Wednesday, September 14, 2022

SERMON: THE LORD'S PRAYER: OUR DAILY BREAD

 Naylor Community Christian Church


I.  Introduction

      -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 6:9-13

 

Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

 

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come,

your will be done,

    on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

    but deliver us from the evil one.’

 

      -- back when Col Sanders was still alive, Kentucky Fried Chicken was going through bad times -- for three straight months, he watched as sales of chicken in his restaurants continued to drop -- so, he one day, he gets an idea and he calls up the Pope and asks for a favor.

      -- The Pope said, "What can I do?" -- Colonel Sanders said, "I need you to change the daily prayer from, 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken'. If you do it, I'll donate $10 million dollars to the Vatican."

      -- The Pope replied, "I am sorry. That is the Lord's prayer and I cannot change the words."

      -- So, Colonel Sanders hangs up -- After another month of dismal sales, the Colonel panics, and calls again. -- "Listen your Excellency. I really need your help. I'll give you $50 million dollars if you change the words of the daily prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken.'"

      -- The Pope responded, "It is very tempting, Colonel Sanders. The church could do a lot of good with that much money. It would help us support many charities. But, again, I must decline. It is the Lord's prayer, and I can't change the words."

      -- So the Colonel gives up again. After two more months of terrible sales. the Colonel gets desperate. -- "This is my final offer, your Excellency. If you change the words of the daily prayer from, 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken', I will donate $100 million to the Vatican."

      -- The Pope replied, "Let me get back to you." -- The next day, the Pope called together all of his bishops and he said, "I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that KFC is going to donate $100 million to the Vatican." -- The bishops rejoice at the news. Then one of them asked what the bad news was -- The Pope replied, "The bad news is that we lost the Wonder Bread account."

 

      -- this morning, we're going to be continuing our series on the Lord's Prayer and we're going to be looking at the fourth petition to God in this model prayer that Jesus gave us

      -- we find it here in Matthew 6: 11 -- "Give us this day our daily bread"

 

      -- as we go through this, notice that this is the only place in this entire model prayer where we actually ask God to give us something tangible in our lives -- in the first part of the prayer, Jesus taught us to praise God and to pray that His kingdom and His will would be made manifest on earth as it is in heaven

      -- in the rest of this prayer, Jesus tells us to ask for forgiveness and protection from temptation and sin and evil

      -- but here in this petition, we are asking God to give us our daily bread -- we’ll talk more about that in a minute -- but see that this is the only place where we make our daily needs known to God

 

      -- out of all the petitions in this prayer, I think this is the one that is the most misunderstood

      -- although it seems so simple on the surface, when we cry out to God to give us, this day, our daily bread, it means so much more than that

      -- this request is carrying with it a multitude of requests to God wrapped up in that one phrase, “our daily bread,” and it requires an expression of true faith and trust in Him as the God who will provide for all our needs

      -- so, there are two main things we need to understand and see in this petition that Jesus gave us in this prayer

 

II.  Our Daily Bread

      -- first, we need to understand what is meant by the term "our daily bread" -- as Voltaire said, “If you would speak with me, first define your terms” -- and that is important -- what did Jesus mean when He told us to ask God to give us our daily bread?

      -- I opened with the joke about Col Sanders wanting to change the prayer from our daily bread to our daily chicken just to help make you aware that this petition is really not just about food -- it's not about us just getting something to eat for the day -- it's about something more than that

      -- in the wilderness when Satan tried to tempt Jesus to turn the stones into bread, Jesus said, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' -- this shows us that this request is about more than just bread alone, because that is not all we need to survive -- we need more than bread -- and this prayer recognizes that -- it is a cry to God to provide everything we need for the day -- not just food -- but everything else that we might need -- even what we are not aware of

      -- so, when we pray this petition from the Lord’s Prayer, it is a recognition of our reliance on God for all our needs -- it is about recognizing our dependence on God -- and God alone -- for our daily sustenance -- for all the things that we need to keep us alive both physically and spiritually -- and we all know that we need more than just food to live

 

      -- when you pray, "Give us our daily bread," you are asking God to provide all the physical things that you need to stay alive -- food -- water -- air -- a place to live -- a place to sleep -- clothing -- protection from the elements -- protection from sickness and disease -- all the other physical things that you need in your life just to survive

      -- but it means more than that, too -- as Jesus pointed out, "Man does not live on bread alone" -- and when we pray this prayer, it means that we are asking for the other things in our life that we need each and every day

      -- the things that make life worth living -- family -- friends -- love -- mercy -- forgiveness -- grace -- daily communion with our God and our Creator -- the very word of God spoken into our lives and into us

      -- when you pray, "our daily bread" -- you are asking God to give you everything that you need to stay alive -- both physically and spiritually -- and it means that you are trusting in God's power and ability to provide what you need on a daily basis

     

III.  Give Us This Day

      -- the second thing that I think Jesus wants us to recognize in this phrase is the timing of the request and how that demonstrates our faith in God -- He tells us to pray, “Give us this day” -- not tomorrow -- not the day after -- today

      -- like I said, in its most basic form, this petition is a cry of faith in God -- it is a cry of trust in the power of God to sustain us and give us exactly what we need in our lives when we need it -- not worrying about the future, but trusting God in the moment and putting the future in His hands

      -- God's desire is to bring us to the point where we are in total dependence on Him for all the things in our life -- to bring us to the point where we don't worry about the future or what we will eat or what we will wear because we trust in Him and in His providence on a daily basis

 

      -- a marvelous picture of this is seen in the Old Testament, and when Jesus taught this prayer to His disciples during the Sermon on the Mount, I expect that they immediately thought about this example -- about God providing food to the Israelites in the desert

      -- as you probably remember, after God had led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, they were in the wilderness and they didn't have any food -- the people complained to Moses and Moses prayed to God to provide food for the nation of Israel

      -- in Exodus 16:4, it reads, "the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions."

      -- and the next morning, the Bible says that after the dew was gone, the Israelites saw flakes like frost covering the ground -- they didn't know what it was -- so Moses told them, "This is the bread that the Lord has provided to you" -- they called it "manna" and noted that it tasted like wafers made with honey

      -- God used the giving of the manna to teach the children of Israel to trust in His divine providence each day -- to not try to store up for themselves treasures on earth or stockpile food for rainy days -- He wanted them to trust Him to provide daily

      -- so, the Bible tells us that the manna would only last for one day -- if the Israelites tried to hoard it keep it for more than one day, it would rot and maggots would fill the jar where the manna was kept -- so, every single day, the Israelites would have to get up and gather enough manna -- enough bread -- to sustain them for that day

      -- God provided their daily bread on a daily basis -- teaching them that He would meet all their needs when they came up and not before -- teaching them not to worry but to trust in Him

 

      -- we have a hard time trusting God like that, don't we? -- we find it hard to trust God to provide our needs on a daily basis -- whether that’s food or money or whatever it is -- we want a security blanket -- we want to know that we’ve got enough stored away somewhere to see us through just in case God doesn’t provide -- and, so, we spend a lot of time worrying about what might happen in the future

      -- I know that this is something that I struggle with in my own life -- there's not much that I'm good at, but I am good at worrying -- the Apostle Paul said that he was the chief of sinners -- I'm the chief of worriers -- I can come up with more gloom and doom predictions of the future and more things to worry about than anyone else

      -- but God is working on me -- and He's trying to get me to see that I should trust in Him every day to provide what I need and not to worry about the future but to simply trust in Him -- to simply pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" and trust that He will bring it to pass -- to trust that, no matter what is going on in the world, God is still in control and He will take care of us and give us what we need when we need it, and not a moment before

 

      -- worrying about the future and a lack of true faith in God was a problem with the disciples, too

      -- look down at verse 25 here in Matthew 6

 

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?

 

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

      -- after teaching them to pray and to trust God to provide, Jesus makes a point here of telling His disciples not to worry about the things of life

      -- in essence, He was saying, "God knows what you need -- and God knows when you need it -- and when you pray to Him and make your needs known to Him then He will meet those needs on His timetable

      -- you'll have the food to eat when you need it -- the water to drink when you need it -- the clothes to wear when you need them -- if God provides all that to the birds and to the plants, don't you think He'll take care of you, too -- if God provided manna for the Israelites every single day, don't you think He will provide what you need, too -- so don't worry about tomorrow -- just ask Him to give you what you need for this day -- and trust that He will provide”

 

      -- the same principle that Jesus is teaching here holds true in our spiritual lives, as well -- have you ever heard the phrase, "grace for the moment?" -- that means that God doesn't give you grace to get through a situation until you need it -- but when you need it, then He will give it to you in abundance

      -- a few years back, I was reading the book, “Tortured for Christ,” an autobiographical account by Rev. Richard Wurmbrand of his time in a Romanian prison suffering torture and abuse because of his faith in Christ -- Rev. Wurmbrand points out that he did not know if he would have the strength to withstand the torture and the imprisonment -- he worried that he wouldn’t be able to bear what he was going to face -- but God gave him the strength at just the moment he needed it and Rev. Wurmbrand survived his ordeal and went on to develop the worldwide ministry “Voice of the Martyrs,” which ministers to Christians who are being persecuted for their faith, just as he was

 

      -- that's exactly what He does for us, too -- God doesn't give you the grace and the strength to deal with a death in your family until you face a death in your family -- He doesn't give you the grace and strength to face a severe sickness until you actually come face to face with that sickness -- He doesn't give you the grace and strength to withstand anything until you actually need it -- that is why it says in Lamentations 3:23, "God's compassions and mercies are new every morning" -- they come to us just like the manna did to the ancient Israelites -- every day, exactly when we need it

      -- that’s why Jeff Shreve, a preacher who’s on WAFT in the morning at 6:30 am, says that he likes to call God by the name, Jehovah Nick of Time, because He always provides in the nick of time, just when you need His help -- He’s never early -- He’s never late -- but He provides for us when the need arises

      -- I can give you story after story of times like this in my life -- of when I was needing something and didn’t know how I was going to get it -- like the time we were running short on money and had a bill that had to be paid and I just couldn’t pay it -- and I was praying about it while I was driving -- I stopped at the mailbox -- and someone had sent me a card with a check in it that covered the whole amount of the bill -- and it was almost to the penny -- I think it was for like $0.05 more than I needed

      -- but that’s the way God works -- He knew the need -- He knew the amount -- and when I prayed, “God, give me this day what I need,” He provided in the moment I needed it and gave me exactly what I was praying for -- Jehovah Nick of Time

 

      -- that’s the heart of this petition in the Lord’s Prayer -- when we pray, "Give us this day, our daily bread" -- we are also asking for God to give us the grace that we need to make it through that day -- He knows exactly what trials and tribulations and temptations that we are going to face that day -- and He knows what we need for that day -- whether it’s spiritual or physical or emotional -- and He’s going to give it to us at the moment we need it

      -- it would do no good for Him to give us grace now to handle a situation that may come up in the future -- it’s not like we can stockpile grace or strength or anything else -- that is why Jesus tells us in verse 34, "don't worry about tomorrow -- today has enough troubles of its own"

      -- when we pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread,” we’re making the statement that we trust God to deliver what we need, when we need it -- whether that’s for our physical, our emotional, or our spiritual needs

 

IV.  Closing

      -- I want to close by sharing with you the story of one of my heroes in the faith -- Brother Andrew -- Andrew is known as "God's Smuggler" and you can read his autobiography in the book by this same title

 

      -- Andrew is not a seminary-trained minister -- he's just a common man like you and me -- but a man with extraordinary faith that God has used in extraordinary ways

      -- when Andrew finally responded to God's call and became a Christian, he left his native Holland to go to England to attend missionary training at WEC -- the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade

      -- it was there he learned to truly trust in God and lean on faith in his daily life and what it means to pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread”

 

      -- the focus of WEC was to teach the students to trust God for everything -- in one exercise of trust, Andrew and four other students were told to go on a missionary tour of Scotland -- the students were each given a one-pound banknote -- in today’s dollars, that would be about $20 -- and from that $20 they were given, they were responsible for paying for all of their expenses on the trip -- their lodging -- their transportation -- their food -- everything -- and were told to never, ever ask for money from anyone to support them -- they were to depend on the Lord to mee all their needs -- in addition, when they got back, they were told they would have to return the $20 to the organization

      -- one day they were holding meetings in Edinburgh and decided to host a tea party for a group of young people they were witnessing to -- the only problem was they had no tea, no cake, no bread and butter, and only five cups, way short of the number of people who were coming to the gathering

      -- the young people they were ministering to volunteered to bring everything but the cake -- so, the young missionaries in training had everything they needed for their tea party, except for the cake -- and, as Andrew put it, "without cake, these Scottish boys and girls wouldn't consider tea, tea." -- their gathering would be a disappointment

      -- So that night the missionary group prayed a very specific prayer: "Lord, from somewhere we've got to get a cake. We don’t have the money to pay for it.  We don’t know how to get it.  Will you help us?"

      -- by this time, Andrew and the other four young men had started to truly believe and trust in God and His ability to provide what was needed -- so that night they went to bed expecting to wake up and find the cake ready for the party

      -- but morning came -- no cake -- they waited for God to send a heavenly messenger to their door bearing a cake as a present -- no one came

      -- the morning mail came -- they ripped open two letters, expecting to find money inside to be used to buy the cake -- there was none

      -- a woman from a nearby church came by to see if she could help -- Andrew said they all wanted to say, "Bake us a cake," but they trusted God and swallowed their words and shook their heads -- "Everything is in God's hands," they said

      -- the tea was scheduled for four o’clock in the afternoon -- at three, the tables were set, but they still had no cake -- Three-thirty came and went -- they put water on to boil

      -- three-forty-five -- fifteen minutes before the young people would arrive -- the doorbell rang -- they opened the door and the mailman was standing there with a large package

      -- he told them that the package had just come in and that even though the delivery day was over, he said it felt like a food package and he hated to leave a perishable package overnight at the post office -- so, he brought it on over on his way home

      -- they took the package and closed the door and saw that it was addressed to Andrew from a woman in London -- they handed it to him and stared at him with expectant eyes

 

      -- let me read you what Andrew wrote about this experience in his book, and I’m quoting here:

 

"I took the package and carefully unwrapped it -- Off came the twine -- Off came the brown outside paper -- Inside, there was no note -- only a large white box.

 

"Deep in my soul I knew that I could afford the drama of lifting the lid slowly -- As I did, there, in perfect condition, to be admired by five sets of wondering eyes, was an enormous, glistening, moist, chocolate cake."

 

      -- And thus began a life of trust -- Brother Andrew learned to trust God for every provision he ever needed, big or small -- he learned to trust that God would provide his needs exactly when Andrew needed it, and not a moment before

      -- He trusted God when he took Bibles across hostile borders -- He trusted God to blind the eyes of border guards who searched his car for illegal gospel tracts -- He trusted God to provide the resources needed to carry the gospel to people living in bondage behind the Iron Curtain -- and he continues to trust God today as he ministers to Muslims in the middle East

      -- Brother Andrew is an example of someone who understands what it means to pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread,” in true faith and trust in God

 

      -- when you pray that prayer, remember that this is more than just a request for food for the day -- it is a demonstration of our faith and trust in God to provide for all our needs for that very day -- whether those needs are physical, or emotional, or spiritual

      -- it is a reminder for us to put our lives and our future in God’s hands -- to not worry about tomorrow -- to not worry about the future -- but to trust God in the moment and to put our faith in Him, no matter how dark the days ahead might seem -- knowing that God is going to provide what we need at the very moment we need it -- just remember, Jehovah Nick of Time always provides

 

      -- before we close in prayer, let me share one more thought with you about this prayer -- this is prayer that Jesus obviously intended we pray at the start of every day -- it would make no sense to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” after the day had passed

      -- but remember, for the Israelites, the new day began in the evening, right before they would get ready to go to bed -- their day began at 6:00 pm, and ended at 6:00 pm the next day

      -- so, when they prayed this prayer, “Give us this day, our daily bread,” they went to sleep -- and Jesus is telling them to sleep in peace -- trusting in faith in the God who would provide -- they didn’t need to worry about what they would eat or what they would need after they woke up -- because God was already there and all their needs would be met

      -- it’s an enormous demonstration of faith to pray a prayer like this before you go to sleep, when you can do nothing on your own to bring about answers to your need -- and all you can do is trust in God to provide

 

      -- we look at time differently than the Israelites -- we start our day in the morning and end it at night -- but the same principle holds -- when we pray this prayer -- when we cry out, “Give us this day, our daily bread,” we need to do so in the peace and in the trust that comes through our faith in God to provide

      -- so, let’s close in prayer to the One who knows our needs -- who meets our needs -- and who provides for us every day what it is that we need to get through that day -- let us put our faith and trust in Him and rest in His goodness and grace

      -- let us pray

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