This morning as we return and continue our study of the Gospel of Luke, and specifically the Lord's Prayer in chapter 11, we have come to a petition that is very brief, it's very simple, and at first glance it appears rather easy to understand. But it is actually, in reality, a bit more complex and profound than most people realize. It is the well-known phrase, found in both Luke's gospel as well as Matthew's gospel, give us each day, or as Matthew puts it, or this day, our daily bread. Now this is the third petition Jesus gave in his model prayer for believers as recorded in the gospel of Luke, and it is different from the ones that preceded it in the sense that all the others concerned God's interests. His name, His kingdom, His will. But starting with this particular petition until the close of this prayer, Jesus tells us to pray for our own interests, our own needs, our daily bread, the forgiveness of our sins, and protection from the temptations that we face. And the reason that these particular personal requests are mentioned is because they express the three greatest and most essential needs that we have as humans. We all need bread in order to have physical life and sustain physical life. We all need our sins forgiven in order to have eternal life and to have fellowship with God Himself. And we all need protection from temptation in order to have spiritual victory and fruitfulness, productivity in our Christian lives. So bread for physical life, forgiveness of sins for fellowship with God, and protection from temptation for spiritual victory and productivity. These are the three greatest and the three most essential needs that we have as human beings. And the first of these essential needs that Jesus said we are to pray for is our daily bread. It's not hard to see the logic behind the need for bread and why it comes first and the order in which these petitions are actually given. See, the request for bread appears before the request for forgiveness and protection from temptation simply because we need to be alive physically before we can experience anything spiritually. You have to have life. You have to have sustained life before you can get anything else. However, a far deeper question involving the sequence of these petitions is why did Jesus list the need for daily bread immediately right after following the petitions dealing with God's interests? And the answer lies in understanding who the Lord's prayer is intended for. As you'll recall, Jesus gave this prayer in response to his apostles who saw him praying and they asked him to teach them how to pray. And He gave this prayer to them, not as a prayer to repeat word for word, but rather as a general guideline to follow when we pray. These are principles that should guide us in our prayers. So this is a model prayer, specifically designed, aimed at believers in Christ, no one else. That's important in helping us understand why Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread right after telling us to pray for God's interests, His name being hallowed, His kingdom coming, and His will being done. You see, those unbelievers who have what I would call a general belief in a supreme being, if they pray at all, and they may not, but if they do pray at all, they will usually ask God, to have their physical needs or the physical needs of their loved ones met. Needs such as health. finances, housing, things like this. In other words, if an unbeliever is inclined to pray, they will generally pray only for physical, material things. But that's usually it. That's all they'll pray for because that's all they're really interested in. That's as far as they'll go. That's all that really matters to an unbeliever. their physical well-being and the physical well-being of their loved ones. They aren't concerned about God's interests. The only thing that an unbeliever is concerned about is getting their needs or the needs, as I said, of their loved ones met. Nothing really beyond that. But that's not the way it is with those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ. That's not the way it is with us. And that's because a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ, a true child of God, we're concerned about our Father's interests. We're concerned about His interest because He desires, a true believer desires, that God be honored and God be glorified in all things. In fact, A true believer is so concerned and so interested in those things that are important to God that he'll put his own stomach's needs and desires for food on hold long enough to pray for God's name to be hallowed, for God's kingdom to come, for God's will to be done. And only after he's first prayed about God's interest will he then ask for his own needs to be met in the form of daily bread. And so that's the reason the petition for daily bread immediately follows these petitions addressing God's interests. It follows in this order for the purpose, folks, of teaching us what our priorities should be in our prayer life and in our thought life. First, we are to pray about God's interests, and then we are to pray about our own interests, starting with our physical needs. Now this morning as we move into the area of the Lord's Prayer that mentions our physical needs, we want to discover exactly what Jesus meant by the statement, give us each day our daily bread. And it may surprise you to learn that there's more here than many people realize. Though this petition consists of only seven words, there's a great depth of meaning contained in these seven words. And in fact, many years ago when I first taught about prayer and I was preparing a sermon on this very petition from Matthew's Gospel when we were going through the Gospel of Matthew. One of my children asked me, how was I going to spend 45 minutes teaching on this one verse? To which I replied, I'm not going to spend 45 minutes teaching on it, I'm going to spend 50 minutes. teaching on it. And that's the same thing we're going to do this morning as we analyze what Jesus meant in telling us to ask the Father for our daily bread. Once again, we're going to take the same approach we've taken with the previous petitions in the Lord's Prayer. That is, to ask certain questions that will lead us to an understanding of this prayer petition. With the first question being this, if you're taking notes, good to write this down. First question, what did Jesus mean by the term or the word bread? That's where we begin. That's foundational. That's what undergirds everything. We have to understand what he meant by this term bread. Now you may think, well, that's obvious. That's obvious. Everybody knows what Jesus means by bread. He meant the physical food we need to sustain life. But apparently it isn't so obvious to everyone because some early church fathers rejected the plain, normal, natural meaning of the term bread and instead they spiritualized it to mean the bread of communion. And they base this belief on Christ's words in John chapter 6 verse 51, where the Lord said, I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. The bread also which I give for the life of the world is my flesh. Other early Christian theologians believed that the bread was a reference not really to physical food, they said, but rather it was a reference to spiritual food. In other words, the Word of God, in the sense that it's God's Word that spiritually sustains us. And they based their view on the verse in Matthew 4, 4, where the Lord said, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Now, why did these men, theologians, early Christian leaders, why did these men take the plain, normal, natural, literal meaning of bread and spiritualize it? Well, the primary reason is because they rationalized that Jesus couldn't possibly have been referring to ordinary common bread after referring to such exalted and glorious concepts as God's name, His kingdom, His will. They considered it ridiculous to believe that Jesus could move from the very heights of God's exalted sovereign glory to something as mundane and common and ordinary as telling us to ask for food But in spite of all their rationalizing, these men were wrong. They were wrong. There's no reason to spiritualize this. There's nothing in the context that spiritualizes this. The petition to ask for daily bread means exactly what it appears to mean. Jesus tells us to pray for the physical food we need to sustain our physical lives. You see, to the Hebrew mind of our Lord's day, bread was considered the main staple. It was the principal food for sustaining life. In fact, in ancient times, bread was so highly valued, so highly esteemed by the Hebrews, because it was that one indispensable item that preserved their lives, that they refused to cut it. They wouldn't cut it. Because to them, cutting bread would be like cutting off life itself. And so instead of cutting the bread with a knife, They would use their hands to break the bread into pieces. And that's why, folks, the Bible refers to the breaking of bread rather than the cutting of bread. But having said this, I also want you to understand that when the Bible uses the word bread, it doesn't always mean just the elements of flour, water, and yeast. Oftentimes when the Bible speaks of bread, it uses it as a broad generic term to speak of food in general. For example, we read these words in Genesis chapter 47, verse 12, Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food according to their little ones. Now the Hebrew word that is translated food can also be translated bread. But this doesn't mean that the only thing that Joseph provided for his family was bread and nothing else. See, the word bread is often used in the Bible as an all-inclusive word that stands for food that sustains our daily existence, as well as everything else necessary to preserve and sustain life, which would then include water, would include clothing, health, shelter, all what we would call the necessities for life. The Apostle Paul spoke of this when he put food and clothing together as the two bare essentials needed to maintain life. Writing to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 8, Paul said, if we have food and covering with these we shall be content. So, from all of this, we can conclude that bread is simply a broad and all-inclusive term, meaning all the essentials, all the necessities to support and maintain physical life, our physical beings. Therefore, when Jesus tells us to pray for our daily bread, we understand that He is telling us to ask the Father, note this, ask the Father for all that is necessary to support and sustain us physically. And though some of the early church fathers failed to see how common ordinary food and other supplies necessary for our physical bodies could be mentioned in the same breath as God's sacred name, His kingdom, and will, we don't want to miss our Lord's point. His point being that this glorious King, the King of the universe, who will someday be hallowed, by all and obeyed by everyone on this planet, this one is our Father, and this one, our Father, is interested right now in the smallest details of our lives. In other words, what Jesus is teaching is that though God wants us to recognize Him as the holy and sovereign King, He also wants us to recognize Him as a loving Father who provides everything that His children need. Here's how Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones expressed this glorious thought. He said, is not this one of the most wonderful things in the whole of Scripture? That the God who is the creator and sustainer of the universe, the God who is forming his eternal kingdom and who will usher it in at the end, the God to whom the nations are but a small dust in the balance, that such a God should be prepared to consider your little needs and mine, even down to the minutest details in this matter of daily bread. Now folks, you realize the implications of this truth. It means that as great and as exalted as our God is, He is still concerned about every detail of your life. The large ones as well as the tiny small ones. Though He governs the universe, He is not too lofty. He is not too busy to meet your needs. And that means that there's no need in your life that is too small Too trivial for you to bring to Him in prayer. In Psalm 147, I love this, we are given a dual picture of the greatness and the grandeur of God along with His incredibly compassionate heart. Here's what Psalm 147 verses 2 through 4 say. The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Now, let's stop there. Isn't that wonderful? Our God cares about you when you're hurting. He brings healing. He gathers you when you are down and if you're ever an outcast. He heals the brokenhearted. Binds up their wounds. But then, look at verse 4. He counts the number of the stars. He gives names to all of them. He created all of them. He has named all of them. What an astounding truth! The same God, who is magnificent, sovereign, exalted, so as to create, count, and name the stars, actually cares enough about us to heal our hearts. when we're suffering and our hearts are broken. What majestic compassion! Don't ever think that the only requests you can bring to God have to be big, significant spiritual issues, because that's simply not an accurate picture of the God of the Bible. Your Heavenly Father is interested in every aspect of your life, not only in the big issues, but in everything, even those small material things that you need. I love what Kent Hughes in his commentary on Luke said about God wanting us to pray about everything. He said this, he said, we are not only instructed to bring only the big things to God, but can bring our everyday requests. A coat, shoes, a car, books, a vacation, exercise, bicycle, groceries, a tricycle, a doll. God meets us where we are and therein lies a glimpse of his loving greatness. Amen to that. If Jack Jenkins were here, he'd make you say amen to that. Listen to what Jesus said about our father's interest in every detail of our lives. Matthew chapter 10, starting in verse 29, are not two sparrows sold for a cent, and yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear, you're more valuable than many sparrows. Now with these words, Jesus reveals that God the Father is so involved in this world that not even a single bird can die without Him not only knowing it, this isn't the point that oh God knows it, of course He knows it, but God ordaining it. God ordaining it. And He tells us that we are more valuable to Him than birds. In other words, there are no details, there are no circumstances too small or too insignificant for Him. He's interested in them all, and He's in control of them all. Jesus said that now even the hairs on our heads are beyond His sovereign interest. Listen, you and I have a Heavenly Father who is so loving that there isn't anything in your life that he's not concerned about. As I said, down to the most trivial and smallest of matters, even a single hair on your head. And if you're completely bald, he's still interested in every detail of your life. That wasn't in my notes. That just came to my mind right here. This is why Scripture commands us to pray about everything, even the most seemingly dull details of life. You need a parking space? You pray for it. You think God's not interested in that? Of course He is. Paul said in Philippians chapter 4 verse 6, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. Someone has paraphrased this verse this way, don't worry about anything, pray about everything, and give thanks for all things. And that's precisely what the Apostle is saying. And this is why Jesus explained and expounded on this in his Sermon on the Mount, that we are not to worry about anything, not a single thing. Because we have a Heavenly Father who promises to provide for everything we need. This is what our Lord said in Matthew chapter 6, starting verse 25. For this reason, he said, I say to you, do not be worried about your life as to what you'll eat or what you'll drink, nor for your body as to what you'll put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air that they don't sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And what if you're worried about death? If you're worried about your health? Verse 27, And who of you, by being worried, can add a single hour to his lifespan? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. They don't toil, nor do they spin. Yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all of his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith. Don't worry then saying, what will we eat, or what will we drink, or what will we wear for clothing. For the Gentiles, he means the pagans, eagerly seek all these things. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. What magnificent truths. The Lord promises that God the Father will sustain our lives until the time He chooses to take us to heaven. So you don't need to worry about having enough money to pay your bills, or your health, or anything related to your physical life. You have a heavenly Father who knows exactly what you need, and He will provide for those needs. And knowing this then, it leads us to ask a second question which helps us to understand this petition for bread each day. That second question being this, why did Jesus tell us to pray for our daily bread as opposed to just our bread? Now in teaching his disciples how to pray, The Lord specifically said these words, give us each day our daily bread. And notice what the Lord did not say. He did not tell us to pray for God to give us our bread. He was very deliberate, very intentional in telling us to pray for God to give us our daily bread, meaning our daily needs. So why did Jesus put it like this? Why didn't He tell us to pray for God to simply supply our bread, rather than the way He put it, our bread each day? Well, one reason, not the only reason, but one reason he put it this way is because in our Lord's day, laborers, common laborers, were paid on a daily basis for the work they accomplished that day. There was no such thing as a weekly or bi-weekly or even a monthly check. Common laborers received money daily and usually the pay was so low that it was simply impossible to save any of it. Therefore, the wages for that day purchased food and any other necessities for that day and for that day only. In other words, these folks live from what we would call hand-to-mouth. It's with this hand-to-mouth condition in mind that Jesus says, ask your Heavenly Father to meet your daily needs. Now most of us, as prosperous Americans, don't live like the people of Christ's day. We don't live in a society where we are paid such low wages that we're not sure where our next meal is coming from. Most of us, most of us live very comfortably, and we have, especially compared to the rest of the world, an overabundance of food, clothing, and other physical necessities. So is this petition then for daily bread, is it really relevant for us as contemporary Americans? Is it applicable to us? The answer is yes. It's more relevant, it's more applicable than most of us even realize. You see, the primary reason that Jesus told us to pray for our daily needs is because the Bible makes it abundantly clear that everything we have each and every day comes from God. He is the source and we are to recognize this truth. though most of us have far more than we actually need, Scripture reveals that whatever we have, it is God who has given it to us. For example, we read in 1 Corinthians 4, 7, What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? This was said to the proud Corinthians. who thought that everything they had came from them. And Paul is challenging that and he's saying, everything you have, you have received as a gracious gift from God. Psalm 145, we read it earlier. Verses 14-16, The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you. You give them their food in due time. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Though it may appear to us that we are the source of our own material blessings. Because why? Because, well, we work hard to earn our money and as a result we have the freedom to purchase whatever we want to purchase. Yet scripture says that whatever you have You only have it because God has graciously provided it for you. James 1.17, 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. Consider what one Bible teacher had to say about God being the source of our material blessings. He said, everything we have is from God. It is he who brings the rain to make things grow, causes the seasons to change, produces the minerals that make the soil fertile, provides the natural resources we use to propel ourselves around, and provides the materials from which we make our clothing. God made everything. Listen, in addition to causing the food to grow that feeds us, and providing the natural resources to clothe and shelter us, God also gives us the very air to breathe to simply stay alive. He gives us the sufficient health to do our work that earns us money. He gives us the mental and physical capacity to carry on our jobs. No wonder the Apostle Paul told the Athenian philosophers in Acts chapter 17 that he himself, meaning God, gives to all people life and breath and all things, for in him we live and move and we exist. So in light of the fact that everything we have is a gracious gift from our merciful, gracious God, how should then this affect the way we pray? Well, it should affect us in our prayer life in specifically two ways. First of all, realizing that God is the one who provides for our daily bread ought to make all of us very grateful. Very grateful. And that gratitude should be expressed by thanking and praising the Lord for all He has given us, never taking any of His provisions for granted. Writing about certain individuals, really false teachers, who fail to recognize God's provision of food for them. Paul wrote this to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 3 and 4. He said, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything, note this, for everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude. We are to receive our food with gratitude. In contrast, to the false teachers that Paul is writing about, they didn't receive food with gratitude. But we're supposed to do this. So I ask you, do you do this? Do you do this? Do you sincerely thank the Lord for the food that you eat, that he provides for you? And if you do that, do you think about the words you're saying? Because it is just so easy to say the same words over and over and over again, mindless repetition, that we're not even thinking about it. It's just our default setting. Thank you, dear Lord, for this food. Thank you, bless them who are about to enjoy it. Okay. Then we gobble our food down. Listen, most people in the world don't think about thanking the Lord for their food. They just gobble down their meals without any thought of expressing gratitude. We are to be different. We are to recognize that God has provided whatever is before us. And we are to think about what we're actually saying to Him. Maybe change the words a little bit so your mind is engaged, but be grateful. Listen, if God decided to withhold from us our daily bread, then we wouldn't have any food to be thankful for. All he needs to do is stop the rain or withhold the sunshine, and the land would eventually become so barren that farmers couldn't grow any crops. And if that happens, we don't eat. And in due time, we die. So be grateful. Thank God for everything he's provided for you. Secondly, recognition that God is the source of your daily provisions ought to result in deep humility. deep humility so that there is humble dependence upon the Lord when we pray. And quite frankly, that humble dependence, it's a real problem that many of us face because as a people, most of us have far more than we need. And so there is a natural tendency for us to be self-sufficient and independent and to forget God. This was clearly a problem for the Old Testament children of Israel, so much so that the Lord had to specifically address this problem, which he did in Deuteronomy chapter 8. In Deuteronomy chapter 8 is God speaking to them through Moses as he was on the very verge of bringing the children of Israel into the Promised Land, into the land of Canaan. The Lord first gave them a description of the abundant fruitfulness of this wonderful promised land. Deuteronomy chapter 8, starting in verse 7. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines, and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, a land where you will eat food without scarcities, in which you will not lack anything, a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you." But immediately following these words, He gave them a warning. A warning which is certainly applicable to all of us who have been blessed financially and materially by the Lord. Starting at verse 11. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today. Otherwise, when you have eaten, and are satisfied, and have built good houses, and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You see, God knows that when we have lots of things, when, as someone put it, the good times roll, that we have a tendency to forget Him and become proud and very self-sufficient, thinking that our own accomplishments have brought us these blessings rather than God Himself. The Apostle Paul issued the very same warning in the New Testament when he told Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 6, the beginning of verse 17, instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches. Paul warned the rich of his day that the danger of being wealthy and having an abundance of things is that instead of humbling trusting in God to provide for us, we're tempted to be lifted up with pride, conceited, so that we think that we're better than others who don't have as much as we have. And we tend to become dependent on our bank accounts. That's our security rather than God himself. Now, in light of the abundance that most of us have in America, this is a very relevant warning for us, and it raises a very important question. Is it wrong for a Christian to have a surplus of goods? Is it a sin for a believer in Christ to have luxuries? If Jesus told us to pray only for our daily needs, is it wrong for a Christian to have more than the necessities of life? Another way of putting it is this way. Is it wrong for us to enjoy some of the good things in this life without having to feel guilty because others don't have some of these good things? Well, what does the Bible say about this? Well, first of all, Scripture tells us that Jesus himself enjoyed some of the good things of life. We read, for example, In John chapter 2, that Jesus went to a wedding feast, remember? In Cana of Galilee, this is where he turned the water into wine. We read it was his first miracle. Now, I can assure you that not only was there an abundance of wine at this wedding feast, but there was also an abundance of food for all the guests to enjoy, including Jesus. How do I know this? Because I have been to a Jewish wedding feast. And I can assure you, you're not going away hungry. In fact, the Bible tells us that Jesus often went to dinner parties where there was much food and much wine to enjoy. And as we would expect, of course, he was criticized for this. There are several places in the New Testament that we read about this. One is Mark chapter 2, starting at verse 15. And it happened that he was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and his disciples. For there were many of them, and they were following him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, why is he eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners? So their problem wasn't just that he was eating and drinking, it was who he was eating and drinking with. And hearing this, Jesus said to them, it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. But then we read John's disciples, meaning John the Baptist's disciples, And the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to him, Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them, While the bridegroom is with them, that's him, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. In other words, they're going to eat, and they're going to drink, and they're going to enjoy, All of that. This wasn't the only time that Jesus was criticized for enjoying food and wine. In Matthew chapter 11, verse 19, the Lord reveals that He was accused of being a gluttonous man and a drunkard. Now, Jesus wasn't gluttonous, nor was He a drunkard. He was wrongly accused of these things because He was known as one who enjoyed good food and He enjoyed having a good time. Jesus wasn't opposed to fun. He wasn't opposed to pleasure. The Bible tells us that he even took his disciples away on a vacation. In Mark 6 31 we read that the Lord told his apostles, come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while. We call that a vacation. And in Mark 7 24, we're told that when Jesus traveled to the northern region of Tyre, that he stayed in the comfort of someone's house, rather than sleep outside on the cold ground. So, it is simply wrong for believers to have more than they need? That's a question. Is it simply wrong for them to have more than they need? No. It's not wrong. If it were wrong, then Jesus wouldn't have enjoyed the pleasures of food and some of the comforts of life. Second reason we know that it isn't wrong for a Christian to have an abundance of material possessions is because the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Spirit of God specifically, tells us it's not wrong. Where does he say that? Listen again to what I quoted a moment ago, 1 Timothy 6, 17. Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God. Now up to this point, the apostle is just issuing forth a warning to wealthy people not to let riches go to their head. That's what he's saying here. But then, At the close of this verse, he reveals why God gives some people an abundance of possessions. We read, speaking of God, who richly supplies us, note this, with all things to enjoy. Paul says that God gives us all things to enjoy. Listen, if God has blessed you with more than most, then his word tells you, enjoy whatever he's given to you. Don't become proud. Don't forget to thank the Lord for what he's given you. Enjoy it. Appreciate what you have. You don't need to feel guilty about it. Bible teacher and biblical counselor Wayne Mack has an excellent word about this in his book on the Lord's Prayer. Wayne Mack said, enjoyment and pleasure are not wrong for a Christian and do not contradict praying that God would give us our necessary food or daily bread. Again, if God gives us more than what is absolutely needful, that's his prerogative. We should realize that it is God who has given it, give him praise and thanks, use it for his honor and glory and not become too dependent on it that it becomes our source of maintaining or meaning or direction in life. He's absolutely right. However, those who have been blessed by God with more than they need You need to be very careful. We need to be very careful. While it's true that God has given us material blessings to enjoy personally, He has also given us these blessings, note this, to generously share with others. Notice what Paul goes on to say in the very next verse, verse 18. He said, instruct them, instruct who? The wealthy. Instruct them to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. So yes, enjoy what God has given you, but at the same time be generous in sharing with others what He has given you. So, what have we learned so far? Up to this point we've asked and answer two questions. What did Jesus mean by the term bread? And why did Jesus tell us to pray for our daily bread as opposed to just our bread? We move on to the third question. Third question. Why did Jesus tell us to ask for only enough bread for our daily needs? Now this sounds similar to the other question. It's a little different. Why did Jesus tell us to ask for only enough bread for our daily needs? Now once again, I would call your attention to how this petition reads. It reads, give us each day our daily bread. Now, why did Jesus put it like this? Why didn't he tell us to pray for God to supply all the bread we would ever need at one time? Bread for all the days of our lives. A lifetime supply of all that we would ever need. Instead, he said that we should ask God each day to supply each day's needs, but only for that day, and only for that day alone. So why did Jesus use or word this petition this way? And the answer is because, note this, if God were to supply all of our needs at one time, He might never hear from us again. That's why. That would be very grievous to our Heavenly Father because He delights to hear from us. He wants to hear from His children. He is a loving Father who delights to have His children speak to Him on a regular basis and depend on Him every day to meet their needs. Listen, if God gave us everything we needed to live all at once, it's very likely, very likely that we would simply ignore him, forget about him. We would be so thrilled with all of his provisions that we would easily fail to regard him as the provider. I recall my dad years ago telling me about a cousin of mine whose father never heard from him except when he needed money. Otherwise, there was simply no communication. How sad. How sad. But I'm afraid that's the way it would be with many of us if our Heavenly Father gave us all that we needed, all at once, and our security then would be in our possessions. But not in Him. We would become self-sufficient, independent, only speaking of Him occasionally when the well ran dry. And so the reason God provides for us each day rather than just provide us with a lump sum of everything we could possibly need for the rest of our lives is because He wants us, folks, to rely upon Him daily. He wants us to regularly seek Him, to humbly look to Him, and Him alone to supply our needs. This is why the Bible calls us to walk by faith and not by sight. Two men, two well-known men, who were also well-known for their walk of faith and their daily dependence upon the Lord, were J. Hudson Taylor the pioneer missionary to inland China, and George Mueller, who started orphanages in England. Both of these men had remarkable stories to tell about how God provided each day for their needs, food, money, bills to pay. I would encourage you to read their biographies. These stories are remarkable of God's faithfulness. Seldom did these men ever have large amounts of supplies, but they always had enough for that day. And it kept them constantly dependent upon their Lord. Folks, that's the same way it should be with us. As we pray for God to provide for our basic needs, we can trust Him. You can trust Him to meet those needs. And to meet them when you need them. Not a moment too soon, not a moment too late. not a day too soon, not a day too late. And the reason he's chosen to do it this way is to keep us relying upon him so that we will seek him in prayer and talk to him, share our burdens, our hearts with him. So I ask you, will you commit yourself then to depending upon God to provide for your daily needs? Will you thank Him? Will you praise Him for what you already have? Will you think through the words you're actually saying so that your mind is engaged? And will you pray each day for your needs, regardless of how small or insignificant they might seem? If they are important to you, your needs, then they are important to your Heavenly Father, because He loves you. Now this morning, our study has focused on God providing for our physical needs because that is what the text is about. And that's what we do. We proclaim and teach and explain the text of Scripture. However, the greatest need, the greatest need that we have is not physical. It is spiritual. Our greatest need for any of us, any human being, is eternal life, which only comes through faith in Christ, trusting in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. Although everyone in this world is alive physically, obviously they're alive physically, those who don't know Christ as their Savior and Lord, they are dead spiritually. Meaning they have no relationship with God, God's life is not in them other than physically. They are unresponsive to Him. They go about their lives as if He did not exist, as if He did not matter. And if they continue like this, they will die in their sins and they will perish eternally. That's what the Bible says. But God in His mercy has provided a way for them not to perish, And that way is simply Himself. He, God, He became a man and the person of Jesus Christ so that He, Christ, could be judged by the Father in the place of sinners like us. And those who place, those sinners who place their faith in Christ's death as payment, sufficient payment for their sins, what happens? They are forgiven of their sins, Christ's righteousness is put on their account, and God begins to transform their hearts, their character, and they enter into a relationship with Him. And when they die, they go to heaven to be with Him forever. If you have never placed your faith in Christ for your salvation, then I urge you to do so and to do it today. You may not have tomorrow. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring. So if you would like to talk to one of our pastors about this, we're going to close the service. I'll be up here with some of our men. Just come up and see me and I'll direct you to one of our men who will be happy to sit down with you and explain the way of salvation more thoroughly. Let's close in prayer. Father, thank you for these seven words that, as we said at the beginning, they're simple on the one hand, but yet they are profound and deep on the other hand. Lord, may we be dependent upon you. May we recognize you, our Father, as the one who's provided all of our needs, and you've provided for many of us, for most of us, Lord. perhaps all of us, an overabundance of what we need. May we never forget you. May we never think that it's all about us. May we be diligent. May we work hard because that's what you've called us to do. But may we recognize with humility and utter dependence upon you that whatever we have comes from your good hand. I pray that when we thank you, Lord, help us to have our minds engaged and not merely to spout words that we're not even thinking about. And we pray, our Father, we indeed pray for any here, any who might be listening or watching, who have never trusted you, that they might realize that while they have physical life, they don't have eternal life. They've never trusted Christ for salvation. May this be the day that they turn in repentance and faith and trust you as the one who died on the cross to forgive their sins. May this be that glorious day for them. We pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.