God is My Provider
By Pastor Jim May
This will be a short message. This has been a very trying and tiring week for us all with the passing of the storm and the events that have taken place. I feel that God would have me to just give you a few words of encouragement from the Bible and then probably, unless the Holy Spirit says otherwise, I will let you go early tonight to get some rest and prepare for the week ahead.
The stress of the past week is apparent in the face of everyone you meet. Sleepless nights in the heat of summer and concerns over what lay ahead have taken a toll. This afternoon, as I attempted to gather my thoughts for tonight, I was having a struggle with concentrating, fighting to stay awake while I typed the sermon for tonight. The message that I attempted to write just didn’t seem to be inspired, so I asked the Lord to show me what He would have me to say and I believe that He led me to a passage of scripture that will benefit us all.
In the days to come, there will doubtless be shortages of all sorts of things. Even today we were told that the drug stores were not accepting new prescriptions, or even renewing old prescriptions for a while. It wasn’t made clean how long this would last simply because the pharmacist doesn’t know either. The same may hold true in the next few weeks for bread, bottled water and most of the staple foods.
Some were saying this morning that the meat department of Wal-Mart was completely empty but that more was on the way.
We’ve already mentioned the lines at the gas pumps. With so many people vying for the same things, some things may be a little harder to get than normal.
It’s as though we are experiencing right now, just a little taste of what the whole world will face during the time of the Great Tribulation. Just think of what you are feeling right now, seeing right now, and think of it then as being worldwide and not just here in Louisiana and happening to people without any hope of things getting better.
Is there any doubt in your heart and mind that the words of Revelation could come true?
Revelation 6:4-8, "And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."
I don’t like what we have to face right now, while there is hope for a better tomorrow, and there is hope for recovery to a time of plenty. I certainly don’t want to be here when things are far worse than right now and with no such hope to recover.
If you have never been shaken before, get ready because your faith and your trust in God could soon be shaken to the core. God is going to separate the sheep from the goats in an effort to make us all “sheep of His pasture.”
As we began last week to hear rumors, true or not, of criminals stalking the streets to hi-jack cars and steal whatever they could get their hands on, I began to hear even people who claim to be Christians, saying that they were going home to get their guns and arm themselves. If that trend continues we will be living in a powder keg, waiting for the explosion to come. I feel that things have calmed down a little and perhaps we can avoid that kind of thing. I certainly hope so.
But the uneasy feeling and the fear that comes with such things can grip even the heart of a Christian if we allow it to. What must the world feel if we, who should trust in Jesus for our safety, will resort to drastic measures out of fear? They don’t have the same source of peace and faith in God that we should have as Christians. Now is when we will find out who really trusts God and who doesn’t!
2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Even though we believe this and confess it, the tendency for many is to sick into worry and fear in the face of the reality of life that lies before us.
With all of that in mind, and knowing that all of us will be affected, I felt led to read and comment just a little on what Jesus had to say in his Sermon on the Mount. Let us look at Matthew chapter 6.
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
First let us never forget that Jesus loves us all and that he has promised to supply our every need. But even if you have to do without a few things for a while, will you still trust God to supply what you really need? Doesn’t he have all things in His hands?
Your life, your hope and your salvation do not depend upon whether there is plenty of meat at Wal-Mart or gas at the pump. Your life is in Christ and your life is much more than just food, water and the things that this flesh needs to survive. I believe that all of us will survive and God will bring us through. But I also believe we are in for a time of testing of our faith and trust in Him like many of us have never seen before.
Matthew 6:26-28 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
If God can feed a prophet named Elijah in the desert by making the ravens bring him fresh meat and bread every day, and give him fresh water from the brook Cherith, I believe that God can take care of us too. (You can see that story in 1 Kings 17:3-6)
God feeds and cares for the animals, the trees and the lilies of the field. Sure they go through times of want and times of plenty, but they survive and flourish because God takes care of them.
Matthew 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Matthew 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Who is your Provider? Is it the job where you work? Is it the account you have at the bank? Is it the garden at your home? Is it the local drug stores and grocery stores? That where you pick up the provision, but they aren’t what makes it grow. Your Provider is God and He will never forsake you, so don’t fall into worry and fear.
Matthew 6:31-33 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
We, as Children of God and Christians, have a higher “worry” if you will. I don’t like that word “worry” because worrying won’t change a thing. We can worry ourselves to death and face an early grave and still not change anything that we worry about.
Have you ever heard of “Self-fulfilling Prophecy”? It’s a term that I heard a long time ago and it refers to people whose thinking and actions cause the very thing that they think about to come to pass. Let me give you a few examples.
I know of a man who worries all the time that people are out to “get him”. He trusts no one and tries to find the conspiracy in everything that happens, no matter how small or trivial it might be. That man has such a spirit about him that it causes people to shy away from him, and not to trust him. In turn, no one can trust him. His distrust and worry greatly affects his ability to work proficiently. And so, the day will come when his worst fears will probably come true and he will be fired from the job. On that day he will most likely say to himself, “See, I told you so. I knew they were out to get me.” He will have brought about the fulfillment of his own fears because of his own actions. That’s “Self-fulfilling Prophecy”.
In another instance I know of some people who believe that their finances are going to fail. Because they are fearful of this happening, they spend like crazy to get everything they want, knowing that when they have to declare bankruptcy that they will be able keep much of it without paying for it. That kind of irresponsible action is certain to bring about the fulfillment of their fears.
We, as Christians, should never have those kinds of attitudes. We must know that God is our Provider. It is God that watches over his children as the “apple of his eye”. It is God that promises in Philippians 4:19 that He will, “… supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
We should be concerned for souls and for obeying the call of God on our lives and let God take care of the rest.
Finally, let us read Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
God knows that each of us has enough trouble, responsibility and cares of life to bear each day that we live. We certainly can’t handle it on our own and we can only bear the load one day at a time by His grace alone.
The trouble of today is enough – don’t take on tomorrow’s trouble before it comes. The cares of life for today are enough – don’t try to think of what tomorrow’s cares will be. The evil that is in the world and affecting your life today is enough to bear – why worry about tomorrow?
Never forget that your God, your Father in Heaven, is in control. You are His child. He has bound himself, by His own promises and His own Word, to meet your every need.
Don’t worry about what tomorrow holds because Jesus is holding it for you. He is going to see you through it all. AMEN
