's displays in the lobby, there's buttons on the wall, and I can hear it, I can hear it.
Man, Matt, this just seems like a lot, to which I would pause in that moment and go, "You're right. All right? You're right. It is a lot, but really and truly, it's a lot because today marks the journey for three years of what we as a church are going to see God do in us personally, do in us as a community of believers today and today marks the start of an opportunity or really an honor for us to get to see God in a super tangible way. Continue reaching this community. Now look, now here's what I wanna say. Okay, let me get the elephant out of the room. If you are visiting today, I already know you're like, oh, great, right? You're like, oh, great. You've been inviting me for like six weeks and now I finally came. Now, it would be really easy for me, or it'd be really easy, and this is in fact what most pastors would do if they're in my shoes.
It'll be really easy for me to go, "Hey, look, I'm talking to the family today. Come back next week. I promise it'll be different." But listen, I ain't doing that. And here's why, here's why. If you're a listen, listen, I think today quite possibly could be the best day that you could ever be at Burnt Hickory. And here's why. Not only are you gonna get to see today that God has been faithful since 1973 till today, you're also gonna get to see how he is faithful in this very moment that we're in and you're gonna get a slice of where we really and truly with all of our hearts feel like God is going to lead us into the future, all right? So here's the deal. If you leave here today with this taste in your mouth like, "Ah, that just ain't for me. " You probably aren't gonna make it anyway, all right?
I'm just gonna tell you, there's lots of great churches because today is an indicator of our love for this community. It's an indicator of our love for you and your family. It's an indicator and an unapologetic vision that we are trusting God to use us to reach the next generations, all right? That is all of what today is. So I'm just gonna say, I and we, we want to be a key influence in your life, in your family's life, in this church's life, in this community's life, in the nation's life, and we wanna be a key influencer of the gospel to this world. That's what this next season is about, all right? That's what, as we study what it means to be all in for Jesus. Listen, that's what it's about. Why? Because there's never been a moment that Jesus hasn't been all in for you.
That's why we chose that. Now, let me do this. I want you to take out this guide that you brought into the service with you. Maybe you got it in life group, maybe you got it as you're coming into the door, all right? The, the, for the 12 of you that aren't listening to me that are, that are already looking at this book anyway, let me just tell you, all right, what is in this book, all right? Let me walk you through a couple things and tell you a couple things about it. Number one, there's a place for you to put your name in the front of this book, and we need you to do that. Why? Because when you leave it in the seat that you're sitting in, in about 30 minutes, we need to know who to get it back to, all right?
We just need ... Now, look, we're gonna rough you up a little bit, but we're gonna get it back to you, all right? We, we just wanna know what's yours. Second thing we wanna tell you about this book is that every single week, all right, in this series, every single week, the sermon notes are gonna be in here. It's gonna be a place. The text are in here. Your life groups are gonna be using this as a launching point for the lessons. And you're like, "Well, Matt, I'm not in a life group. What does that have to do with me? " Bingo, you need to be in a life group, all right? You need to. In fact, right after this service, you need to walk right out these doors and go, "Hey, pastor said I need to be in a life group. What do I need to do?
" There's a guide in here for life groups. There's all the texts that I'm gonna be preaching for the next season in Burnt Hickory's life in this book. Also in this book, there's a letter from me on page one that just kind of explains where we're going in the book. And then the next set of pages really and truly just show a timeline of God's faithfulness at Burnt Hickory, and show a timeline from the beginning of Burnt Hickory. In 1973 till today, it shows that we've had the same mission, the same goals, the same purpose, and that is to point to the glory of God. And there has been a generation, you're gonna see this, there's been a generation that every single time has said, "Here we are, Lord." All right, that's in there. Also, specifically in this book, there is a, there's a guide in here that walks you through what our main purpose for this is.
And it shows you that our main goal in this whole initiative is there's a 100% attitude towards all of us saying, "God, what does it look like for me to be all in for you? " Now, that's more than money. It's more than the project. It's really a posture for all of us to ask ourselves, "What does it look like for me to say yes, Lord?" All right? It's in there with all of our lives, but also specifically in there explains that we're at a crucial point in this church's life to where we're going to either need to expand our campus or we're gonna need a whole bunch of y'all to come to a 5:00 AM service, all right? And we know which one you would rather do, all right? We know. So we're at a crucial point that we're gonna need to expand our campus.
And what that means is there's a moment where we're going to have to have the resources to be able to do that. 30 to 35 million dollars to do all of what God has called us to do. Our fundraising goal is 25 million going over and beyond. But, but let me say this about that 25 million dollar goal. If, if one of you today were to walk up to me at the Next Steps banner, all right, at the invitation today and go, "Hey, Matt, God put on my heart to pay this whole project off." Two things would happen in my life. Number one, number one, y'all would have to pick me up off the floor, all right? That'd be number one. But the second thing that would happen is this, we would still do every single thing that we're about to do. And here's why, because there is something to the family of God coming together and asking God, "God, what is there in my life that needs to point to you?
" All right? So what does that mean? That means we would do every single thing possible to learn to trust God, to learn, to look to God, to be all in and all things. There is a biblical model for God's people having a shared faith, a shared commitment, a shared mission, and a shared legacy that ... Listen, when God's people come together, we're gonna see this week after week after week. When God's people come together in his mission, he does exceedingly more than we ever think that he can do. We're gonna talk about that text in just a minute. All right? Two more things, and then I'm gonna, I'm gonna be quiet about the book. The first thing is this. There, there, there is a moment, there's, there's a thing in this text, or in the book that really explains all of the logistics of what we need, like auditorium space, life group space, parking space, the expansion of our missions programs, and our church planning programs.
It has all of that in there, as well as there's a website on our webpage being built to walk you through everything. I know that I'm not gonna do it justice, but if you were not able to come out to one of the vision talks, it is all on the website, all right? So it's all on there. And then this is the last thing, and then we're gonna jump into the text this morning. I want you to open the book, the very last page, and I want you to take out this little guide right here, all right? This little guide, all right? It's in the very, very back of the book, all right? Take it out and hold it. Now, now, no, nobody's asking for any financial commitments today, so don't be worried. And some of you are like, "I gotta go to the bathroom." All right no, no, no, that's not happening, okay?
It's not what we're doing, but, but, but, but let me say this about it. I do know that this guide in the next weeks is going to be one of the personal and one of the corporate indicators of us being all in together, all right? That, that's what I wanna say about this guide. It's gonna be one of, not the only, but it's gonna be one of those guides to ask ourselves and to show if we're all going, "Hey, God, what are you going to do? " Again, our goal is 100% participation, all right? 100%. What does that mean? We're all going to give the same amount. No, that's not what it means at all. But I do wholeheartedly believe, and let, let me say this as sparky as I can, because that's just personality, right? Here it is. If this is your church, if this is, if you, if, if, if you use the parking lot, if you use the facilities, and if you drink the coffee, you know where I'm going in that, right? <laugh>
If this is your church, there should be a part of you that doesn't ask, "Do I need to be a part of this project?" There should be a bigger part of you that says, "God, how generous can I be in preparing for the next generation?" All right, so we're praying towards this in a couple of weeks. Again, no financial commitment today, because I can just see it now. Invitation is like, everybody's gone. Well, I open my eyes ain't nobody here, right? That's, but here's what I want you to do. I just want you today just to make a commitment, to make a commitment. Does that make sense? Just Lord, what are you asking us over the next three years to say, "Hey, Lord, over and beyond where we're at and tithing, what are you asking us?" All right, man, we're gonna have a celebration day on March the 15th and it's going to be awesome.
All right. Now, to the text, all right, go to page 28 with me in your guide or fire up the app because there is one text that every time I think about God doing something big in my life or every time I get to kind of a, a stopping point or a decision point or a worry point or a point where I'm like, "God, I'm just not sure how you're going to do that. " There is one text in the book of Ephesians in the third chapter that comes to mind. Now, I love this because last week we were with the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts, remember? And actually, we were in Ephesus with the Apostle Paul. This week, we're gonna key in on a text to where he's writing back to that same church. Remember the riot? He, he, he almost got his, got his life taken by the riot.
This week, Paul, in a pastoral sense, is writing back to that church at Ephesus, and he's looking into their lives in the first two and a half chapters, and he's reminding them what God can do. He's reminding them how God can move in their lives. He's reminding the church of Ephesus, and he's reminding us about God's kindness, about the fact that God has chosen us for greatness. He has given us his Holy Spirit. He's freed us from the bondage of sin that God has invited us into his family, part of his household, and he's telling me and you that we can all now stand in his confidence. Now, look, if that's not enough to kind of write home with, Paul then gives us Ephesians chapter three, verses 20 through 21 to encourage us. It's gonna be our theme verse for these next couple of weeks.
Let me read it to us, and we're just gonna pull it apart this morning. Ephesians three, verse 20 says this, "Oh, if we could just hold onto it. " It says, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." According to his power that is at work within us, watch this. To him, be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever amen. Now, this is what we do would call the benediction of this section of Ephesians. This is what you would call where Paul re-rolls back through all of the promises of God, and then he hits the Paul's button and he says, "Now, let me remind you this, that God is faithful." But what I wanna do this morning is I want us to slow down in this text for a minute, and I wanna give you just a couple of all in truths to think about as we move forward, not just in these next six weeks, but as we move forward in having a lifestyle that in every step we take, we're simply saying, "God, where are you pointing me?
" So listen to me, get out of your mind. This is just about some money project for Burnt Hickory. Put into your mind that God, the moment you gave your life to him said, "Hey, be all in for me. " Let me reread it and give you a couple things right here. Watch the first part of this verse in verse 20. It says this, "Now, to him, who is able?" The question we gotta ask here, and I want some feedback in it, is who is able? That's great. God, me and three other people believe it, right? God. That's what it said. In fact, I want you to write it down. I thought it was gonna be pretty simple, but evidently it's not. Write this down. Number one, God is able. Listen, I don't know what's going on in your life right now. I don't know what's dragging you down, what's holding you back, or what you're kind of struggling in right now, but I want you to write this in your notes.
God is able. He's able. You said, well, Matt, what is he able to do, right? What is he able to do? Well, the text just told us, and he gave us a couple of things to, to describe this. He, first, God is really, when you read the text, he's able to do anything. But not only is he able to do anything, the text literally said that he is able to do immeasurably more. Have you ever thought about that? That God is able to do immeasurably more. In fact, let me read it again. Watch what it says now to him who is able to do immeasurably more. To which now I ask the question, because I'm a question asker, more than what? What is God able to do more than? Keep going in the text. Now to him, who is able to do immeasurably more than what?
Then all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. Man, I love those two words right there. You might want to circle them that God is able to do more than we ask, right? But he's also, this is the one we don't think about a lot. God is able to do more than we imagine. Ha- have you ever thought through this for a minute, the fact that, that we can't even adequately describe all that God can do? Hey, has this ever kind of hit your mind? It, I, because look, I know some of you are like so linear thinkers that like this and this stuff blows your mind. Some of you, you live your life in the clouds and you're like all the time, right? But listen, I want you to feel this for a minute. God is able to do more.
To do more than what? Matt. Yeah. That's it, right? More. More. We cannot put into words. We cannot think. We can't dream up in our wildest dreams. Whatever your wildest dreams are to think about the power of God, listen to this. They still fall short. Whatever your dreams are about the love of God and how much he cares for you, listen to me closely. It is still not enough. Still not enough. What does that mean? That means that God's power is unimaginable. Whatever you imagine it to be, you fall short. Not only is it unimaginable, but God's power never runs out. It never depletes. When you receive some of God's power, it's not like he's like, "Well, let me go back to the bank and plug back in for the evening." No, no, no. God has no limits. We have a limit to our power.
Amen. Some of you found that out yesterday at run for the sun. You know what I'm talking about, right? God doesn't. There is zero limit. It never runs out. Therefore, since it's God's power that is beyond anything we can think of, beyond anything we can ask, who deserves the glory? Look at verse 21. I'm glad you're asking these questions. Watch what it says. It says, "To him, to him be the glory. To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations for ever and ever amen. If one truth is that God is able..." Look, look, number two, truth, therefore, since God is able and God is all powerful, number two, write it down. It is God that deserves, Paul says, "All the glory." If God is the one that is able, if God is the one that pushes the needle, if God is the one that is in control, who deserves the glory?
God does. God does. But how much glory? All. What does that mean? It means that God doesn't deserve some glory. God doesn't deserve a little bit of glory. God doesn't deserve the leftover glory when everything else in my life is taken care of and done and finished. And if there's enough to give him some later, it means that he deserves all the glory. Why? Because it's his power. Because it's his presence, because it's his love that gets me to where I am. But where are the two specific places that God receives most of his glory on this earth? Paul just answered it. Number one's in the church, right? We just read the text. It's in the church. That's where he receives glory. Why? It's the body of Christ. It's the Jesus on earth that is us living at his hands and feet. And the second place he receives glory is through the sacrificial life and death of Jesus.
We, we just read it, right? And then where does he receive glory? Oh, I love this through every generation. That's his desire. Oh, listen to this. This is why I, this is one of the reasons I love Burnt Hickory so much. I know I got to say that because it's kind of like, like where I work, right? But listen, this is why I love Burnt Hickory so much. I love that God's heart is for every generation and so is Burnt Hickories. Did you realize that there are some churches that literally will look into a generation and go, "That is the generation we're gonna reach." It's not that we don't love other people, but that's the ones. Uh-uh, that ain't Godly. What's Godly is for us to look at every single generation after generation after generation and go, God loves them. God wants the glory from them and our role from birth to death is to reach every single generation in the name of Jesus.
Why? So that he receives the glory. So number one, he is able. Number two, God deserves all the glory, but how does this happen? Number three, we already talked about it. It happens through God working through us. Do you realize that's how God works? He works through us. God's desire, God's design. God's work on this planet primarily is through the people of God. Now this doesn't take away the power of God. No. It's his body, the church, it's us, that we are the ones that have been called to represent him in everything we do. The model. Listen to the model. Here it is. It has always been when God works in us, when God works through us, it shows the world who God is, and therefore it gives God the glory. And then the next step is that God God reaches the generations. It's over and over and over and over again.
And that's who we are. In fact, let me read the whole text again so it all makes sense together. Watch. It says this. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever amen. So here's the bottom line. Not just for the series, but for the rest of our lives walking in Jesus. When we personally and when we as a church, listen, when we live all in for the kingdom of God, when we're all together, when we're all committed, when we're all pointing at God's glory, here's what happens every single time. Ephesians set up chapter three happens. God moves. He moves. Say Matt, that's putting God in box. No, no, no, it's not putting God in box.
That's his plan. His plan is when we live all in, he receives glory and people meet Jesus. God moves. But the opposite is true. And this is the last point, the message this morning is this. Have you ever thought about the fact that the only limitter of God's power in this community is us. As powerful as it is for me to look at this and go, "Hey, God moves when we move." You know, the scary part about it is this. When I hold my life tight and I don't stand for the kingdom, God doesn't move. You say, "Matt, you're limiting God's power." No, I'm not. Can God move without us? Yeah, he can. But God's plan is always His church takes a step. His church sacrificially says, "Here I am, Lord." His church represents the love of Jesus, the power of Jesus, the character of Jesus, and his church shines a light into the world.
And what does God do? He moves. And he doesn't just move how we think he moves. He moves even more. Brother Hickory, listen to me. That's my prayer for this season. Yes, my prayer for this season is that, that God shows us how to be generous. Yes, God's prayer for this season is that all of us see what it looks like to take a step together. But I'm telling you, my step for this, my prayer for this season and my prayer for every single one of our lives is that in every single thing that I do, I simply say, "God, am I walking in you? " Why? Because every single time that I do that, God steps in. In fact, I want you to listen to some dear friends of mine talk about this in the life of this church, Bill and Jodi Ciciano. Watch this video.

I'm Bill Ciceliano, and this is my wife, Jodi. Us and our three children, Morgan, Colin and Will, grew up here in this church.

We just fell in love with the church and the way it ministered to us and our family.

We joined a life group, which was amazing. I was part of the choir for many years, and then I, I taught seventh grade Sunday school for 11 years. I just loved the youth, and I love the focus the church has always had on young people, both children's, uh, ministry as well as youth. It's the biggest blessing, uh, I could ever imagine. One other really cool thing is being that we, we joined in 97, you know, we got to see the first new building that we built on the old campus and saw the first building, the first phase on, on this campus go up and, and everyone since then. So it's just been amazing to see God bless this church. And we talk about growth in terms of size and number of people, but when you think about the number of lives that have been touched and changed over the years because of that, it's really a cool thing to see.

Just to see how the community has been touched, too, and the things that Burnt Hickroy has done to try to reach this community.

I think at the core of being all together is, is life groups. That is the life's blood of the church. And it's community. It's, you know, you know, when our son was in the hospital and we didn't know if he'd make it or not, um, having people there to be with you is a big deal. I think, you know, the life groups, uh, is what, the glue that holds Burnt Hickory together, and then that just funnels over into the, the larger church and reaching out to the community. The love and the community of Burnt Hickory that, that came around us was really incredible.
When we heard the, uh, vision for this all- in initiative, we knew pretty much right away that we wanted to be a part of it. Giving for me is actually easy. Some people, it's hard. I know that, but for me, it's actually a joy to give. I get a lot of satisfaction and joy out of giving. There's always something going on. There's always some place you can plug in. There's always some way that you can help and, uh, be a part of what God is doing, uh, here. God allowing us to be a part of that is a blessing.

And so I think that's been neat to see every time that we've taken that step that God shows up. Try and, and see. He will.

No offense, Bill, but I love that quote from Jodi where Jodi just says, every time we take that next step, God shows up. You know, there's a story from scripture, an event in scripture I wanna close the message with today that every time I think about God moving in an indescribable way when we say yes, it comes to my mind. And it's actually from John chapter six. I put it in your notes and it's a story of, yes, Jesus is the one that, that should receive the glory. Yes, Jesus is the one that has all the power necessary to feed the 5,000 men. And not to mention the women and children there, that Jesus has all the, the glory in it. But out of the story in John chapter six, there's one person that never gets any press when it comes to this, never gets any credit.
And it's the one that stepped up in the story and said, "Here's all I have, Lord." It's the little boy in the story of the feeding of the 5,000. It's the little boy that, that opened up the blessing of God to be multiplied, to reach generations. Say, Matt, generations, that's a little far, isn't it? We're still talking about it, aren't we? Generations. Let me read the story and we'll close with it. It says this, after some time, Jesus crossed to the far shore, the sea of Galilee, that's the sea of Tiburia sin. A great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs that he had performed and healing the sick. And Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover was near when Jesus looked up and he saw the great crowd coming toward him. He said to Philip all of this, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" Jesus asked this only to test him.
Oh, listen to this, for Jesus already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him. It would take more than a half year's wages to buy enough bread to have e- to, for each one to have a bite. Another one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother spoke up and said, "Well, here's a boy with five small barley loafs and two small fish." It's just a Jewish snack pack.
But how far, he said, "How far will, will they go? " Among so many. Andrews, like in other words, Jesus, there's no way that this is going to even make a difference. There's no way this sacrifice would even do anything. Why don't we just leave the boy alone? Oh, the disciples did not understand kingdom economics. But the boy did. In fact, the text doesn't tell us, but the boy had to surrender his lunch, knowing, "Wait, if I do this, I might not have any lunch, but oh, God is faithful." Listen to the rest of the story. The boys say yes and watch what Jesus does. Jesus said, "Have all the people sit down." There's plenty of grass in that place and they sat down, about 5,000 men were there and Jesus took the loaves. He gave thanks. He distributed it to those who were seated as much as they wanted.
Did you see it? The disciples were like, "Let's just give them a bite. Let's just give them a bite." And what did Jesus do? Jesus took it. He multiplied it, but he hawned anything they asked or imagined and everybody, watch what it says, got all that they wanted. He did the same thing with the fish. When they had all enough to eat, he said to the disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them. They fill the 12 baskets with the pieces left of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. In verse 14, don't miss it. Said after the people saw the sign that Jesus performed, they began to say, "Surely this is the prophet." Not a prophet, notice prophet is capitalized. The prophet who has come into the world. Did you see it?
The boy was all in. The boy gave it all. Jesus multiplied it. The people saw the power of God. The people saw who Jesus was. God received the glory. Church, listen, this is what happens. When we simply live a life that says, "All of me is all for you. " Move God. Look, it's so easy to disassociate ourself from this story because we're like, "Man, I ain't got no lunch to give. Oh, but I think we do. I've got my life to give. I've got my time. I've got my treasures. I've got my talents. I've got my affections." And what God says is when we all come together and stand in unity for him, he does what? He does best. And he not only multiplies, but he multiplies exceedingly more than we ever ask or imagine. Let me ask you three questions and we're done.
Number one, have you ever really thought about what God could do if you surrendered everything to him? Your pride, your agendas, your time, your talents, your affections, your treasures. I can tell you what he'll do exactly what he always does. Have you tried it? Question two, have you ever seen yourself like this little boy? Have you ever seen yourself as a difference maker? Some of you be like, "Man, I just don't have it. " Have you got Jesus? You haven't. All that he asks is for all of you. Just say, "Lord, I'm yours. Use me. " And here's number three. This one's gonna sting a little bit. Have you ever thought about that the only limiting factor of your life in Jesus is you? You ever thought about that? He wants to walk with you. The question is, we allow him.