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| SERMON #118 Give us this day our daily bread. MAT 6:11 Our fourth petition is amazing in that the natural mind cannot fathom how the Almighty, Holy, and lofty God and King could concern Himself with our daily bread. I met a man on an airplane who said he was the one that had invented the atomic bomb. He said, "Friend, if you understood the magnitude and the magnificence of the universe, then you would understand that if there was a God who was so great that He created all that, such an Almighty Being would not stoop so low as to take knowledge there were men on the earth, much less would He take any thought or any consideration of them. I just can't believe there is a God who created such a universe and then stooped so low as to concern Himself with such a trifling thing as a man." So I reminded him of PSA 8:3-6 where David said, "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet." This is a wonder that a human mind, a carnal mind, cannot comprehend. Not only does God take notice of man, but He takes notice of man and his needs, and He wants to supply them. Think of the wonder of it! He not only grants us life, and food in a general sense, and the comforts of life, but He also takes notice of our daily, insignificant needs. He looks after our daily bread. This gives us an insight into the preciousness of the magnitude of the God we serve. The God of the universe is the One we read about in ISA 57:15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place [Oh, beloved, what a wonder to see where He has established His throne! It is upon the throne of our heart!], with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." God created man with two parts: a body and a soul. Many lessons are involved in that. If we see the creation of man in its right light, then we see the infinite wisdom of God. God used the very lowest substance, i.e., the dust of the earth, and the very highest substance, i.e., the breath of God, to create man. See the infinite wisdom of God in the creation of man. What is more insignificant than the dust of the earth that He used to create man or more significant than the breath of God? He breathed into man the breath of life, and he became a living soul. In GEN 2:7 we read, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." He did not take a portion of the earth, but He used the dust of the earth. Dust on the balances of a scale is used in Scripture to illustrate how insignificant dust is. Think of the infinite, unfathomable distinction between the breath of God and the dust of the earth. He used those two components to create man! This is a humbling thought. This is a very humbling thing. Now think! Man was made in the very image of God; e.g., if you look in a mirror, you see your image. When you walk up to a mirror or a still body of water, you see your image in the reflection. Now God created man in His image. What do we see? What was God's purpose in creating man in His own image? God's purpose in His creation of man was that man should be His representative to reflect the character, or image of God on the earth, i.e., His beautiful attributes: His love, His knowledge, His righteousness, and His holiness. That was the purpose of His creation; man, whom He placed on the earth, would reflect the image of God in the earth. By the fall of Adam that image was lost, but God would still have His purpose accomplished. How? He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. He sent His own Son to become a man so the perfect image of God could be truly reflected in the earth in our human nature. Now if Christ be in you, the hope of glory, then you should be reflecting the perfect image of God in the new man of the heart. The perfect image of God should be restored in our hearts and reflected in the earth through us if we truly have Christ formed in us. The second table of the law teaches us that we were formed of the dust lest we should think too highly of ourselves. Our neighbour, as well as ourselves, were created to reflect that beautiful image of God. You and I must understand by the second table of the law, loving our neighbour as ourselves, we may see things in our neighbour that are unholy, but that does not give us license or permit us to have a "holier than thou" attitude. We should see that if the Lord has spared us, if we have not fallen to the extent our neighbour has, it is only by the grace of God that we differ. We should be able to look at our fellow man as having been created in the image of God also, needing Christ to be formed in him as well as in us. This brings us to the very first part of our prayer taught by the Lord Jesus Christ: "Our Father." When we lay things before the Lord, we must not pray in a selfish spirit; we are to pray for "us" not "I." It is "Our Father," not My Father. The text we are now considering, "Give us this day our daily bread," does not say, "Give me...;" it says, "Give us...;" this reflects the image of God, the self-sacrificing Spirit of Christ, and it teaches us to understand the needs of our fellow man. Our fellow man's needs should actually be placed before our own. Our text, "Give us this day our daily bread," teaches eight basic principles. There are probably many more, but I would like to dwell on these eight; the first four in this sermon, and the last four in the next sermon. 1. Our need for humility.
THE FIRST PRINCIPLE taught by "Give us this day our daily bread," is our need for humility. "Give us" is beggar's language. Don't sell it to us, but give it to us is the language of a beggar. The Lord teaches us in PSA 103:13-16, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him." He teaches the childlike fear that is needed in our heart. It is speaking of how a natural father pities his children, so the Lord will pity those who fear Him, i.e., have a holy reverence for Him and His will. Verse 14 says, "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." What does that teach us? It teaches us that the Lord looks upon us in all of our shortcomings, our frailties, and our inabilities to do the things we ought to do. It is most important that we remember from whence we come and where we shall return. We are dust; dust has such a little power to reflect does it not? Have you ever noticed that dust is not a good reflector? We are dust, and we so poorly reflect the image of God. He remembers this. He remembers from whence we came. He remembers our origin. He knows where we are heading, too--we will return back to dust. Should this not teach us humility? Shouldn't this teach us what we are? We are but dust. Verses 15-16 continues, "As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more." This teaches where we are going; it shows us we are returning again to the dust. This should teach humility. When we come before the Lord and say, "Give us this day our daily bread," we are being taught our frailty (how frail we are) and our insignificance. We are from the dust and we shall return to the dust. We must remember our bread for which we must ask is also from the dust. Have you ever thought about how a kernel of wheat must be planted in the ground, die, and then grow? It grows from the earth, does it not? The bread we eat that sustains our body is also from the dust, and it returns to the dust with us. It is so precious to understand how transparent we are; the Lord sees through us as though He were looking through glass. We can see how transparent we are as the Psalmist describes the masterpiece of God's creation in PSA 139:1-4, "O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether." The Lord is teaching us that we must ask for our daily bread. We are so transparent that He understands our every need. We are dependent upon the Lord for our smallest needs, even a single slice of bread. In Verses 14-16 we read, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." He saw how the Lord saw him in the womb, before he was born, and looked upon him and through him as being so transparent. We must understand the words of our text. We are so transparent that the Lord knows every thought in our hearts, "thou understandest my thought afar off." Do you know what that means? He understands every thought we think long before we think it, every thought of our heart. We are so transparent before the Lord that He knows every motive of our heart. HEB 4:12-13 says, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." "Give us," asks help for that which we lack of ourselves. When we see how the text says, "Give us..." we are asking for something we have no way of obtaining by our own merit. We have no right or title to it. We can only ask it of mercy. God is the giver, the source of all life and blessing. "Give us," is a plea for mercy, i.e., undeserved favour. It is an acknowledgment of having forfeited any right or claim to any blessing. When we come before the Lord and say, "Give us this day our daily bread," we are pleading and acknowledging it is an undeserved mercy; that is what the Lord Jesus teaches us in MAT 6:9, "After this manner therefore pray ye..." When we come to ask the Lord for anything of our needs and our wants, we are doing it on the basis of mercy. It is undeserved favor. It is an acknowledgment of having forfeited any right or claim of any blessing through sin. The words of our text are not only humble words, they are beggar's words! We must become beggars before Him and the throne of His grace.
THE SECOND PRINCIPLE taught by, "Give us this day our daily bread," is the condescension of God who humbles Himself to supply our daily bread. It is such a condescension of the Creator who has created the stars, the moon, the earth, and the whole universe; that is enough to boggle the mind of any human being if they understand just a glimpse of that creation. Such a God condescends so low. His Fatherly care is so personal that no detail is too small or insignificant in His sight, each hair is numbered, each breath is given by His hand. Therefore, no detail or petition that you or I lay before Him is too small or insignificant in His sight. That is what this teaches us; He does not look at our daily needs as small, insignificant, or trivial. Each hair is numbered and each breath is given by His hand. He makes Himself fully in control of such small details. MAT 10:29-31 says, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." The Lord is teaching us how He takes notice of every small detail of our needs; He supplies the smallest detail. The physicians today are becoming more and more learned on how the human body works. One of the leading doctors said, "The more we learn, the more awesome it is to realize that we still know very little." The more they learn, the more they realize they don't know everything yet of the tremendous creation there is in the human body. The hairs of our head contain protein and other elements of life. If you touch a hair, it will send a message to the brain that someone touched you. Your hairs not only have life, but they are numbered. The first petition was, "Hallowed be thy name." We must keep this in context and focus when we come before our heavenly Father with our needs. We see the magnitude of His condescension as well as the insignificance of man. When we say, "Give us this day our daily bread," it must be for the hallowing of His name, that His name might be glorified in His tremendous condescension in granting a petition of such insignificance in comparison to the kingly realm over which He rules. As we hold our point in context with the previous principles taught, then we see how it is for the hallowing of His name. The hallowing of God's name must be the central theme and motive of our heart in every petition we bring before Him. In 1CO 10:31 we read, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." So when we come before Him to ask for our daily bread, if we are going to eat, to sit down and partake of a meal, i.e., to eat our daily bread, it must be done for the glory of God. As we move from the second and third petitions, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," to our fourth petition, "Give us this day our daily bread," from our perspective there seems to be a great contrast. We are talking about His kingdom, His glory, the hallowing of His name, and His will being done, and then all of a sudden we are asking for something for ourselves. Look at the contrast. There is something missing if that is what we see. There is no contrast there at all; there is perfect unity. We must see how preciously the next three petitions reveal the blessedness of the Trinity. They are still for His glory; they are for the magnitude and exaltation of His name. In MAT 6:11-13 we read, "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." The words of our text, "Give us this day our daily bread," point us to the condescension, and tender Fatherly care of our heavenly Father. His provisions as a tender, loving Father reflect His tender, loving care. "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," points us to the condescension of the Son, where He opened the way for the remission of our sins, when He came down and shed His blood. It points to the atonement; it points to the forgiveness of sins in the Son. This Scripture points us to PHI 2:8, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." It was the Son of God who opened the way of salvation. Now we see how MAT 6:13, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," shows us the the work of sanctification by the Holy Spirit. We are talking about the work of regeneration and sanctification of the Holy Spirit's work in the heart. So these three petitions which pertain to us and our needs, glorify God: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." They point to the blessed Trinity. 2TH 2:13 teaches us, "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." You see, the work of sanctification is attributed to the Holy Spirit. This is what we must understand; it points to the work of sanctification. The blessed Trinity is revealed in the Lord's Prayer. Jesus said in JOH 13:10, "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." What is this teaching us? It is teaching us about the washing of regeneration; all we need to have washed is our feet. Why? It is speaking about our walk of life, i.e., our need of sanctification. "Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet..." When Jesus washed the disciple's feet, Peter said in JOH 13:9, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." Jesus told him it was not necessary; He told Peter he needed his feet washed, i.e., your walk of life, your footsteps in this world, have to be cleansed. This work of sanctification is needed daily, even as our daily bread. God's condescension is what the Lord is teaching us in these three petitions: "Give us this day our daily bread,...Forgive us our debts,...and lead us not into temptation." They teach us our daily need of the Trinity.
THE THIRD PRINCIPLE taught by "Give us this day our daily bread," is the principle of moderation. Follow me carefully through this as it is a very important point. The Gospel of Luke says in LUK 11:3, "Give us day by day our daily bread." There is just a little difference in the way the Gospel of Luke presents this petition. Matthew says "Give us this day," where Luke says, "Give us day by day." Luke tells us we need bread daily, day by day, day after day, to be supplied. Why? Bread is the staff of life. It's the basic, most stable food source. We must, day by day, come to the Lord with every need and necessity of our life. He is not speaking of only one element, bread, He is teaching us "After this manner therefore pray ye..." The Lord chooses an item that we take for granted, and shows us how every one of these needs must be supplied by the Lord day by day. Our need for daily bread is a picture of our daily necessities of life. This is not a prayer for luxuries, but for food, shelter, and clothing. We are dealing with moderation. This is not a prayer for luxuries, but the very necessities of life. It teaches the moderation that the Lord teaches throughout the Word of God. The Lord says, "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand," PHI 4:5. There is an illustration of what we should pray for in the prayer of Agur in PRO 30:7-9, "Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die [These two things teach us why we must have a prayer of moderation]: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." When we ask, "Give us this day our daily bread," we are asking for moderation, not a stalled ox, luxuries, or anything to consume upon our lusts. This is what we learn from 1TI 6:6-8, "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." From this Scripture we are learning Godliness; our heart is not fixed on the things of this earth. The Lord can give us great blessings. He can give us great abundance in many things, but He is teaching us that our heart is not to be fixed on these things. We are not to trust in uncertain riches. When our heart is fixed on loving God with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and we are content with that, it is great gain. We have brought nothing into this world. It is certain we shall carry nothing out, "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." This prayer for daily bread is a prayer that not only teaches us our need for bread, but for moderation. Our needs must be supplied on a daily basis; we are not asking for a stockpile to last for years ahead. We are asking for today's needs to be supplied. The Lord wants us to live day by day, eating from His hand. When we experience that, it is the most blessed thing. I am not a stranger to not knowing today how tomorrow's needs will be supplied. We must live by faith believing tomorrow the Lord will supply again. He supplies for this week when we don't know about next week; He supplies for this month when we don't know about next month. The Lord wants us to be dependent and to live out of His hand in moderation. The children of Israel gathered manna day by day, and we can read of this tremendous lesson in EXO 16:21, "And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted." They were living in a wilderness without one thing left to eat for tomorrow, but they had enough for today. By faith they had to look to the Lord for their bread the next day because when the sun became hot, it melted and was gone. That is the way it is with you and me. We may stock up much, but those who gathered much have nothing left over. Those who gathered little have no lack. I have marveled at this as we look at today's economy. Those who have much have absolutely nothing left when they are carried to the grave. Those who gathered little have not come short. They are able to eat and have the necessities of life until they are also carried to the grave.
THE FOURTH PRINCIPLE taught by "Give us this day our daily bread," is our need of faith and/or trust in God. The Lord wants us to walk by faith; He wants us to trust Him. We must understand that principle from this petition. "Give us this day our daily bread," must come from a childlike faith in our heavenly Father as our daily provider. We must come to a childlike faith that we have absolutely nothing within ourselves, but we come as a little child comes to the table at mealtime believing the father will provide. Our human nature would like to have a bank account that would carry us through life, but the Lord doesn't always grant that. There are some of God's people who do have a retirement, but they still see that riches can have wings and fly away. They still see they need the Lord on a day by day basis even when the Lord has given abundance. We must learn to see that we are dependent upon the Lord for our very breath and our next meal. We can have an abundant bank account and still no food on the table if the Lord does not supply it. Our unbelief by nature would say, "Give us a guarantee of our bread for many years." Oh, we would like to have it so we are not dependent on the Lord, but such a guarantee can only be obtained through faith when God's Word becomes personally applied, not from uncertain riches in store. The Lord does give us such a guarantee, but not without a contingency. Are you still a stranger to such a guarantee? The Lord has given such a guarantee in the very words of ISA 33:15-17 but not without a contingency. "He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil [These are the conditions for such guarantee]; He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. [This is a blessed promise, and it is not only in the way of natural bread, but for the soul also.] Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off." That is a blessed promise. It is most precious when the Lord shows us how pleased He is when our heart is in subjection to His will. When we see the blessedness of how pleased the Lord is with submission to His will and walking in righteousness, then we know, "bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure." It is a lifetime guarantee that you will never come into want because the Lord is so pleased when you walk in humility and in the ways of the Lord that He will supply those needs. People talk about going through an experience where they see hell opened before them, the condemnation of the law is upon them, and then what a blessing it is when they are delivered from that because Christ's blood has covered their sins. It is more humbling when we see that God who is holy, who is lofty, whose throne is in the heavens comes and says He is pleased with something we have done. That is by far the most humbling experience. Then the Lord says, "bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure." The Lord spoke to Abraham, through the angel who spoke to Him from heaven, and said, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me," GEN 22:12. The Lord goes on to say in GEN 22:17-18, "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven...because thou hast obeyed my voice." The Lord is so pleased with submission that we can come to a guarantee--but it isn't a guarantee of numbers in a bank account. It is our guarantee of sufficient food and water. This is the guarantee by the King of Heaven who owns the gold and the silver, "...and the cattle upon a thousand hills," PSA 50:10. These supplies are often furnished by those who have that blessed Spirit of Christ as we see in MAT 25:33-40, "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." We may not sit back as a fatalist and expect God to provide. Faith cannot be separated from obedience. Walking in the will of God is how we see faith in action; we cannot just sit back and expect the Lord to provide. In PRO 6:6-11 we find, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man." This is talking about laboring according to the will of God. It is not only talking about working industriously for the dollar, but it is also talking about laboring to walk in the ways of righteousness and of putting up for the harvest of the great day. In the spiritual summertime we become reconciled unto God. It is in our lifetime, the prime of our lives, that we must provide by walking according to the will of God. If we are going to continue asleep in the things of sin, continue to walk in ways displeasing to the Lord, then our spiritual poverty will come upon us as an armed man. The dependence upon the Lord as taught in our text shows us that we cannot separate faith from obedience. We must walk according to the will of God if we want to come to Him in faith asking for our daily bread. We cannot come to Him as a defying rebel; we must come to Him as a little child in submission to His will. We must understand the difference between fatalism, and careful planning for the future through faith and/or trust in God. We cannot fatalistically sit back thinking the Lord will provide our food, therefore, we do not have to work, plan, or be industrious. No, that is not what the Lord is teaching us. When we plan for the future, we must understand like Joseph said to Pharaoh in GEN 41:34, "Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities." We must do proper planning and be industrious, but we cannot have trust in uncertain riches. We must lay up in store and plan for the future, but all with an eye on the Lord's blessing upon it. The Bible teaches responsible planning, but not without faith, and trusting in the Lord. Natural man does his planning without God, as if there is no Father in heaven. This is the reason there is so much anxiety, worrying, fretting, dismay, and turmoil filling the minds and hearts in today's society. They plan as if there was no tender, loving Father in heaven. It is all done on the basis of their human reasoning. Watch what it says in ISA 26:3, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." All the anxiety and turmoil that fills the heart is unbelief, because if our hearts and minds are stayed on the Lord, we would be kept in perfect peace of mind. We can have peace of mind in the circumstances. That does not alter those circumstances, but the circumstances are no longer causing us all this anxiety. The Psalmist teaches such a contrast between worldly-mindedness, and a steadfast trust and faith in God in PSA 55:22, "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." That is what we are asking for when we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." We are looking to the Lord to supply our every need. It is casting our burden upon the Lord to supply our every need so he can sustain us. "Give us this day, our daily bread," teaches us we are not to doubt our heavenly Father's tender care. PHI 4:6 says, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." We are not to doubt that the Lord will supply. Being careful of nothing, we must ask, believing we shall receive, but we ask with a childlike faith. A childlike faith is a faith of obedience. It is walking in the way of the Lord with our eye fixed upon Him as our heavenly Father. In LUK 12:22 we read, "And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on." We are to trust that He will supply. Jesus warned against the horrible sin of unbelief in LUK 12:19- 20, "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" When we start trusting in uncertain riches, when we don't feel our need of our daily bread being supplied by the Lord because we have sufficient in ourselves, then we prove that we don't know that we are wretched and poor and blind and naked spiritually because we haven't understood the provisions of our heavenly Father. Our heavenly Father is glorified by our prayers of faith. We must ask, believing we will receive, and He will grant every need. He may not grant everything for which we ask, if we ask amiss or if we ask that we might consume it upon our lust, but He will supply our every need. In MAT 7:8-12 we read, "For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." It is very insulting to the Lord if we act as though He is less tender or less loving than a natural father. Why would the Lord not grant to you the necessities of life? Why wouldn't He give good things to those who ask? Why would we esteem Him less than our natural father? It becomes a great insult to the Lord if we come to Him asking without believing that He would grant, "For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Then V:12 says, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Notice the word therefore. The Lord is saying that when we come, come in the obedience of faith. Don't just come with selfishness, but come with the right posture of heart, i.e., a heart that is tender for the will of God and for the necessities of our neighbour. It brings us back to "Give us...our daily bread." We must be looking to the needs of our neighbour, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them..." If you see a friend or a neighbour that is in need, do you close the bowels of your compassion, or do you grant their necessities? Do you share what you have and supply their needs? Isn't that what you would have them do unto you? If we are going to ask God to grant us our daily bread, can we sit on a mountain of supply, holding it for ourselves in selfishness, and let the neighbour go hungry? Can we then ask the Lord to supply so we can keep ours? That is not what the Lord teaches. JAM 2:15-17 says, "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." He says that is how He will supply; He will let one man have enough to share with his fellow man. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Isn't that exactly what the Lord Jesus said when He was talking about the two tables of the law? "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," MAT 22:40. What are these commandments? We are to love God with our heart, our soul, and our mind. "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," MAT 22: 37-40. Can we say we love the Lord and not look to the needs of our fellow man who was created in the image of God? Can we close up the bowels of our compassion to one in need? "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." That is what it says here, "do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets," MAT 7:12. This is the gospel. Giving and self- sacrifice is the gospel; that is what the Lord Jesus is teaching and preaching by His example. He gave Himself for His church, and if we are going to be a member of the bride of Christ, we must learn what it is to give ourselves, to give all that we have, trusting that the Lord will re-supply. I remember a story in the Great Falls Tribune when J. C. Penney died. A man had asked him how much he had donated to the poor. He answered, "I never kept book with the Lord, but one thing I have found, I was never able to out-give the Lord. No matter how much I gave to the poor, He always gave me more in return." That is something we should understand. The Lord is going to give to those in need. How? He gives to those who are generous so they can supply those in need. Many times that is how the Lord does it. He gives it to those who are His, who have the generosity of heart to give to their fellow man, but every time we give, He gives us more in return. We cannot out-give the Lord. He always supplies more than we give so we may give again, giving more to more people. It grows. It multiplies. Amen. |
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