God Will Provide Series

Introduction:

A. Once there was a Christian woman who lived next door to an atheist man.

1. Every day, when the Christian woman prayed, the atheist man could hear her.

2. The atheist thought to himself, “She sure is crazy, praying all the time like that. Doesn’t she know there isn’t a God?”

3. Many times while she was praying, he would go to her house and harass her, saying “Lady, why do you pray all the time? Don't you know there is no God?” But she kept on praying.

4. One day, she ran out of groceries and as usual, she prayed to the Lord explaining her situation and thanking Him for what He was going to do.

5. As usual, the atheist heard her praying and thought to himself, “I’ll prover to her there is no God once and for all.”

6. The atheist went to the grocery store, bought a bunch of groceries, took them to her house, dropped them off on the front porch, rang the doorbell and then hid in the bushes to see what she would do.

7. When the Christian lady opened the door and saw the groceries, she began to praise the Lord with all her heart, thanking God for providing for her needs.

8. Immediately, the atheist jumped out of the bushes and told her, “You silly lady, God didn’t buy you those groceries, I bought those groceries for you!”

9. The Christian lady replied with great joy, “I knew the Lord would provide me with groceries, but I didn’t know he was going to make the devil pay for them!”

B. Today, as we continue our Transforming Truths Sermon Series, I want us to be blessed by the truth that God does and will provide for our needs.

1. This is a truth that God has made known to us throughout the Bible.

2. This truth is communicated in the beginning words of the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” (NIV)

a. “The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need.” (NLT)

b. “God, my shepherd, I don’t need a thing.” (Message)

3. In Psalm 37:25, David declares: “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”

4. Consider the way that God provided for hundreds of thousands of Israelites as they wandered for forty years in the desert.

a. Moses reminded them about this saying: “2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD . 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.” (Deut. 8:2-4)

b. Their experience with God in the desert was a daily reminder of the way that God provides.

5. Consider the promise of Jesus in Matthew 6: “31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

a. When we seek first God and His kingdom, then we can know that God will provide what we need to eat, drink and wear.

6. And finally, Paul confirmed the truth that God will provide, saying: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19)

C. In addition to those assorted verses that convey the truth that God will provide, I want to remind us of two biblical examples that drive home this truth.

I. Abraham Experienced God’s Provision

A. The first biblical example of God’s provision that I want to share with you is from the story of Abraham.

1. Throughout Abraham’s journey with God, God revealed himself as the God who will provide.

2. Abraham’s father, Terah, felt the call of God to leave the Ur of the Chaldeans and to head to Canaan, but when they got as far as Haran, they settled there.

3. But then after Terah died, when Abraham was 75 years old, he experienced a call from God to leave Haran and go to a land that God would show him, which was Canaan.