Sheldonville Baptist Church
May 10, 2026
      • Bible Trivia
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      • Revelation 21:1–7NKJV

  • So Far To Go
  • When We See Christ
  • Oh Great Is Our God
  • Above All
  • Since Jesus Came Into My Heart
  • Shout To The Lord
  • Introduction
    What do you believe God cannot do?
    Most of us would be quick to say that there is nothing God cannot do. He is omnipotent—all powerful—which means He can do anything that can be done. This is true.
    We might say that God cannot sin, or lie, or do a host of things that would violate His own nature and make Him not God in the process. This is also true.
    But neither of these truths change the question: what do you believe God cannot do?
    Perhaps if we ask it a different way: what limitations in your life bind and enslave you and you feel cannot be loosed?
    The truth is we all have them. We feel enslaved by some fear, or some need, some personal inability, or some recurring sin that keeps us bound and has convinced us that we are going to stay bound until we die. As believers, one of the allures of Heaven is to finally experience true freedom unbound by what enslaves us in life.
    So, what do you believe God cannot do?
    God needs us to believe He can do anything. If we believe He cannot do something, we are right. We don’t limit His power, we limit His permission, but the effect is the same for us.
    The amount of belief He needs from us is so miniscule as to barely be there. We need to believe just enough to accept the help He gives.
    The trouble for most of us is that on some level, we believe ourselves irreversibly enslaved, deserving to subsist on bread and water, waiting to be set free only in some vague future state.
    Transition
    The good news for us is that Jesus can do quite a lot with bread and water, as He demonstrated in Matthew 14.
    Because there is nothing that God cannot do.
    Illumination

    I. Jesus Makes Bread and Feeds the Believing, Mt. 14:13-21

    Matthew 14:13–21 NKJV
    13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

    A. The Context of this Miracle

    The “it” that Jesus heard in verse 13 was the beheading of John the Baptist.
    We definitely get the sense that Jesus wanted to get away from the constant press of crowds and pressing of adversaries to a place where He could grieve and rest.
    Unfortunately for Jesus, the crowds followed Him.
    Fortunately for the crowds, Jesus was moved with compassion
    this phrase is all one word in its original language
    the word means to feel deeply within in such a way that it causes you to act
    the word describes what we would experience as parents when our children are truly injured or genuinely endangered and we are driven to act because inaction would destroy us

    B. The Nature of this Miracle

    They were in a deserted place, literally a place where no one lived
    There were no markets
    There were no fields
    They had a kid’s big lunch of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish
    Even understanding those as small, that’s a big lunch for one person
    Even imagining them huge, that’s a small lunch for a crowd
    They had a plan, send everyone away: there is simply nothing we can do about it. The need far exceeded the resources or even the imagination.
    Jesus had a different plan. Multiply the resources on hand and feed everyone.

    C. The Scope of this Miracle

    5,000 men, plus women and children. Conservatively, we are talking about 20,000 people. Probably more.

    D. The Perspective of this Miracle

    Here’s a question we seldom ask: whose perspective is this event recounted in?
    Answer: I would describe it as the narrator’s perspective, someone completely outside of the experience.
    It’s instructive and allows us to see what is going on
    It’s limiting because we have to imagine what the experience felt like
    We usually imagine what the disciples experienced, but they were not the primary recipients of this miracle
    We often overlook the crowd, except to gawk at its size. But they were the primary recipients of this miracle.
    They were obsessed with Jesus
    They didn’t think about food until they were hungry…a bit late
    Their experience said that hunger was just something they were going to have to live with
    When the word came down that Jesus was going to feed them, they simply sat down as instructed.
    They received the provision that they needed but didn’t have and couldn’t see.
    They believed just enough to sit down and let Jesus provide food for them.

    II. Jesus Solidifies Water and rescues the Believing, Mt. 14:22-33

    Matthew 14:22–33 NKJV
    22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

    A. The Context of this Miracle

    Immediately after the last one
    It was afternoon when they started sailing, evening found Jesus alone in prayer having dismissed the crowds.
    It was the middle of the sea
    The sea was familiar to many of the disciples, but not all of them
    The sea was small enough that you could see land, but big enough that you couldn’t reach it
    The sea was terrifying in a storm
    It was later than the middle of the night, dawn was approaching in the fourth watch (approximately 3-6 am)
    The Disciples were in a boat, in the middle of the sea, in the middle of a storm, in the middle of the night, BECAUSE they had obeyed Jesus!

    B. The Imperative of this Miracle

    The instruction: Jesus commanded the Disciples to be of good cheer?! Literally, have courage, confidence, and even happiness in the moment.
    The reason: Jesus was there
    The reaction:
    do not be afraid (literally, filled with fear)
    they were afraid
    they were afraid of the storm
    they were afraid of Jesus

    C. The Nature of this Miracle

    The craziest response, “command me to come to You on the water.”
    The craziest command, “Come.”
    The craziest act, “Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus.”
    What makes this all crazy? Water doesn’t work that way. You can’t walk on it! Reality eventually caught up with Peter and he remembered that water doesn’t work that way; he began to sink. And he cried out to Jesus.
    Jesus caught him, pulled him back up, and they walked to the boat together (after Jesus chastised him).

    D. The Perspective of this Miracle

    While the perspective is still that of the narrator, Peter was the sole person involved so we have little trouble putting ourselves into his shoes (or bare feet as the case may be).
    Peter did not have enough faith to walk on water
    Peter did have just enough faith to obey a command
    At least, he did until he started looking at the world around him as he obeyed. It reminded him that he couldn’t do this
    he had enough faith to ask for help
    once helped, he could—and did—walk on water. Jesus’s presence made all the difference.
    He believed just enough to let Jesus rescue him and help him obey.

    III. Jesus Walks By and Heals the Believing, Mt. 14:34-36

    Matthew 14:34–36 NKJV
    34 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36 and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.
    A. This miracle is short, but still potent
    The people recognized Jesus and believed He could heal them
    They asked Him to simply walk among them, allowing them to touch Him. As many as did so were healed
    They believed just enough to let Jesus heal them.
    Conclusion
    In these three stories we see:
    People who believed just enough to let Jesus provide for them
    People who believed just enough to let Jesus rescue them and help them obey Him
    People who believed just enough to let Jesus heal them
    What can God not do? Provision. Rescue. Ability to obey. Healing. What scenario might we face that these do not address? None. They remind us that there is nothing that God cannot do.
    And they remind us that we only need to believe just enough to let Him do it.
    Which brings us back to our original question. What do you believe God cannot do? And why would you believe that?

      • Matthew 14:13–21NKJV

      • Matthew 14:13–21NKJV

      • Matthew 14:22–33NKJV

      • Matthew 14:22–33NKJV

      • Matthew 14:34–36NKJV

      • Matthew 14:34–36NKJV

Sheldonville Baptist Church
information@sheldonvillebaptist.org
(508) 384-2397
http://sheldonvillebaptist.org
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