October 26, 2003, SM: Daily Needs

October 26th, 2003, Sunday Morning

"Daily Needs"

Trusting God to meet all your needs for today

OPENING: Matthew 6:9-13

In today's society, man is consumed not just with maintaining a job but planning his future years in advance because he intends to live until a "ripe old age" of his choosing

He plans for retirement by investing in the stock market, 401K retirement plans, and putting cash under the mattress--never creasing to think he may not have enough set aside for his children's college fund or that retirement dream house on the coast.
He plans for survival come forecasted weather disasters, power blackouts and the dreaded "Y2K" rollover by overstocking cellars with canned foods, batteries, flashlights and chemical gear; some were paranoid enough to purchase underground bunkers, fallout shelters and kits to air-tight seal their windows in the event of nuclear power plant fallout
People feared the worst because they had no faith that God would take care of them when disaster struck--they only believed they could take care of themselves

When God had Moses lead Israel out of Egypt in Exodus, God told Moses and the people many times that he would take care of them and He would meet their daily needs but the people didn't trust God to provide for them

Exodus 16:14-20: When God introduced manna as food to the people, He told Moses to tell the people to gather just enough food to consume by day's end; yet some preserved it, hoping to eat it the next day (and it quickly spoiled overnight)--an indicator the people didn't trust God to provide for them the following day
Exodus 16:22-28: And when God told Moses to tell the people to gather twice as much manna on the day before the Sabbath so they wouldn't gather (work) on the appointed Sabbath Day of rest; yet people were found working--looking for food on the day of rest
Numbers 15:32-36: And regardless of God's rule not to work the symbolic Sabbath, one particular Sabbath, a man was found working--simply gathering sticks

Exodus 16:2-3; Numbers 11:1,4-6: But meeting the minimal needs of the people was insufficient to them--they complained that all they had to eat was manna and no meat; they literally cried, en masse, at the doorways of their houses, wishing they were back in the bondage of their enemy Egypt where they "remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes."

Deuteronomy 8:2-3: Why did God feed the people just simple manna for 40 years? (Exodus 16:35) He purposely let them go hungry just a little each day to cause the people to realize they should be fully dependent on God to sustain them--that the people cannot sustain themselves
- Deuteronomy 8:17: And why would God allow you to go hungry? To prevent you from always being filled and satisfied to conclude that all you have done and own was by your own strength and power--the ultimate lack of dependence on God
  - Daniel 4:30: Like Nebuchadnezzar, former king of Babylon: God gave him many victories and near the end, the king declared his kingdom was built by himself for the purpose of his own glory
However the people did not learn this lesson of humility and dependence; they wanted to be full--and full of meat--no matter where it came from--and they literally acted like childish cry-babies, recalling the former days of when Egypt cared for and fed them generously

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: Consider if Israel was constantly in trouble with God for complaining of the lack or food and water or if what really made God angry was the people never learning to depend on God to meet their needs

The "Lord's Prayer" that Jesus teaches we should pray is symbolic--not necessarily literal--in several ways:

THE LORD'S PRAYER
Matthew 6:9-13

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

It petitions God to provide us today's--and only today's--food
It, overalls, shows our trust and dependence on God because we're asking Him to do things for us
It shows we're not praying just for our own needs but we're praying on the behalf of others when we say, "OUR Father," "Give US," "forgive US," "lead US," and "deliver US out of temptation"
(ASIDE: Greek translation of "Give us this day our daily bread" = we command God to give us bread coming this day)

Jesus warns us not to be concerned about anything beyond this day you're in right now

Matthew 6:31-32: Don't plan ahead--worrying about what to wear, eat or drink in the upcoming days; God knows you have these daily needs and He will provide for today if you trust Him
- Matthew 6:34: Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."
  - You don't know if you will live tomorrow or if Christ will Rapture His children away today so pray just for today's and only today's needs
- 2 Corinthians 12:9: And when we are weak and weary, God says it's not food or money or power we need but simply just His grace
- Matthew 6:19: While it is wise to do some planning for the future like life insurance for surviving family members, don't establish permanent treasures on earth that you will rely on later (like burying money caches, storing away comic books that moths can eat or coin collections that rust can erode)
  - Remember that wealth, power and property, while earned over years' time, can vanish overnight:
    - The economic impact of 9/11
    - The fall of Enron and how it cost the entire retirement packages of the employees
    - The de-valuing of 401k's and retirements packages for all Americans between 1998-2003 and today...
    - The personal and commercial cost of the August 2003 northeast U.S. power blackout
    - The massive California wildfires of late October 2003 that took homes and lives
- Matthew 6:26: If God feeds the birds and animals of the world daily--and they won't work, i.e. sewing fields to grow food--then how much more value are you to Him in that you will also be sustained each day?
- Matthew 7:11: And if evil knows how to give gifts to their children, then how much better will God's gifts be to His saved people?
- Romans 8:32: But while we pray from today's bread, God has already freely given us the most valuable gift known to man: the gift of eternal life --but you must want to accept it in order to become saved

For the Israelites in the wilderness after Egypt, God cared for them through manna; today, we "provide manna" to each other by helping each other out

The verse, "Give us this day our daily bread" isn't literal--it can imply you need help for a variety of problems you must face today
God sometimes answers prayers by sending a person or group of people to your aid--whether you know them or not; be humble enough to realize you can't sustain yourself and pray for God to "send" you help

Proof that God cares for His own (the saved believer):

Psalm 37:25-26: For the entire life of this Psalmist, he declared he has never seen God's saved people forgotten by God or begging for bread
TRUE STORY: Dalton Potter was a poor barber whose wife was a teacher's aide, living in a small town
- He didn't put away money for retirement or for a proper burial because he sincerely believed he only needed today's needs met so he didn't plan for death; he was uneducated but known as the "town clown"
- He died early at the cost of pneumonia and the entire town overcrowded the church at his funeral service because Dalton had touched each and every one of the towns-people's lives at one time
- Without a penny from Mrs. Potter to begin with, the pastor raised $20,000 dollars in a single day from the town folk which was more than enough to pay for a proper burial for Dalton--another example of God taking care of His own--even AFTER their final day

CLOSER

John 15:13 and Romans 5:8: It's widely accepted that to die for a noble cause, for your friends or your country proves no greater love; this is exactly what Jesus demonstrated; He not only willingly died for save us but he died knowing that the world hated Him and would not believe or obey Him

Philippians 4:19: So ask God for today's "daily bread" and He will respond by giving you exactly what He knows (not what you know) you need to be sustained today

Matthew 4:4: And most importantly, you don't live by your "daily bread" alone but also by being completely obedient to God, as outlined in the Bible

THE LORD'S PRAYERMatthew 6:9-13

THE LORD'S PRAYER
Matthew 6:9-13