“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)
APPLICATION – We can always trust the Lord to faithfully provide for our needs.
Praying, “Give us this day our daily bread”…
DIMINISHES OUR FEARS & ANXIETIES – Americans are full of fear & anxiety. The US is one of the top 10 most stressed-out nations in the world w/ at least 55% of its population saying that they were stressed out yesterday, & that survey was taken in 2019 before the pandemic hit. (https://www.statista.com/chart/17822/share-of-the-population-that-experienced-a-lot-of-stress-yesterday/). And according to the American Psychological Assoc, money is the #1 cause of stress in the US w/ 72% of Americans reporting being stressed out about money at some time in the previous month. (https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-the-main-causes-of-stress-3145063)
Our material & monetary needs cause the greatest amount of fear & anxiety in our lives.
When fear & anxiety begin to take over our minds, it’s because we’ve lost our focus on the One who will always faithfully provide for our needs. How do we know that He’s going to do this? B/c it’s not just what He does – it’s who He is. He’s Jehovah-Jireh. Let’s talk about that name.
- Genesis 22 – God instructed Abraham to take his only son Isaac up on a mountainside & sacrifice him to the Lord. Abraham didn’t understand all that God was doing but obediently took Isaac up on the mountain. He bound him up, put him on the altar & was about to plunge a knife into him when God called out to him & stopped him. Abraham saw a ram caught in the thicket & sacrificed it instead of Isaac. Genesis 22:14 – “So Abraham called that place The Lord will Provide.”
- We can’t help but wonder what was going through Abraham’s mind. Surely his fear & anxiety was off the charts at this moment! But we find out something about his faith when we read in Hebrews 11:19 that “Abraham knew God’s character and power enough to trust that if God took Isaac at that moment, because of all God’s other promises about Isaac, Abraham knew God would fulfill His word even if He had to raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham was doing this difficult task with assurance in his heart.” (https://www.christianity.com/wiki/god/what-does-it-mean-that-god-is-jehovah-jireh.html) Your fear & anxiety diminishes when you know God that personally & you trust him that deeply.
- The meaning of these words here tells us that when Abraham calls God Jehovah-Jireh, he isn’t just saying, “God gives the goods!” He is saying, “You see/experience all this need of mine and make provision for it.” It is deeply personal. (https://www.christianity.com/wiki/god/what-does-it-mean-that-god-is-jehovah-jireh.html)
Providing for your needs is not just what He does – it’s who He is.
DEEPENS OUR TRUST IN GOD – God has been so good to us, hasn’t he? In every situation in our lives, we can see His hand at work if we will look.
It’s easy for us to say that God is good when things are good. But what about when things aren’t so good? What about when our faith is being severely tested? What about when life is caving in on top of us? Can we still say that God is good? Will we still say that God is good?
- Allen Gardiner, missionary, experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the Savior. Despite all of his troubles, he said, "While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me." In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, "I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God."
Praying “Give us this day…” deepens our trust in God. Trust always involves a test. There will come moments in our lives when we have to ask, “Do I trust God to be who He says He is & do what He says He will do?”
James 1:2-4 – “Count it a all joy, my brothers [& sisters], when you meet trials of various kinds, b/c you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect [mature] & complete, lacking in nothing.”
- “testing” – the verification of your faith; the proof that your faith is genuine
- “steadfastness” – patient endurance; a holding out hope
The prayer, ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ is a very simple, but profound prayer of faith. In it we are saying, “Father, I trust you today to provide for me.” And when we see that He does - & He always does – our faith deepens a little more. Then should He give us tomorrow – b/c none of know if we will have a tomorrow – we trust Him again, deepening our faith a little more. “God, I trust you day by day. I’m not going to worry about tomorrow. My confidence is in you b/c I’m your child.”
DEVELOPS OPPORTUNITIES TO WITNESS – Friend on Instagram yesterday posting videos of him & a buddy bass fishing. Caught some nice ones. Casting an attractive lure out into the water. Problem for the fish is that that lure is hiding a hook that will suddenly & radically the direction of its life.
That’s what’s happening all around us. Satan is casting attractive lures & baits in front of us all the time. And so many people are taking the bait, & when they do, he sets the hook, & suddenly & radically changes the direction of their life.
- That lure may be the love of money
- …sexual pleasure & immorality
- …illicit relationships
- …a lust for power & influence
And now as a result, there is such a lack of hope in our world today. All around us, people are worried, scared, confused, deceived, sick – physically & spiritually, in pain in every area of their lives b/c they’ve bought into Satan’s lies & now they’re hooked. Now their lives are so messed up & they’re looking for answers, looking for a way out, looking for hope.
B/c you & I know the Lord & know that He is our Father who always meets our needs, we know that He will meet their need for salvation & eternal life. We know that He will give them the hope they’re looking for, the answers they’re looking for, the way they’re looking for. And b/c He’s met our needs & we’ve learned to trust Him, those opportunities for us to tell others about Him come our way all the time.
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAY – Praying “Give us this day…” diminishes our fears & anxieties, deepens our trust in God, & develops opportunities to witness. Let’s trust Him today!
