From the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster we present Let the Bible Speak. It's good to have you join us today as we spend time around the Word of God, preaching Christ in all His fullness to men and women in all their need. For keep a steadfast in your word, earn those who bind his sea or sword, with rest the kingdom from your Son, and bring to naught all he has done. Come Holy Ghost, come Lord our God, and shed Thy heavenly gifts abroad, on us and on to every heart, through faith and fervent love impart. Lord Jesus Christ, your power make known, for you are Lord of lords alone. Defender, holy church that we, may sing your praise triumphantly. Come, Holy Ghost, come, Lord, our God, And shed Thy heavenly gifts abroad, On us and unto every heart, Through faith and fervent love impart. O Comforter of priceless worth, Send peace and unity on earth, Support us in our final strife, And lead us out of death to life. Come, Holy Ghost, come, Lord our God, and share thy heavenly gifts abroad, on us and on to every heart, through faith and fervent love impart. Come Holy Ghost, come Lord our God, and shed Thy heavenly gifts abroad, on us and on to every heart, through faith and fervent love impart. Through faith and fervent love impart. Can I bid you a warm word of welcome? We are grateful for your continued support and watching in at these services, and we do trust and pray the Lord will speak again to your own heart through his precious word. But we'll commence this service together by just seeking the Lord together in a word of prayer. Let's come and unite our hearts as we seek him together. Our gracious and eternal Heavenly Father in heaven, we thank Thee, Lord, that we can draw nigh to Thee by Thy precious blood. We thank Thee, Lord, that none can hold us back from coming into Thy holy presence because of the perfect righteousness of His Son. And Lord, upon that merit, we pray that, Lord, You would pour out Thy Spirit amongst us. You would give us help upon the preaching of Thy Word and also the listening of the Word. Lord, we recognize that we can hear the word of the living God, and Lord, it can fall on our ear, but yet, Lord, it can make no impression upon the soul. But Lord, we pray that that would not be our situation today, that Lord, as we hear thy precious word, that Lord, it be received like Elijah, who was able to run upon it on the strength for 40 days. So, Lord, come and speak to us afresh from my book. We give thee thanks that thy word is ever settled in heaven, and, Lord, is a sure resting stone for all of our hearts and eternity, and forevermore. So, Lord, speak with that small, still voice, and fill us with thy spirit. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Can I open God's Word to you from the Gospel of Matthew? Matthew chapter six, Matthew chapter six, breaking into the middle of the Sermon of the Mount. And I want to read the first verse down to verse 13. Matthew chapter six, verse one to 13. Take heed that you do not your alms before men to be seen of them. Otherwise you have no reward of your father, which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou dost thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet. And when thou shalt thy door, pray to thy father which is in secret. And thy father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him. After this manner, therefore, pray ye, our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. I know God will bless the public reading of his word. The early church believed that this petition taught that we were to pray for the bread of the Lord's table. Indeed, St. Jerome, the early church father of the fourth century, taught that we were to pray for the super-substantial bread of the Lord's table. And always what St. Jerome was teaching by this is that we were to pray for the presence of Christ to come and to replace the bread as we pray this petition. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church, translating this into their English translation of their Bible, they wrote, give us this day our super substantial bread. But what the early church missed in that period of church history, in seeking to keep this petition deeply spiritual, is that the God of heaven is also a practical God as well. It is John Calvin commenting on this petition. He wrote, the God now descends to her own affairs. Once he'd outlined the priority of his own glory in the first three petitions, he now descends to think about our own well-being in the last three petitions. In other words, while God prioritized his own glory in the first three petitions, he now descends and demonstrates his concern and care for his creatures in the last three petitions. Indeed, in this very first of the last three petitions, he now commands us to pray for our daily bread. Indeed, this word bread stands for everything necessary for the preservation of life. Indeed, Martin Luther said that this word bread stands for food, a good, healthy body, good weather, a house, home, wife, children, good government, and even peace within the land. In fact, Thomas Watson, commenting on this word bread, wrote, It stands for all temporal blessings of life. And while Christ could have commanded us here to pray for our daily cake, He didn't. He commanded us to pray for our daily bread. And while luxuries in life are not forbidden, yet they are not to be sought for in prayer, we are only to pray for our need rather than our greed. I read one man rightly said that when we pray this petition, that in essence we're asking God to preserve our lives so that we can work in his kingdom. And while God is a spiritual God, a God who is ultimately concerned for his own glory and the souls of men, yet he is also a practical God, a God who looks after the physical needs of his people so that they can work in his kingdom. And did you not remember Elijah? Elijah was a man called by God to stand against wicked Ahab. And God's sending Elijah to stand against this wicked king. What did he do? He then also sent the ravens to support his servant in the wilderness. And as long as we're serving God's purpose, and as long as God has a purpose for us, God will supply our daily need in answer to our prayer. Why? because God is a practical God. Indeed, what did Moses write in Deuteronomy 10 and 8? He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and love of the stranger, and giving him food and raiment. And while the early church were deeply admirable and seeking to keep this petition deeply spiritual, they had missed the practical side of God. They had missed that God cares for the body as well as the soul. I know many of you may think that you're doing something deeply spiritual when you're only praying for spiritual things. You may think that you're doing the right thing, the commendable thing, by just praying for the spiritual. But in essence, you're committing a sin. In essence, you're saying to God that you do not need His grace and power to preserve your earthly life. That you are a God in this physical realm who can support your own well-being. without the grace of God. In essence, you're saying to God, God, I'm God here in this physical world. You are only God in the spiritual world. You see, when this early church sought to keep God in the spiritual side of the church, rather than also the physical side of the church, They committed a sin. They created a heresy that is known as transubstantiation, where Christ replaces the bread. And every time you feel to ask God for your daily bread, you're committing a sin. You're saying to God that you can support your own life here on earth. Indeed, what did God say to the church at Laodicea? Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and of need of nothing, and knowest not thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, I counsel thee to buyeth me gold, tried, and fire, that thou mayest be rich. God counseled this proud church that had forgotten their need of God in the physical realm to ask him for gold, tried, and fire. Indeed, so often we get ourselves all tied up in knots when we pray for physical things. We feel as if our prayers are so self-serving when we pray for our sleep, when we pray for physical help in our jobs, and when we pray for our family's needs. But remember, Hannah prayed for her baby. Solomon prayed for wisdom, Elijah prayed for rain, and Elisha prayed for a hammer. And what did God do? God answered all of their petitions. Why? Because God cared for their physical need. And when you pray for your physical need, you're not being self-serving. You're not being selfish. Because you're asking God to give you that physical need so that you can serve Him on earth. And how wonderful our God is, because when we can stop and consider our lives, not only has God given us our bread, but He's also given us our cake. He has given us far more than we've ever asked and dreamed of in this life. God has done this to demonstrate to us His love and His care. And therefore, for the remaining moments of this meeting, to encourage you to pray for your daily bread, I want us to consider this petition, our daily bread. If you notice, first of all, it teaches us our dependence, our dependence. In Matthew 6 and 11 we read, give us this day our daily bread. Indeed, this verb, give us here, is found in the imperative mood, denoting a command. Indeed, while the name-it and claim-it preachers would seek to tell us here that it gives us license to go into God's presence and command Him and boss Him to meet our physical needs, yet the rest of the verse teaches us in its present context that this is far from a command and bossing God, but rather a cry from a begging heart. asking God to show them mercy. Indeed, in Matthew chapter 20, we discover that the workman did not work from month to month or from week to week, but rather he worked from day to day. Indeed, the master of the vineyard in Matthew 20 having compassion upon his townsfolk who were unemployed, he sought to employ as many people as he could And he went out multiple times during that day, trying to employ as many people. And the reason being is because he recognized that these people were working from day to day. In other words, if they did not get their day employment, they would not be able to buy their daily bread. And because of that reason, the master of the vineyard went out numerous times, seeking to employ as many people as possible. And even like our culture today, where we have contracts to obligate our employers to look after us, even when we are sick. Back in that day, when they were sick, they had no means to support themselves. And therefore, when they woke up in the morning, this petition was very real to their hearts. Because when they woke up, they recognized they were totally dependent on the Lord. They cried out, God! Give us this day our daily bread. God give me strength, give me health that I may put the daily bread on the table. And therefore that context of that culture lying behind this verse, it reveals to us that they were not bossing God as if they were the boss in prayer. But rather it reveals to us they were just beggars, begging to God to give them strength to go out and to work for their daily bread. There was a desperation behind the plea. And if we lose that emphasis today because of our materialistic and wealthy culture, so many of us have no need for nothing. We have so many possessions that we have lost the urgency that lies behind this text. But if we lived in that day and struggled from day to day to put food on the table, every day we would wake up praying this petition, Lord, give us this day our daily bread. And I wonder, do you have that desperation of soul? When you wake up in the morning, do you recognize that you're totally dependent on God's sovereign mercy? That if He doesn't give you health, if He doesn't give you strength, if He doesn't work through as many ravens in society, that you would starve Does that knowledge bring you to the throne of grace every morning to ask for your daily bread? It did Moses back in Exodus 33. When God said he would not follow his people into the wilderness, Moses said he would not leave Mount Sinai unless the Lord would go with him. And if we are to pray that petition, we need to have that sense of urgency. Lord, if you do not intervene and give me my bread, I will starve today. But only notice here in this passage our dependency, but it was also teaching us our gratitude. our gratitude, because teaching us to cry unto God, give us this day our daily bread. He was seeking to reinforce to them that those gifts of daily bread didn't come by their merits, but rather by the merits of God. Indeed, recognizing this truth, James taking up his pen, he said in James 1 and 17, every good and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights. with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." And here, notice he uses a phrase, cometh down, rather than falleth down, indicating it wasn't an accident that the bread landed on their table, but rather it was carefully and guided by the sovereign hand of God. Again, challenging the supposedly self-sufficient Corinthians. Paul asked them in 1 Corinthians 4 and 7, What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" Here Paul was stripping of them their pride, reminding them that every gift and spiritual gift that they had in the church It ultimately came from the hand of God. And Paul here, as well as Christ in this passage, is seeking to teach us, rather than being self-made men, we are sovereign-made men. Without the goodness of God, we would have nothing and be nothing. And he, the postal worker, one day, finding a letter addressed to God, he decided to open it. And opening it, he discovered that this letter came from an elderly woman who was deeply distressed that 200 pound of her savings had been stolen. And in that letter, she was asking God, God, give me 200 pound that I may pay my debts. That postal worker, being deeply moved by that letter, he went round the rest of his teammates and raised over 180 pound. And he sent it back to the lady. You know, in a few weeks' time later, he received another letter from that elderly lady, back again addressed on the envelope to God. And opening it up, he read the lady saying how appreciative she was. She said, dear God, thank you for the 180 pound. I don't know how I would have made it if you had not sent that money. However, I just want you to know that it was short by 20 pound. It was probably those thieving workers at the post office. And how often do we not commit the same offense? We show ingratitude. We show indifference. God sends us our daily bread, in fact, our daily cake, and yet we never say thank you and acknowledge God's hand in it. It's a bit like getting a check from your granny in the post. The postman may have brought it to you, but ultimately it came from your granny. Indeed, Thomas Manton wrote, as a child we'll thank the tailor and think that they owe their new clothes to him rather than to their parents' bounty. So we often look to the instrument of blessing and thank that instead of God. As ye are dearly bred, yes, it may come through the labors of the farmer, but ultimately, he is only a postman. He's only God's servant in putting that bread on our table. In fact, when I was a lot younger, often my parents would give me a few pound to go and to buy them a Christmas present. And I would wrap it all up and put my name on it and saying I was addressing it to them. Yet when they received the present, they received it as if I had given to them personally. But really, in truth, it was their money that had purchased the gift. They were only receiving that which they had given to me. And so it is in our life. When we go out and live for the Lord, we're only giving back to God what God has given to us. He's given us the health, the strength to serve him. And therefore, we should be full of gratitude, seeing God's hand in our life. And not only was this petition teaching us our gratitude, but it was also teaching us our service. Because teaching us to cry unto God, give us this day our daily bread. He was teaching us to recognize that all those good gifts are given to us so that we can live as God's servant. Indeed, when Hannah cried for that child, and when God gave her that child, what did she do with that son? She went back to the temple, and she gave it to the Lord. Why? Because she recognized God had given her that son. In fact, when Solomon cried for wisdom and received that wisdom, what did he do? He then used that wisdom to the glory of God. Why? Because he recognized that the wisdom had come from God. And child of God, when we receive those gifts from the Lord, such as life, health, strength, and wisdom, we are then to return them to the Lord in thankful service, because those gifts ultimately have been given to us from God and to serve Him. Indeed, what did Paul say in 1 Corinthians 10 and 31? And whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." In other words, whatever gift we receive, we are then to use it back to the Lord's glory. Indeed, back after the Reformation, a man by the name of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was a prolific composer in the 18th century, wrote many of our famous hymns. And at the end of every hymn that he wrote, he always initialed it S-D-G. And someone asking him one day, what does those letters mean? He said, sola deo gloria. In other words, to the glory of God. Sebastian Bach recognized that his gifts and talents in music They came from the Lord, and therefore He devoted them back to Him in service. And when we ask for our daily bread and when we receive our daily bread for the Lord, we are not using it for our sake, but we're then going to use that daily bread for heaven's sake. We are then going to serve the kingdom of God. See, God knew that we need that bread to serve Him. And knowing it and putting that burden in our hearts to ask for it, God then tells us, fulfill the first petition. Hallowed be thy name by taking that bread and serving me. And I wonder, are you using those gifts that God has given you? That daily bread that the Lord has provided you, are you using those talents to serve him? Because remember the parable of Matthew 25, When the man who received the one talent did not return it on to the Lord and sought to use it for him, God took it from him. Oh yes, God has given us our daily bread, but we are then to use it in service for him. But notice lastly in this verse, it was also used for our compassion. It was also here to teach us about our compassion, because teaching them to pray, give us this day our daily bread, we notice that he uses the plural pronoun. In fact, he doesn't say here, give us this day my daily bread, but he taught them to pray, give us this day our daily bread. In other words, They were to take, when they came to the place of prayer, not only did they ask for help and for strength, for wisdom for their own life, but when they saw the needs of those around them, they were then to pray for God to meet their need too. To send them food to their table, to heal the sick, to meet the physical need of the church. that God's work may progress. And I wonder, do you have that compassion in your heart that when you get down to prayer, when you pray the Lord's Prayer, and when you ask for that daily bread, do you also pray for your neighbors? Do you pray for your church members? Do you pray for your family? Or is all your prayers, like the Pharisee's prayer back in the Gospel of Luke, only praying for himself? Our petitions should be petitions for our neighbors. You know, so often, when we get over those false scruples and praying for physical things, where we feel next in our prayer life is that we only pray for ourself. We can feel our need. We can feel that urgency to ask God for grace to live for in that day. But often, we fail to sense the need of others. And therefore, we fail to pray for them. But remember, when Christ taught them to pray this petition, not only is it revealing to them that they can ask God for practical things, revealing that God has a love and concern over their well-being, but Christ also taught them to pray for our daily bread, to remember our brothers and sisters in Christ. And therefore, as we come down to the place of prayer, always remember your brothers, always remember your sisters, and to pray for them. See, our God is a practical God. He is a God who not only saves our souls and guides us and leads us in a spiritual fashion, giving us our daily manna through his book, but our God is also a practical God. He's not only sovereign in the spiritual world, but he's sovereign in the physical world, and he has a care and a concern for us. How thankful we are today that God has not only given us our bread, but also our cake. We have a loving father in heaven. Let's just bow our heads together in a word of prayer. Our Father in heaven, we thank thee, Lord, for the abundant goodness and mercy you have shown toward us. We thank thee, Lord, for all those things that we so often take for granted in our lives. Lord, the roof over our heads, Lord, even the car that we have to drive, our health and our strength, our friends and our family, and Lord, even this wonderful means of receiving thy word, Lord, by online broadcast. Lord, how thankful and grateful we should be. God has brought all these things to place that he can meet our spiritual and physical need. And therefore, Lord, we would pray again today. Give us this day our daily bread. Lord, remember those in need at home. Lord, give them their food. Give them their strength. But Lord, most of all, give them that wonderful gift of God the Holy Ghost. that wonderful endowment that God gives through the wonderful work of Christ. May they know his salvation, and may they know the seal of the Spirit forevermore. So, Lord, bless these words to our heart, and help us, Lord, to apply it to our prayer life. For us, all these things in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for spending some time with us today around the Word of God. For further information visit our website at ltbs.tv. We look forward to joining with you next time as we seek to let the Bible speak once again.