Okay. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Tim Began. I'm one of the elders here at First Baptist Church, and it is such a joy to be able to bring to you God's Word this morning. Before we get started, we want to take a moment and congratulate two couples in our church, although I don't see one of them, but that's okay. The first, we would like to congratulate the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Diana Murphy, and I'm not sure they are here today, but we want to, in the next few weeks, make sure that you give them a big congratulations as they begin this wonderful chapter of married life. And second, we would like to congratulate John and Julie Casilias on the birth of their newborn daughter, Sophia Grace. And I am told that the baby and mom are both healthy and resting well. Now, can everybody hear me? Is this audible? Okay. Now, if you would, please turn with me to Matthew chapter six, as we continue the series on the Lord's Prayer. We are the third sermon into this text, and we will have most likely two more to finish the Lord's Prayer. And today, we're gonna be reading from Matthew 6, 9 through 11, The word of God says this. Pray then in this way. Our father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And our text for today, give us this day our daily bread. Let's pray. Father, we have learned from the Lord's Prayer that you are holy and that we must see you as holy in order to worship you rightly, to hallow your name rightly in order for our hearts to be changed so that our will would truly desire the kingdom of heaven. and that the yielding of our wills on this earth would be completely yielded to your will so that the kingdom of heaven would come in each of us. Father, today open our eyes to a deeper understanding of your provision for us and how you are faithful in every way and that our faith would increase by way of grateful hearts for all that you have provided for us in this life. And we ask this in your most holy name. Amen. Today, we come into the second portion of the Lord's Prayer, which are found in verses nine through 13. And they deal with man's needs. Jesus takes us from prayerfully fixing our eyes on our heavenly Father and his kingdom, and our yielding commitment to his divine will, to our earthly needs. From the highest point of heaven, down to earth. Spiritual needs to the earthly needs. Our text, once again, is Matthew 611. I've entitled the sermon, A Petition of Dependence. A Petition of Dependence. Matthew 611 says, give us this day, our daily bread. And as we take a look at our text this morning, I want you to see five elements that make up the petition. Number one is the substance, the substance. Number two is the source. Number three is the supplication. Number four is the seekers. And number five is the schedule. So this is where we will be headed. We will start with the substance, which is, of course, the bread, which in Hebrew simply means a loaf of bread. The request really is for the most common of all food. To the Jews, bread was made of wheat, other grains prepared in a wooden kneading bowl, in a kneading trough. And the dough, of course, would be mixed with leaven and made into thin cakes which might be round or oval and then baked. In fact, so common was bread even back in Jesus's days that there were public ovens which were used for the baking of the bread. And the baking bread was included even as a trade in that time just as it is today. But it must have been a genuine concern to the Christians of that day. Many of them, just for believing that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, suffered horrible persecution, not only at the hand of the government, but often from their own families. To the Jews of that day who chose to follow Christ, oftentimes they literally became outcasts from their own families and could no longer even worship at the temple. So that the cost was great to follow Christ. Oftentimes it required losing almost everything that you had. So daily bread back then to the Christian was a real concern. Today, in our Western culture, food is readily available. We worry more actually about overeating than we do for the need of food. And if you need bread and water and milk and vegetables or meats, not that far away. And there's plenty of it. And it comes in a great variety of personal preference. We get bread as a free snack before we even begin to think of ordering an entree at most dining restaurants. It is optional. We live in a land of plenty. But understand that this part of the disciple's prayer, as is with other parts of the prayer, it extends beyond its simple description. There are deeper meanings here, and you see the word bread here not only represents food, but it is symbolic of all our physical needs. Martin Luther observed this to mean everything necessary for the preservation of this life. Everything necessary for the preservation of this life. So it's not just diet. The bread of life is a healthy body, good weather in which to work in. It would include maybe a house, a wife, a husband, children, a family, a car that works well, All that bread includes is all that God wills for our needs. All that God wills for our needs. We get some insight to what Jesus had in mind when he instructed us to pray for daily bread. So if you would, please turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter eight. Deuteronomy chapter eight. The scene in chapter 8 is after the children of Israel, they had wandered in the desert for 40 years. Why did they wander? Why? Because of what? Because of unbelief. Because of unbelief that God would give the children of Israel victory over the Canaanites to go into the Promised Land And those who did not have faith 40 years earlier have now died. And the children are left. And Moses says in Deuteronomy 8, verses three and four, and he humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know that he might make make you know that the man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh. And I want you to hear this. Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. The direct point I want you to see is that God provided for them in such a way that their needs were met in a wilderness. In a wilderness, they had food and water and by God's grace, clothes that did not wear out and footwear that did not burst because their feet didn't swell from the heat. We are taught by Jesus to pray for daily bread, which is all that the Father wills us to have so that we would lack in nothing that would cause us to do the Father's will. Think on that. When you pray, give us this day our daily bread, we pray for all that God wills and deems as our need. to live well in every other area of our lives so that we can live out the first petition of the Lord's Prayer of hallowing God's name. This is amazing to me, that we are given all we need in order so that we might live rightly, that we would see God as holy, loving, and faithful, causing us in return to love and to trust and obey him as we live. In this way, it magnifies his goodness as he provides for all of our needs. The second point today is the source of our daily bread, the source The petition has a source from which the bread comes, and it is always easy to look past the source so we can get to the bread, get to the meal. But the provider of the bread, no matter what that bread may be, is God, our Father, who is in heaven, who, looking down, and sees our needs, faithfully provides for them. God provided for Adam even before he was created. Man was God's final creation and he says in Genesis 1 20, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth and every tree which has fruit yielding seed, it shall be food for you. God provided for man even before man had a thought he needed it. and yet he has done the same for you and for me. Have you thought about what you want for dinner next Sunday or in two and a half months? Well, God has already seen to it that whatever potatoes or vegetables or meat you will need or what juice or milk you may have to drink, that it is already growing or it is already grown and is simply waiting for you. God provided for Adam and he has continued to provide abundantly for humanity in an unlimited variety of ways. Once again, you still have your hand in Deuteronomy. Moses instructs the children of Israel in verse 1, the entire commandment that I am commanding you today, you shall be careful to do. The nation has the promise of prosperity for being an obedient nation. They are to be fully obedient, and Moses reminds them of God's discipline in verses 2 through 6 that over the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, that God both tested them and humbled them because of their parents' lack of faith in God. And in verses 7 through 10, Moses describes the beautiful land that they are about to inherit in the land of Canaan. And in verses 9 and 10, he says that they will have such plenty that they are going to be fully satisfied. They will lack nothing and that they will have an abundance. Verse 10 says, you will eat and be satisfied. Then comes the warning in verse 11, beware lest you forget your God by not keeping his commandments and his statues which I am commanding you today. The warning is, don't eat and be satisfied with what God has provided for you. And then in verse 14, your heart becomes lifted up and you forget Yahweh, your God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of slavery. He then says in verse 18, he implores them. But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who is giving you power to make wealth, that he may confirm his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Now it will be if you ever forget Yahweh your God and walk after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. So if you follow the progression of the warning in verse 11, number one, if you forget God, And you become ungrateful, you become indifferent to him for what he has provided for you. And when you forget God, what happens, you focus on yourself and sin enters in. And because that's all we can do outside of God, God is quickly forgotten. And in verse 14, the third thing is your heart becomes so lifted up because you have forgotten Yahweh, you begin to take credit for God's blessings. And your heart says, I've done this. I've done this. I am responsible for my success. In other words, I am a God. and you have quickly elevated yourself onto the throne of your own existence. Verse 14, the words shall remember. In the Hebrew, the word remember means to be mindful, to reaccount, to think on, to recall to the mind with intentionality. We must do this considering all we have in this life, owing it all back to God. That phrase in verse 18 that says, for it is he who is giving, in the Hebrew, this is interpreting Yahweh who is granting you, permitting you, who is devoted and dedicated to you, literally has the picture of God delivering to us, producing for us all things with his outstretched hand, over us, for it is he who is giving you power, and it is God who gives us human strength, abilities in order to work, necessary to live, and he binds it together with his covenant to his children. God's provision is directly tied to God's covenant which is tied to God's never-changing character. The same warning is for us also today, First Baptist Church, that we also must be aware, as we consider the petition of give us this day our daily bread, that our hearts would not forget God. And the sin of pride enters in and we are only a step away from placing ourselves on the throne of our own life instead of remembering often our Father in heaven who has provided all needs and even given us in an overabundance. The question is, Does God's provision for you and your family create in you a heart of worship? Does God's kindness in granting you more than you need draw your heart to be grateful to the point it moves you to love God more? It moves you to be more devoted to him out of thankfulness. That's what's at stake here, Israel, Moses says, indifference. And you become lazy, buffed up, unguarded, and you blaspheme God by forgetting him and robbing him of your heart's worship. And all be taken away in a second. As we remember Job, who lost it all in a matter of hours, He responded, Job 1.20, the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, and we say, blessed be the name of the Lord. Every physical thing we have comes from God's provision through the earth. And it is the sin of indifference or ingratitude not to daily recognize the gifts God in thankful prayer. As we continue to ask him, is that both, is that thanking him for what we have and asking him to continue to provide our daily needs. And the warning is obvious, isn't it? Too often, when all is well in our lives, we are so often tempted to think that we are the ones who are doing well for ourselves. We earn our own money, we buy our own food, we buy our own clothes, we pay for our own houses, yet even the hardest working person owes all that he earns to God's provision. We have seen God's provision for humanity and creation and proven by caring for the children of Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 8. Church, our life, our breath, our health, good or bad, all we possess The very talents, the skills that we obtain, all originate from God. He alone is the one who supplies each resource to us. James 117 is a fantastic reminder of every good thing given, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. That phrase, every good thing, is laced with the attribute of God's kindness. God's kindness. God wants to do this for us. It pleases him to do so because he is such a kind God. And he is no less kind if he provided only our basic needs and withheld the overabundance that can cause Christian complacency. The phrase every perfect gift means completion. It means completion, meaning we are never in want of anything that we truly need. Third point in our message today is the supplication. What are we really asking for? We see our supplication in the word give. In the word give us this day our daily bread. This really is the heart of the petition because it acknowledges our need and our dependence upon God on every level, on every level. Even though God has already provided it, we ask him for our daily needs. And in the asking, it recognizes our dependence on him in the past and his provision for us in the past. In the asking, it humbles us for today, realizing we are dependent on his kindness at each moment for all things. And in the asking, it gives us hope and assurance that God, in providing in the past and in the present, and that he will be sure to provide for us in the future. We should thank God in prayer whenever we eat, Every time we see Jesus eat in the Bible, he prays, and he asks the Father to bless it. Certainly, if Jesus was thankful for his daily needs and his daily food, what a great example it is for us, and we do so because God is faithful. Are you aware of the number of things that must go right for you to eat food two weeks from now? Think of how many semi-miraculous things must be true for people in America to eat next week. First of all, plants have to continue to be capable of turning sunlight and dirt and water into a noble potato. Think about that. Photosynthesis. Starlight grown potatoes. Every potato you've ever eaten, was pretty much made of sunlight. Then you need farmers, and harvesters, and sorters, and packers, and sellers, and truckers, and grocers, and 10 million other people that I'm not gonna mention. We are dependent and vulnerable people. We just don't know it. We just don't live in the awareness of it. All of that entire food chain that turned hydrogen into starlight, into potatoes, into food on your table, every process, every person along that chain was made and is sustained and upheld moment by moment by our Father who is in heaven. He's the Father of lights who comes down with every good and every perfect gift. God has created the earth to produce all that we need and he has given us the ability to obtain it. Which brings up a good question. How does God provide for us? We must understand that God's primary way of providing for us is through work. That's how God provides for us, is through work. Genesis 3.19 says, by the sweat of your brow you will eat. That's work. God told Adam and after the fall of mankind, when he ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree, even before, in Genesis 2.15, he says, then Yahweh took the man and set him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. Adam wasn't laying against tree trunks all day looking at blue skies and flowers. He worked. God has given to us primarily the way to care and work for what our needs are. And guess what? His primary way to care for those who are unable to work is through the generosity of those who can, whether directly or indirectly. As far back as when the Lord gave Israel his laws in Leviticus 19, 9 through 10, he made provision for those who are in need and would not suffer them to go without. You don't need to turn there, but Leviticus 19, nine through 10 says, now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest, nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard, you shall leave them. for the afflicted and for the sojourner, sealing the commandment with, I am Yahweh your God. Meaning, this is how you do it. This is how you do it. The Lord always had in mind that his people would care for the needy, and so that in caring, it would point the needy to a loving God that provides for his children. Some of you may remember when my son Cory was sick with cancer 21 years ago, by God's sovereign design, I was unemployed for the first time ever. And I had no idea how I would pay the mortgage. A man knocked on my door one evening that I have never met before. I don't know him. And he said, we have been praying for your son in our church, and the Lord put on my heart to make one mortgage payment for you. God is always faithful. God will provide your needs. And God uses those kinds of moments to increase our faith when we don't worry and when we trust in him. You know, sometimes God provides through miraculous means, such as the children of Israel providing manna, as well as providing for Elijah in 1 Kings 17. Elijah was a prophet of God, and he came and told King Ahab that Jehovah God was not going to allow it to rain for a few years. Well, God brought on the drought in the land, just as Elijah had predicted, but God provided for Elijah. The Bible says, so Elijah did what the Lord had told him to do. And he went to Kareth Valley, east of Jordan River, and he stayed there. And the ravens, ravens, brought him bread and meat in the morning. I'm gonna interject here that ravens are scavengers. And God used the instinct of a scavenger to provide for Elijah in that moment. They brought him bread and meat in the evening also, and he drank water from the brook during the time of this drought. And we see in 1 Kings 17, two through six, and then in verse seven, the Bible tells us that the brook dried up. And in a fascinating story of trust, God provided for Elijah by the way of a widow having a handful of flour in a bowl with a little oil, jar with a little oil in which the widow and her son and Elijah were provided for, the Bible tells us, many days. Until it rained, the scripture tells us. What a display. of the omnipotence of God, the faith of a widow to give all she had to God's prophet, and they were all sustained according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by the hand of Elijah. First Kings 17, mark it down, go back and read the chapter, the fascinating chapter. Notice, however, in that same chapter in verse 5, it says, talking about Elijah, so he went and did according to the word of Yahweh. Elijah did what the Lord had told him to do. Don't expect God's provision if you are outside the will of God. If he has called you to do a certain work for him, or sacrifice your time to further the kingdom of heaven, and you have not yielded or obeyed, choosing rather to stay in your comfort zone, common excuses might be, I don't have time to do this. I don't have time to serve. God can't use someone like me Money's just too tight. Can't give much. I just don't feel God has called me in any way. That's really narrow-sighted, isn't it? Time. God has given you time. It's his time. and we are called to redeem it for his glory. God doesn't ask you most of the time to do comfortable things. He most often takes us out of our comfortable things and puts us in areas where we must depend on him for our strength, my trust in him to serve. because God uses all those in the church to serve. We are the body of Christ and all are important and critical to the health of the body. God can use you. The question is, are you willing to yield and gain God's greatest blessings by being obedient? God always provides for those who are faithfully obedient to him. God knows and provides for your needs even before you know you need them. Psalm 37, 25. I was young, and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken. or his seed begging bread. If you have to give up something for God, an offering, a sacrifice of time, God will see to it that you have everything you need and the benefits of obedience is far greater than any sacrifice we could make. God is faithful. However, we need to be cautioned also Jesus teaches in this one phrase, give us this day our daily bread, the word give, give means that we are to ask in moderation. We are not to ask for luxuries, we are not to ask for riches or overabundance or for cares of the future, but for daily provision. In other words, we are to pray for our needs, not our needs. Our greeds, as one commentator put it. Turn with me please to Proverbs chapter 30, where we will take a look at verses 7 through 9, which includes phenomenal prayers for us to pray. Proverbs 37 through 9 says, two things I ask of you. Do not withhold from me before I die. Keep worthlessness and every false word far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny you and say, who is Yahweh? Or lest I be impoverished and steal and profane the name of my God. The first request, keep worthlessness far from me. meaning anything that is ungodly, anything that's falsehood, things that are empty, vain, that have no spiritual value in godliness, that which would keep me from drawing closer to God, keep that thing far from me, that's a good prayer. That's a really good way to pray. Even if I think it's good, it keeps me from you, take it. Second request, keep every false word far from me. This refers to our thoughts, false teachings, actions that are deceptive and trickery, anything that does not line up with the word of God, godly conduct. Keep it from me. Help me not to have conduct, that shames God. Both requests are for God to give me strength and wisdom to keep worthlessness and false doctrines away from me. Keep them distant. Help me not to allow them to have an entrance into my life. Now, getting down to the pertinent portion of this text, the psalmist prays Feed with me the food that is my portion, meaning the food that is prescribed or decreed for me, and the wisdom in asking for what God has seen fit for me. We see in the concern that if God should give too much, It sounds an awful lot like the warning of Deuteronomy 8, doesn't it? It says, lest I be full and deny you and say, who is Yahweh? So that's one possibility of great concern that he has on his mind. And then he says, I deny, I deny, we might say, any need for God. That we might forget God altogether because I am so full. I don't see any need for him. The benefit. That's really dangerous ground to stand on. The next concern is nearly as dangerous. He says, or lest I be impoverished in steel and profane the name of my God. What he's saying here is lest I become so ruined and so poor that in stealing my food, I literally put my hands on God and hold him back from being able to bless me by providing my daily needs. Don't let me physically arrest God and hold him back in giving me a blessing because I'm so needy. I take God out of the picture and I hold his blessing from me so that I steal from God, satisfy myself. So Father, don't let me be that poor so that I lose my faith, lose my confidence and my hope in you. These are really phenomenal ways for us to pray. Being dependent upon God for your daily bread means realizing that what we need relates directly to His will and His plans for what we need. What we truly need is defined according to the purpose God has for us in that moment, as difficult as that may be to accept at times. We move on to our fourth point, which is the seekers. Give us this day our daily bread. Notice the words us and our is woven through the disciples prayer quite a bit. In verse 9 it says our father who is in heaven. In verse 11 it says give us this day our daily bread. In verses 12 and 13 it says, and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew verses 12 and 13. One thing we see very clearly is that within the prayer God's children should not only be concerned for our own dependence and trust in God for supplying our needs, but that we should be very mindful to pray for the needs of others. And to that end, we can help to supply those needs. We do not stand alone in the body of Christ. Jesus is speaking to the disciples here. But this is a prayer, this is a model prayer for all Christians. God's children, those whom he died for, the elect, the church that Jesus is the head of. And at the very first mention of the Messiah in the New Testament, we go all the way back to Matthew 1.23, it says, Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means God with us. God with us. It's a beautiful verse. Translates itself. God came. for all those who would be his own. His love was for all the world, people from every tribe and nation. Church, our prayers can't ever be so focused on ourselves that we forget others. God is for us, and yes, he is for you when you claim that promise. But God is for all those who are his, and so we pray. and absolute dependence on God, that as he provides for us, that we should also be concerned for the needs of others. Lord, give us what we need to live well for you so that we might live a life of gratitude toward you so that we can be generous and to bless others so that they see your love through me. Listen to what Paul says in writing to the Philippian church. I want you to turn there with me, please. Philippians 4, 18 through 20. Philippians 4, 18 through 20. Says, but I have received everything in full, and have an abundance. I have been filled, having received from Epaphrodites what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. First thing, that is so important. The motives that drive us in our service to others and our ministries, our sacrifices, including worship and our offerings, that they would be pleasing to God. That's the point, right? That's why we do this, to glorify God. There's no compulsion. There's no forcing of the time. No giving in resentment or in serving. But here in the text we see a great example of sacrificial giving from a relatively small church who didn't have much. They were laborers, merchants, farmers, ordinary Christians. But they saw a need, and out of love for Paul, they gave of themselves. And in that heart of compassion, Paul describes this sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. Now Paul goes on to make this claim that should cause all of our anxieties to vanish. Verse 19. He says, and my God, this is personal, so this is for you, this is Paul, but this is for you. That God has shown his faithfulness to me. Paul says, through your hands, I've seen God's faithfulness. He says, And my God will fulfill all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Now, let's break it down. He says, and my God will fulfill. Now, this is a future active verb that is singular in its meaning, so it points to God who does and will continue to do, will fulfill. It's very interesting in the Greek definition included in this description are these words, to cram a net to the point it can hold no more, will fulfill. Listen along as I read from Luke 5 verses four through seven. And when he had finished speaking, this is Jesus talking, he said to Simon, put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch. Simon answered and said, master, we labored all night and caught nothing but at your word. God's word is his will, it's always the right thing. I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish and their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat for them to come and help. And they came and filled both of the boats. so that they began to sink. Go back to Philippians chapter 4 verse 19 in our text. And my God will fulfill all your needs. That word all means individually. Each and every need collectively that you have will be met. And that word need You guessed it. It means daily sustenance as we continue through life's journey. This phrase reveals the extent to which God would supply for the Philippians' needs according to his riches because he owns it all. God gives to us out of the immensity of his internal wealth So what is Paul saying? He's saying, Philippians, because of your sacrifice to me, God will cram your nets full of blessings. He will fulfill all your needs, and not just for this life. God does it for eternity because he is the source of all blessings. Paul concludes Philippians 4 in verse 20, he says, now to our God and Father, that's who we're praying to, our Father, be the glory forever and ever, amen. God in providing the needs of Paul through the hands of the Philippians promises to meet every daily need they might have. And God does the same thing for the needs that we might have through all his riches that we have in Christ. So that God would daily, moment by moment, into eternity and forever be glorified through us. And that is the purpose of our existence. Jesus says in Matthew 6, 25 through 32, you can turn there, it's actually just a few verses from our text today. He says, for this reason, I say to you, do not be anxious for your life as to what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor for your body as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food in the body than clothing? For all these things the Gentiles, meaning the unsaved, eagerly seek. For your heavenly Father knows what you need, that you need all these things. And then he ends with something that we have already prayed for in the Lord's Prayer in the first three petitions, doesn't he? but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. What was most important to Jesus is that we should seek his kingdom to come on this earth in our own lives and in the lives of others by any means that God has provided for us. That we should seek his righteousness. That we should desire to be obedient and live lives that are holy so that God's will would be done through us. What Jesus is teaching is that Yes, clothes and food are needful for everyday life, yes. But they are very, very secondary. Just prior to this, Jesus reminds us that birds are provided for by God's hands, lilies are clothed in more glory than Solomon's temples by God's design and that no matter how much effort we might put into physical fitness, we can't add any length of time to our own life outside of God's will. So we are not to worry. We are to live by faith in God our Father who provides all we need to do his will. Christian, if your heart is one that allows, that hallows God, you have placed God in your life in his proper place. He's Lord of your life. If you desire to obey him fully, just as the angels in heaven obey him perfectly, we don't, I understand, we sin, but after the sin We desire to do what's right, we confess the sin, there's repentance, there's godly sorrow, but your desire is for God's kingdom to come, to be active as you yield your life to him. God will see to it that if all you have is a cardboard box for a tent, and close, that is God's will for you, and that he will supply the bread you need for that day. And we really should live in that mindset. We may have stored up earthly provisions, but we hold those provisions out with open hands for God's purposes, not our own. so that God can help us to provide for the church and for others. We don't put confidence in those earthly things. God provided the provisions, and we understand that they can all be gone in a moment, in a fire, a hurricane, or any series of heaven-allowed satanic attacks that might take it all in graphic fashion. James 4.14 puts our life into perspective. He says, yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. We are guaranteed nothing beyond the breath that is in our lungs right now, and we may not even finish exhaling. What's the point? that we should earnestly desire what is most important to God. His holiness being displayed in your life, His kingdom coming to this earth is to be your utmost desire. And it starts with your self-will yielding to His divine will. yielding your life at whatever cost, every hour, every day, because nothing you do in this life is without an eternal consequence. So live like it. We live like Romans 12, 1. Therefore, I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice. That's what your body is, a sacrifice. Living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. You live like that, earthly bread will be radically unimportant because you have an eternal heavenly kingdom mindset. not on the bread that goes bad and become worthless in time. The last point of today's sermon, and this goes very fast, is God's schedule. We've really discussed it almost all through the sermon. God's schedule for you is our provision. It's daily, right? The meaning is simple. Day by day, he supplies for our needs. the bread of our necessity in which we are to rely on the Lord for one day at a time. To rely on the Lord daily with no concern for tomorrow or the future is a testimony to others of our contentment in the goodness of God and God's faithfulness to us in the past, in the present, and into the future. We saw how God provided himself faithful to provide manna and quail to his children in the wilderness, provided for Elijah through ravens, put him right next to a running brook in the time of a drought, and then provided for him by way of a widow with a son having just a bowl of flour and a jar of little oil. Don't ever think you don't have enough to give back to God. God provides for his children's needs daily because he is a faithful God. And as your Heavenly Father, when you pray daily for God to provide your needs, you can be assured that he will provide everything necessary for you to fulfill his will. for you so that you would glorify God most because you're most satisfied in him. Quote by John Piper. In closing, let's learn from a man of prayer whose name is George Mueller. George Mueller lived from 1805 to 1898, and he is widely considered one of the greatest men of prayer and faith since the days of the New Testament. He lived in Bristol, England, and he is best known today for his orphanages. During a time in England when most orphans lived in miserable workhouses or on the streets, Mueller took them in, fed them, clothed them, and educated them. And through his orphanage, Mueller cared for as many as 2,000 orphans at a time, more than 10,000 orphans in his lifetime. Yet, he never made the needs of his ministries known to anyone. except God in prayer. Only through the annual reports did people learn after the fact what the needs had been the previous year and how God had provided for them. Mueller had over 50,000 specific recorded answers to prayers in his journals, 30,000 of which he said were answered, guess what, the same day or the same hour that he prayed them. Think of that. That's 500 definite answers to prayer each year, more than one per day, every single day for 60 years. The children are dressed and ready for school, but there is no food for them to eat, the house mother of the orphanage informed George Mueller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at their tables He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children, just as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. Mr. Mueller, he said, last night I could not sleep. Somehow I knew that you would need bread this morning, so I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in. Soon after, there was another knock on the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George, could you use some free milk? George smiled as the milkman brought in 10 large cans of milk. It was just enough for 300 thirsty children. Number one is the substance, this is our daily bread. Two, the source is our Heavenly Father. Three, the supplication is the dependence on God to give us all that we need daily. Fourth is the seekers, the children of God, God's family, of God, looking to the needs of others for the glory of God. Lastly is the schedule. daily reliance and dependence, trusting God for all our needs according to what he deems those needs to be. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you are a God who is fully faithful in providing all that you deem best for us. providing for us in every way so that our nets would break if we realized the depth of the provision that you have given. Father, may we come always thankful for how you provide. May we be ever mindful of the dangers that come in being ungrateful and taking credit of your benefits, but instead, May we as a church count our blessings and in turn look for ways to bless others while seeking first the coming of your kingdom and yielding our lives to your will and our church so that you would be most glorified in us. We ask this in your most holy name. Amen. Please stand as we sing.