The 5 P's Of God's Provision

Title: “The 5 P’s of God’s Provision” Script: Phil. 4:19

Type: Expository Series Where: GNBC 9-10-23

Intro: “A young woman brought her fiancé home to meet her parents for thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, her mother told her father to find out about the young man. The father invited the fiancé to his study for a talk." So what are your plans?" the father asked the young man. "I am a biblical scholar," he replied." A Biblical scholar. Hmmm," the father said. "Admirable, but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in?" "I will study," the young man replied, "and God will provide for us."

"And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she deserves?" asked the father. "I will concentrate on my studies," the young man replied, "God will provide for us." "And children?" asked the father. "How will you support children?" "Don’t worry, sir, God will provide,". The conversation proceeded like this, and each time the father questioned, the young idealist insisted that God would provide. Later, the mother asked, "How did it go, Honey?" The father answered, "He has no job and no plans, and he thinks I’m God!" (Andrew Chan – Sermon Central). Provision is topic on everyone’s mind, not just young engaged couples! All of us are concerned.

Prop: Examining Phil. 4:19 we’ll see the 5 Important “P’s” of God’s Provision.

BG: 1. Coming to the end of the letter. Again, in some ways a thank you letter for financial gift.

2. As Christians, we can have assurance of God’s care for us and provision.

3. Final message in Phil. Hope you have enjoyed.

Prop: Let’s examine Phil. 4:19 to realize 5 Important P’s of God’s Provision for the believer.

I. The Provider: “my God”

A. First, we must realize the Importance of correctly Identify our Provider.

1. Paul personalized his relationship with the believer’s Provider. Notice, in writing here to the Philippians, Paul didn’t use the inclusive term, “our” God, or the term “your” God. In ancient Phillipi people worshipped many deities. Illust: In our day if something good happens to someone if they receive some windfall, the average American is inclined to credit “Karma” with that provision. Paul would be quick to correct that misconception and make absolutely certain that it’s not the impersonal force of Karma, but rather the Person of Jesus Christ Who is our Provider.

2. Paul not only makes this specific, but he also makes it personal: “my God”. Paul is speaking from experience! This is the God of the Bible. This is the same God who the great heroes of the faith trusted in the OT. Illust: If you were to go to Hebrews 11 and begin to read, there you would see a list of those heroes. You would see such notable characters as Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, and Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, David, and Samuel. Do you know what those individuals would have had in common? Each one of you could tell you stories of how their God supernaturally provided for them!

B. Have You Correctly Identified Who Your Ultimate Provider Actually is?

1. If you want to have confidence in God’s ability to provide, we must be specific about which God we are ultimately speaking. (Read Col. 1:15-18) In this passage we see the supremacy of the Person of Christ. In relation to God, in relation to His creation, and in relation to His Church!

2. If we want to have confidence in God’s ability to provide, we must know Him personally. It’s not enough, when talking about God to say: “Well Pastor, your God will provide., but rather, do you have the confidence to say with the Apostle Paul, “My God!”?

a. The Names of God in the Bible make for a great study. However, more than simply a theological assignment, the names of God should infuse the Christian with confidence in the Lord’s character. Jehovah Jireh means “the Lord will provide,” and it’s one of the most popular names for God. To understand this name for God more fully, we need to go back to the story where we first hear this name for Him. Jehovah-Jireh is first used in the Old Testament with a story of Abraham. There in Gen. 22:2, the Lord instructs Abraham to take his only son, Isaac, and sacrifice him. Abraham went to an undisclosed location to sacrifice his son, only to have God stop him at the last moment. Then Abraham saw a ram caught in some thorny bushes, sacrificed it, and called the place, "Jehovah-Jireh" - "The Lord will Provide."

b. Abraham calls the place, “God will provide.” The word there is richer than our English denotes. “Provide” in Hebrew is also “see to it,” which is similar to the name a woman named Hagar calls the Lord in Genesis 16:13 – “The God who Sees.” That Hebrew word also means “perceive” and “experience.” 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.