God Meets Our Needs

God meets our needs

Phil 4:19(KJV)

19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Phil 4:19(RSV)

19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Phil 4:19(NIV)

19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Phil 4:19(TLB)

19 And it is he who will supply all your needs from his riches in glory because of what Christ Jesus has done for us.

Personalized identification. Demonstrates how our spiritual needs are met in the Lord.

I. God meets our needs when we are in a right relationship with Him

A. A right relationship is based upon mutual commitment one to the other. A relationship is held together by commitment / covenant!

B. The Shepherd’s relationship to me begins with His commitment.

Sacrifices. "The good shepherd giveth His life" (John 10:11).

Transforms. "He cares for and restores my soul" (Ps. 23:3).

Cares. "Calleth His own sheep by name" (John 10:3).

Guides. "He leadeth me" (Ps. 23:2).

Faithful: He has promised to never leave or forsake me and the scripture tells us that He is married to the backslider. When we are cold in our spirit or get far away from Him, He hunts us down and haunts us so that we can never live unhappy and say that God didn’t try to help us out of our misery.

C. Because the shepherd is committed to me, I should be committed to the Shepherd.

I Jn 4:19(KJV)

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

1. I must put Him FIRST in my life before other things (Mat. 6:33)

Many believers seek after the blessings, but fail to seek the one who blesses.

Many believers are busy seeking God’s hand rather than seeking His face.

2. I need to LISTEN & OBEY. "He leads me in right paths" (Ps. 23:3).

3. I need to FOLLOW Him closely. As long as I am close to the Shepherd, He can take care of my needs.

II. God meets our needs when we are totally and completely reliant upon Him for our provision

A. The principal roles of God in the scripture always name God as provider

1. Father: We are His children

2. Shepherd: We are His sheep

B. Why are we likened to sheep?

We often have no sense of danger. Sheep have no instinct to warn them of snakes, wolves, bears, parasites, etc.

We are defenseless w/out the shepherd. Sheep have no weapons to defend themselves, no claws, teeth, fangs, etc. "The wolf catcheth them" (John 10:12).

We are Dumb about many things, We don’t really know what we need. "As a sheep before a shearer is dumb" (Isa. 53:7).

C. Why is the Lord likened to a shepherd?

He knows us and what we truly need. "I am the good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of mine" (John 10:14).

He relates to us personally. "He calleth His own sheep by name and leadeth them out and when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice" (John 10:3,4).

He loves and cares for the sheep. "He (Jesus) was moved with compassion on them, because they were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd" (Matt. 9:36).

He provides for the sheep. "I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

He sacrifices for the sheep. "The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:10). "I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:15).

He protects the sheep. "Thy servant (David) kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went after him . . . and caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him" (I Sam. 17:34,35).

He feeds the sheep. "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies" (Ps. 23:5).

D. As the people of God, we need to place ourselves into the hands of our Shepherd Lord so that He may care for us.

John 14:1(KJV)

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

1. Comes from a gr. Word meaning to entrust ones spiritual well being to Christ.

2. Similar to placing your money in a bank for safe keeping and peace of mind.

3. It’s a simple thing for God to care for us when we entrust ourselves completely to Him. - Luke 12:22-31

4. The Lord has promised to personally direct our life only when we completely entrust ourselves into His hands. - Pro. 3:5-6

Not many people enjoy going to the doctor, but according to Reuters, in 1994, one London accountant to that to an extreme. The 63 man needed bladder surgery, but he couldn’t overcome his fear of doctors and hospitals. So he self-reliantly did what had to be done. He tried to perform the surgery upon himself. Tragically he got an infection and died. The coroner said, “Unfortunately, his drastic remedy went wrong. A simple operation would have solved the problem.” Just as many don’t trust doctors and hospitals, many people wont trust God. In their self-reliance, they destroy themselves.