"provision" Series

“PROVISION” Matthew 6:11

FBCF – 3/7/21

Jon Daniels

INTRO – Vicki & I enjoy watching “The Food Network. “Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives” & “Beat Bobby Flay” are a couple of our favorite shows.

“Best Thing I Ever Ate” – another show on Food Network. All the FN stars share some of the amazing food that they’ve had all over the country – like a BBQ sandwich that’s worth driving over 1500 miles for, or bacon apple maple donuts, or shrimp & alligator cheesecake that you’ll find in New Orleans, of course.

We Americans like our food, especially us folks in the Deep South where we specialize in fried foods: fried chicken, fried pork chops, fried okra, fried catfish. We will fry just about anything.

- At state fairs across the country, you’ll find fried Twinkies, fried Snicker Bars, fried butter, fried beer, & a concoction called “Fried Elvis on a stick” – take peanut butter, bacon, chocolate, combine them w/ banana batter & deep fry it.

Truth is that most of us never really worry about hunger in a serious way. Most of us don’t pray, “Give me a meal today or I’ll go hungry.” The majority of us have plenty to eat, & many of us eat too much.

- Thankful for our food pantry to help those who do struggle with not having enough food.

“Pray Like This” series – So far as we continue to walk through the Lord’s Prayer, we’ve looked at Jesus’ instructions to us to tell us to call on God as “Father – Daddy.” We’ve considered the weightiness His name as holy, & the importance of submitting & yielding to His will. Today, “Provision” is the word that I’ve chosen as the title for the sermon.

EXPLANATION – Matthew 6:11

The most obvious application of this portion of the Lord’s Prayer is that we are asking God to sustain us physically. We know that He is able to do that.

- God provided manna for His children in the wilderness in the OT. John 6:31 – “Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

- Feeding of the 5000 in Matthew 14, & the feeding of the 4000 in Matthew 15.

God is our provider & we rely on Him to meet our daily needs. Doesn’t necessarily mean that He will rain down manna from heaven or turn a few loaves of bread & a few fish into a massive feast. He definitely still can do that & sometimes still does. But He’s the One who makes our work fruitful & productive & gives us the means to provide food for ourselves & for our families.

- Paul told the Thessalonian church in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “Don’t you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? ‘If you don’t work, you don’t eat.’”

- “Praying, ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ is a faith statement that is broader than asking for a sandwich. B/c ‘bread’ is a symbol word, you are asking God to bless your work so you can grow grain to make bread or earn money to buy bread. You are asking God to give you both the [means] (how you get physical things) & the result (the food you need to eat.)” (Elmer Towns, Praying the Lord’s Prayer for Spiritual Breakthrough, p. 130)

But the request, “Give us this day our daily bread”, is not just about physical provision. It’s about God meeting other needs in our lives that are less tangible, but are important, nonetheless. It may be emotional needs, relationship needs, health needs, practical needs, & certainly spiritual needs. Think about what Jesus said later on in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:7-11. Let’s flip over there.

We know that good parents are not only going to provide for their children’s physical & nutritional needs, but they’re also going to do everything they can to meet their children’s other needs.

- Mamas going out of their way to take care of their children’s needs – late-night talks about friends & boys; talking w/ teachers & coaches when there are problems at school; going shopping for just the right prom dress.

- Dads making sure that their boys know how to be men; teaching them to change a tire, or catch a football or a fish, or finding someone to give them guitar lessons.

- Moms & dads making sure that their kids know about the Lord; Moms & dads making the church a priority in their family’s life; teaching their children to pray & showing them by example how to walk w/ the Lord.

And as Jesus said, if we, as imperfect parents are deeply concerned about meeting our children’s needs, how much more will our Heavenly Father meet our needs! “I’m talking to a God who loves me enough to hear my heart & is strong enough to do something about it.” (Ben Stuart)