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Please turn with me in your Bible 
to Matthew, chapter six. Matthew, chapter six, as we continue 
to work our way through the Lord's Prayer, we find ourselves in 
the fourth petition this morning. Give us this day our daily bread. We've transitioned from the God 
oriented, God centered petitions of God's name being hallowed, 
his kingdom coming and his will being done to more of a man word 
or man oriented petition. We have provision, forgiveness 
and protection are the three things that we ought to pray 
for with reference to our own life and being. As I said, we'll 
just take up that fourth petition this morning, the request for 
provision. I'll just pick up reading in 
verse five and read the verse 15. And when you pray, you shall 
not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in 
the synagogues and on the corners of the streets that they may 
be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they 
have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into 
your room and when you have shut your door, pray to your father 
who is in the secret place and your father who sees in secret 
will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use 
vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they 
will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like 
them, for your father knows the things you have need of before 
you ask him. In this manner, therefore, pray. 
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, 
your 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 do not lead us into temptation, 
but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom 
and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men 
their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will 
your Father forgive your trespasses. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for your Holy Scripture. We pray for the ministry of your 
Spirit now to guide us, to lead us, to direct us into all truth. 
We thank you for this model prayer. We thank you for these points 
that are given to us to consider in our closets and as a local 
church. God, help us not to be like the 
heathen who pray with many words because they think they'll be 
heard. Help us to not be like the hypocrite who only prays 
to be seen by men. But God, grant us grace to seek 
you earnestly, to ask, seek and knock. For we have the blessed 
promise of our Lord Jesus that we shall find you. We ask that 
you would forgive us now for all of our sin and everything 
that darkens our understanding. God, cleanse us afresh in the 
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We reflect upon our conduct as 
we reflect upon our lives. We look at ourselves in light 
of your holy law. God, we can only cry out to you 
for mercy and for forgiveness and for cleansing. We ask that 
you would just bless us for Jesus sake. And it's in his name that 
we pray. Amen. Well, as I said, we've 
moved into the man oriented petitions. I don't know what better to call 
them. Man centered doesn't sound good, but you get what I mean. We move from God to men. There 
is a priority. There is a conspicuous order 
within this particular prayer. So as we consider the petition 
for provision this morning, I want to look, first of all, at the 
meaning of the petition. Secondly, the theological importance 
of the petition, and then thirdly, again, some particulars to consider 
as we use this model prayer in our own lives as individuals 
and as we use it corporately within the Church of Jesus Christ. 
But first of all, what does this petition mean? He says, give 
us this day our daily bread. I want to consider what it doesn't 
mean first. It does not mean that we are 
to forego labor. It doesn't mean that we're just 
to sit around and pray, God, give me my daily bread. It doesn't 
mean that we're to quit our jobs and go sit on a rooftop and wait 
for Jesus to come and just ask God to provide for us in our 
laziness and in our sloth. Paul has harsh words, sharp words 
for the Thessalonians. He says, if a man does not work, 
neither shall he eat. So what we find in this petition 
is not a license to quit our jobs. D.A. Carson says, the idea 
of God giving the food in no way diminishes responsibility 
to work. Rather, it presupposes not only 
that Jesus' disciples will live one day at a time, but that all 
good things, even our ability to work and earn our food, come 
from God's hand. It is a lesson easily forgotten 
when wealth multiplies and absolute self-sufficiency is portrayed 
as a virtue. This particular petition is one 
in an affluent country that we are oftentimes tempted to neglect. to not pray, give us this day 
our daily bread. But it is not a license. It is 
not a petition so that we can be lazy and just hold out our 
hand to God. Secondly, it does not mean we 
are not to plan and prepare. The Lord Jesus is not condemning 
preparation. The Lord Jesus is not condemning 
planning. In the book of Proverbs, Pastor 
Kim read the first section. If he would have continued on, 
what the author does is he highlights the powerful animals, and then 
he says there are very tiny animals, and he speaks of them as being 
exceedingly wise, and he speaks specifically concerning the ant. 
In verses 24 and 25 of Proverbs 30, he says, There are four things 
which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise, 
the answer of people not strong, yet they prepare their food in 
the summer. So this petition does not condemn 
planning. It does not condemn preparation. 
It does not say, just sit around each and every day, ask God to 
drop a loaf into your lap, and don't think about tomorrow. That's 
not what it's about. The ants are an exceedingly wise 
folk, because they work hard, they busy themselves in the summertime, 
so that when the winter comes, they have adequate supply and 
resources. Thirdly, this petition is not, 
again, condemning the use of particular means. It's not condemning 
refrigeration. He's not condemning a freezer 
in your garage. He's not condemning somebody 
who, after shooting an animal, takes some of it and puts it 
into the freezer. He doesn't say, go out and shoot 
a moose and eat one steak for that particular day. Let the 
rest rot. Let the rest spoil and pray tomorrow 
that you'll get another moose. That wouldn't be good stewardship. 
That wouldn't be a wise use of resources. In the same token, 
he's not condemning after planting a garden that you simply eat 
one day and then leave yourself, at the mercy of God, the next 
day for your daily food. He's not condemning canning. 
He's not condemning putting things in your pantry. That is not how 
this petition is to be appropriated. And then, fourthly, he is not 
highlighting this request as means of sacramental bread. or some extra spiritual bread. He's talking about physical food. He is talking about temporal 
need. He is talking about sustenance 
for our daily life. So it's not this sacramental 
bread. It's not this super spiritual 
bread. It's not even the word of the 
living God. Jesus says in Matthew 4.4, Man 
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds 
from the mouth of God. We do need bread or we cannot 
take in the word of the living God. So if it doesn't mean those 
things, what does it mean? First, it means a petition for 
temporal sustenance, not just bread, but water, medical care, 
physical health, strength. the ability to go about our task 
so that under God's blessing, we can have provision for our 
daily needs. It involves shelter. It involves 
clothing. Those things that sustain human 
life. When you pray each and every 
day, you ought to acknowledge the fact that you are dependent 
upon God. That's the thrust. That's the 
gist. That's what our Lord is after 
here. J.C. Riles says, when we ask for bread 
as the simplest of our wants, and in that we include all that 
our bodies require. So yes, you pray for bread, you 
pray for water. If you don't have a job, pray 
for a job. If you don't have adequate resources, 
pray for adequate resources. Everything that falls under the 
rubric of daily sustenance is where we pray with reference 
to this petition. It is a petition as well for 
our daily needs, not for our daily greed. Give us this day steak and lobster. You might want that. God might 
give it. That's not wrong, necessarily. But we need to be content with 
a loaf. You may want steak and lobster 
and end up with creamy farina or creamy cream of wheat. God 
is sustaining you. God is keeping you alive. God 
is upholding you. It is a petition for our daily 
need, not for our greed. I believe this is why Pastor 
Cam read Proverbs 30, verses 7 and 8. Two things I request 
of you. Deprive me not before I die. Remove falsehood and lies far 
from me. I love that. An emphasis upon 
the ninth word. The realization that we live 
in a world filled with lies and falsehood. Lord, remove it far 
from me. Not just other filthy liars, 
but keep me from engaging in that sort of a thing as well. 
We're not to play footloose with the Word of God, with the truth 
of God. We ought to pray and we ought 
to align ourselves with the Word of God. Two things I request 
of you. Deprive me not before I die. 
Remove falsehood and lies far from me. And then the second 
thing. Give me neither poverty nor riches. That's what Jesus is teaching 
us to pray. Give us this day our daily bread. Give me neither poverty nor riches. What happens if I'm a poor man? 
Well, the author of the Proverbs goes on. It says, Feed me with 
the food allotted to me, lest I be full and deny you and say, 
Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steel and 
profane the name of my God. You see what plenty leads to 
and abundance leads to? Wealth could possibly lead to 
a neglect of God, forgetting God. Again, the temptation is 
very real when there's a Costco in your town, or there's a superstore 
on your corner, or there's a super Walmart in your town, to neglect 
to pray, give us this day our daily bread. We have been glutton, 
we have been blessed richly, and therefore we forget that 
we are dependent upon the living God. The power of bread. Refrigeration systems at Costco. All those things are ultimately 
sustained by God the Lord. It's easy for us to forget that. 
What the author of the Proverbs is saying is give me neither 
poverty nor riches because poverty brings as well its particular 
and peculiar temptations. If I don't have enough, what 
is my temptation? It's to go out and steal. It's 
to go out and take something. God, give me enough food so that 
I won't go to Wal-Mart and steal Snickers bars. God, give me enough 
food so that I won't go out and mug somebody and take what is 
theirs. God, give me enough so that I'm 
able to sustain adequate life and I won't dishonor you, whether 
it be through poverty or through riches. You see, this is the 
point that our Lord Jesus is getting at here. We are to pray, 
give us this day our daily bread. So having looked at the meaning 
of the petition, let's look at the theological importance. Just 
because this is in the sort of man-oriented petitions doesn't 
mean God is no longer involved. In fact, we're praying, remember, 
to God about this need for daily bread. What do we learn by this 
particular petition? Well, first, it is an expression 
of our dependence upon God. Again, a reminder I think we 
need. When you buy hamburgers for a 
dollar, or value menu meals for whatever, there's food everywhere. It's easy for us to fall prey 
to the temptation of forgetting God in this practical area. Kids, do you realize that a lot 
goes into getting that milk? on your table, and ultimately, 
if you trace it all back, it's to the sovereign God. It's there 
as a result of His sovereignty. of His power, of His excellency, 
of His glory and majesty. This is an expression of our 
dependence upon God. The Westminster Divine saw this. 
They confessed or they wrote the larger catechism with reference 
to this petition, acknowledging that in Adam and by our own sin, 
we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of 
this life. We need to ponder that reality. 
We have, by our sin, by our rejection, by our rebellion against the 
living God, we have forfeited any right to those life-sustaining 
items that we find in abundance. We need to remember our dependence 
upon God. You live in North America because 
there's a sovereign God in heaven. You have milk on your table because 
there's a sovereign God in heaven. We need to realize there is a 
first cause behind the second causes. Your father works hard 
because there's a sovereign God in heaven. This petition puts 
us where we ought to be, acknowledging our dependence upon the Lord 
Most High, that in Adam and by our own sin, we have forfeited 
our right to all the outward blessings of this life. And we 
deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God and to have them 
cursed to us in the use of them. We don't deserve these things, 
right? You may think it's your right, 
your entitlement to be able to open the fridge and take out 
whatever is in there any given time of the day. But it's not 
your right. It's an interesting thing in 
Psalm 136, as the psalmist is rehearsing the mercy of the Lord 
that endures forever. Do you know what he puts in there? 
He puts in there the defeat of Egypt. He puts in there the defeat 
of Og, king of Bashan and Sihon. He puts in there all those things. 
But as well, he puts in there the fact that God gives food 
to all his creatures for his mercy endures forever. That is an absolute indictment 
upon the person who does not acknowledge his dependence upon 
God. This is as well, not only as 
we express our dependence upon God, a reminder of our fall into 
sin, but it is an acknowledgement that even our ability to work 
is a gift from God. You know, we live in a generation 
where everybody lives for the weekend. Leisure oriented, leisure 
driven, leisure saturated, right? It's not the pattern established 
in the Garden. Six days you shall work, one 
day you sabbath. Modern man is trying to reinvent 
that and reinterpret that to one day we work and six days 
we rest, or we play, or we do whatever. The fact that we can 
work is a gift from God Most High. Don't despise or disdain 
the reality of work. It's a good thing. Just think, 
when you're working, you're not out sinning. I mean, yeah, you 
can still sin at work. I get that. I understand that. 
But you know what? You've got to 
work hard. What does the Bible say? Deuteronomy 818, and you 
shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you 
power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant, which 
he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Paul asks the 
question, and what do you have that you did not receive? James 
117, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and 
comes down from the father of lights with whom there is no 
variation or shadow of turning. This is an expression of our 
dependence upon God. We have been given the gift of 
work. God has given you a skill or a vocation or something that 
you're good at and you can make money at. Praise him for that. 
That's awesome. That's glorious. It's wonderful. 
As well, it is an expression of our faith in the living God. 
Give us this day our daily bread. What is that but an expression 
of faith in the living God? Calvin said this, it's perceptive. 
He said it is indeed the true proof of our faith when we ask 
nothing but from God. That is a great expression of 
faith when we ask nothing but from God. He goes on to say, 
and not only acknowledge him to be the only fountain of blessings, 
but feel that his fatherly kindness extends to the smallest matters 
so that he does not disdain to take care even of our flesh. When I said it does not mean 
our sacramental bread or some super spiritual bread, some interpreters 
through the history of the church have said that because it's too 
mundane and it's too small and it's too trivial to ask God for 
a loaf of bread. No, it acknowledges his comprehensive 
sovereignty. We move from the name of God 
to the kingdom of God, to the will of God, to a daily loaf 
on your table. That magnifies God. That shows 
him he is sovereign over all things, not just some things. And then, as I said, an expression 
of our dependence upon God, we need to realize that God is the 
first cause behind these blessings. Manton said this. However they 
come to us, however they come to us, God must be owned in the 
possession. Whether they come to us by donation, 
purchase, labor, or by inheritance, yet they are originally by God, 
who by these means bestows them upon us. You've probably heard 
the story before. The woman that had no daily bread 
gets on her face and asks God to give her a loaf. And two young 
boys, a couple of young boys, hear her praying and they say, 
oh yeah, we'll show her up. We'll fix her. We'll put a loaf 
of bread on her table. And then we'll say it wasn't 
given to you by God. It was given to you by us. What does she do when she sees 
the loaf? She praises God. That these little wretches and 
their desire to try and show her that there is no God and 
that it came from their hand. The lady says, praise God that 
he moved you wretches. She probably didn't say that. 
That's my addition to the story. Thank God that he moved you wretches 
to put this loaf on my table. That's what Manton is saying. 
However, they come to us, God must be owned in the possession. 
You might tell your child, you see that house, where'd that 
house come from? It came from God. Absolutely. God, the first cause, made the 
trees. God, the first cause, made the 
lumberjack. I don't know if that's what they're 
called anymore. Tree fallers, guys with saws. God made them. God sent them out to fall those 
trees. God made the truck driver who 
took that tree from the mountain to a place where it could be 
milled. God made the miller. God made the carpenter. God made 
everything in the process. So when you ask your kid, where 
did that house come from? And he says, God, he's absolutely 
right. He understands what we oftentimes 
forget. We say, oh, construction and 
engineers and carpentry and draftsmen and architects and all those 
things. They're the reason why that house is there. You see, 
what can happen to us, brethren, is that we can take the good 
gifts of God and use them to sin against Him when we forget 
this very point. It happened in the prophet Hosea's 
day. In Hosea chapter 2, at verse 8, the Lord says, For she did 
not know that I gave her grain, new wine and oil, and multiplied 
her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. What a slap 
in the face. God gives them these gifts. He 
gives them grain. He gives them new wine. He gives 
them oil. He multiplies their silver and 
gold. And what do they do? They bow 
down to bail with it. You see what can happen? God 
may have given you a gift. You may have the ability. You 
might have the Midas touch. Everything you touch turns to 
gold. Beware of being like Nebuchadnezzar when he's strutting about, looking 
at his kingdom, thinking about all that his hand had made. What 
did it take to teach him that there is a God who rules in heaven? There is a God most high over 
the earth. He sent Nebuchadnezzar out to 
live like a beast for seven years. His fingernails grew, his hair 
grew, he probably smelled like death itself. Then his reason 
returned to him, and he confessed that there is one most high, 
and it's God who confers kingdoms upon men. So this petition is 
an expression of our dependence upon God. Secondly, it is an 
acknowledgment of God's sovereignty. You've got to know, as a Reformed 
church, we're going there, right? Kids, I've got a bit of help 
for you. Anytime after a sermon in a Reformed 
church, if your parents say, what was the sermon about? Sovereignty? You're probably right. You're probably right. Give us this day our daily bread. What is that but an acknowledgment 
of the comprehensive sovereignty of God? Psalm 104, 14 and 15 
and 27 and 28. It says he causes the grass to 
grow for the cattle. You see, this isn't below God 
or beneath God. This demonstrates Godhood, that 
he causes the grass to grow for the cattle. Isn't that beautiful? 
Our God is concerned about everything. Our God causes some animals to 
die so that the ravens will be able to prey on them. God has made predatory animals 
and he's made prey animals. Everything works in beautiful 
harmony, not because of some schemed up, drummed up idea of 
evolution, but it's by intention where God has provided conspicuously 
for each and every class of his creatures. He causes the grass 
to grow for the cattle and vegetation for the service of man, that 
he may bring forth food from the earth and wine that makes 
glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread 
which strengthens man's heart. Isn't that a beautiful depiction 
of what God does in creation? In fact, the entirety of Psalm 
104 rehearses God's creation. And then it goes on in verses 
27 and 28. These all wait for you that you 
may give them their food in due season. What you give them, they 
gather in. You open your hand. They are 
filled with good. God is sovereign. That milk didn't 
just fall onto your table. I mean, we're getting to a day 
and age where kids don't even probably realize milk comes from 
cows. You ask, where does milk come 
from? From Superstore, from Wal-Mart. Where'd that shirt 
come from? From a factory in China. We as Christians. We need to 
bring our children back to the first cause, the sovereign God 
of heaven and earth, who, as the psalmist says, these all 
wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season. 
What you give them, they gather in. You open your hand, they 
are filled with good. I already mentioned Psalm 136, 
verse 25, who gives food to all flesh for his mercy endures forever. Manton has a great comment here. Again, that's Psalm 136, the 
anthem of praise, the refrain is God's mercy endures forever. 
Here's what Manton says. He says, in eminent deliverances 
of the church. Church, such as Sihon, Og, and 
coming out of the Egypt through the Exodus. He says, in eminent 
deliverances of the Church, we will acknowledge mercy, yea, 
but we should do it in every bit of meat we eat. Now what verse 26 or 25 says, 
who gives food to all flesh. Why? His mercy endures forever. You don't deserve it. You don't 
have a right to it. You forfeited that in Adam. No 
longer are you the one that should get everything in this world. 
He goes on to say yet, but we should do it in every bit of 
meat we eat for the same reason is rendered all along. His mercy 
endures forever. Ecclesiastes 224, nothing is 
better for a man than that he should eat and drink and that 
his soul should enjoy in his labor or enjoy good in his labor. 
This also I saw was what? From the hand of God. Ecclesiastes 
313, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy 
the good of all his labor. It is the gift of God. You see, 
we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. That's 
not because of our works. It is the gift character of God. But every bit of meat that we 
eat. Every morsel that we eat. I remember when we first got 
converted, my brother-in-law and his wife at that time, girlfriend, 
people used to make fun of them and say, well, they would thank 
God for an M&M. You know, one little M&M and 
they'll thank the Lord. I've also heard, I don't know 
if it's true, that in some traditions, if something costs less than 
50 cents, you don't have to give thanks for it. You know, if there's 
potatoes, then you really have to give thanks for it. All these 
sorts of rules and ideas. If it comes from Taco Bell, we 
don't have to praise God. You know, if it was conjured 
up by mom in the kitchen, then we have to praise God. Look brother, 
the idea here is very simple. God in his grace and in his mercy 
feeds you on a daily basis. We shouldn't waste food. We shouldn't 
throw it away. We shouldn't treat it willy-nilly. 
We ought to realize that God in his kindness and in his mercy 
provides for these things. The Apostle Paul highlighting 
the characteristics of deceiving demons and doctrines of hell. 
He says that there will be time or there will be those who forbid 
marriage and they will command to abstain from foods which God 
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know 
the truth. God created these things for your use. He's sovereign. And then a third theological 
lesson or importance. is that it ought to promote in 
the people of God a hope-filled confidence in the Lord's paternal 
care. A hope-filled confidence in the 
Lord's paternal care. When we go to the Lord and we 
say, give us this day our daily bread, we are bringing to the 
table a hope-filled confidence that our Father in Heaven sees 
us and hears us and will deliver to us. Again, a row. We may want 
the steak and lobster every night of the week, but if we get the 
cream of wheat, praise God, He is sustaining us. And I actually 
like cream of wheat. I don't want you to think I'm 
anti-cream of wheat here. It's wonderful. But you know, 
this is the way we can function. We're really going to thank the 
Lord because we've got a turkey on the table. We do this once 
a year, right? We'll really thank God and we'll celebrate with 
this great big spread. Thank God, if there's a can of 
beans on the table, they shouldn't die. I don't think we feel this petition 
like we would if we were in Ethiopia or if we were in the Sudan. I 
don't think North Americans feel the blessed weight of the book 
of Revelation when it speaks of life in the New Jerusalem 
and says and assures us that there will be no more hunger 
there. That's just not something we can relate to, because we've 
lived lives of nothing but a hunger-less life. Generically, generally. I know there's needs, there's 
wants, there's all those things, to be sure. You should go to 
Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver to preach. I believe Steve would 
probably remember this. You'd find donuts on the ground 
outside Union Gospel Mission. were pieces of bread. We used 
to amuse, or I think we used to amuse, maybe my memory is 
dying here. You wouldn't find that in Ethiopia. 
You wouldn't find that in Sudan. In our produce markets, they 
don't sell but the best, because their eyes are trained only to 
get that which has no blemish. I mean, kids, you've got a little 
brown spot on the banana, I don't want to eat it. If you were in 
the Sudan, you'd eat it happily, greedily, joyfully, and praisingly 
to God Most High. You see, this is one of those 
petitions, brethren, that we need to make sure that we don't 
forget. Give us this day our daily bread, 
expresses in the Christian a hope-filled confidence in God's paternal 
care. For the Lord God is a sun and 
shield. The Lord will give grace and 
glory. No good thing will he withhold 
from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84 11. Turn over for just 
a moment to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6 at verse 25. Therefore, I say to you, do not 
worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, 
nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more 
than food in the body, more than clothing? Look at the birds of 
the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather in the barns, 
yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value 
than they? Which of you, by worrying, can 
add one cubit to his stature? You don't come away from this 
section of Matthew's gospel and say, I don't have to work. I 
mean, the lilies of the field don't work and God clothes them. 
Birds of the air, I guess you could convey that as work, but 
you know, they're just flying around. That's not work. Is that 
the lesson Jesus wants us to take from this section of Matthew 
chapter six? No, it isn't. The lesson Jesus 
wants us to take is don't be anxious. Don't be carnal. Don't be a worrywart over these 
things. Don't let your gut get in knots 
over these things. Don't develop an ulcer as a result 
of these things. If God's going to clothe the 
lilies of the field and he's going to feed the birds of the 
air, certainly he is going to put something into your mouth 
or on your back such to sustain your life. And if in his timing, 
if in his providence, he wants to kill you, then you will be 
entering into the presence of the Lord where there'll be no 
more hunger and no more thirst. So either way, he's got you covered, 
right? Either way is set. That's the point in Matthew 6. Not quit your job and lay on 
the couch. Don't worry. Your task as God's 
people is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 
and then all these other things will be added unto you. That's 
the point of the passage. And then, of course, Hebrews 
13, we considered some of these texts on Wednesday night, just 
a bit of a foreshadowing. We're going to cover that same 
material tonight that we covered on Wednesday night. It was the 
10th commandment. You shall not. I thought it went 
well with or it seems to go along with this study in the fourth 
petition. Give us this day our daily bread. Again, I think one of the elements 
or one of the angles that our Lord Jesus is getting at is just 
to acknowledge our dependency upon God, to trust in his paternal 
care, to acknowledge his absolute sovereignty in terms of provision 
for his people and for his creatures. But as well, it is to keep us 
from that root sin of covetousness. Give us this day our daily bread. Not give me everything in this 
world. Not make me like my neighbor because he has everything. Give 
us this day our daily bread, with these things we'll be content. 
Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5. Let your conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as 
you have. For he himself has said, I will 
never leave you, nor forsake you. So we may boldly say, the 
Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man 
do to me? We take this passage and we spiritualize 
it. When it says that I will never 
leave you nor forsake you, we think in terms of salvation. 
And it's true. God will never leave us. He'll 
never forsake us. When you believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, you're safe through eternity. He doesn't forsake 
you. He doesn't save you and then let you go. Eternal security 
or perseverance of the saints or preservation by God is a biblical 
doctrine. But the context here is physical. It's physical. He won't leave 
you, nor forsake you. Again, it may not be in the manner 
of which you approve. It may not be Rolls Royces. It 
may not be steak and lobster, but he is promised not to forsake. He is promised not to leave. 
We've got it in our mind that unless it's this, then I just 
don't think God's for me. Wait a minute. What was Paul's 
admission of Paul's confession of Paul's statement in First 
Timothy chapter six? Again, several passages we looked 
at the other night, and God's willing, we'll look at tonight. 
So if you don't show up tonight and you were there on Wednesday, 
I'll know why. Oh, yeah, brother, I just came 
down with a really bad headache. I got hit by a car. No, you knew 
the same message was going to be preached, didn't you? How 
does churches do it when they have four of the same services 
on a Sunday? That's amazing. I guess not everybody's 
going to all four services. Look at 1 Timothy 6.6. Now, godliness 
with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the 
world, into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing 
out. And having food and clothing with these, we shall be content. 
Now, kids, young people, teenagers, listen to me. Not with the jeans 
that cost $300 you'll be content. Not with chocolates that are 
served to you on red pillows with tassels. Not when it's time to get a car, 
you get the Maserati or the Lamborghini. There's only one guy I know that's 
looking for a car right now. I'm not directing this to you, 
young Brad. Now, I've really put him on the 
spot. What is Paul saying? Having food and clothing with 
these, we shall be content. Not with the best stuff. Your 
parents are trying to keep you clothed and fed and shelter. 
Praise God. Who cares if you have the genes 
that everybody else has? You see what happens? Not only 
do we think we deserve stuff, but we have the gall, the unmitigated 
wickedness to believe we deserve the best. I mean, I think it's terrible 
that we even think we deserve food. Saying that, I think I 
deserve food. But to want the best food? To not want this or not want 
that? You see, the breadth of the fourth 
petition not only casts us into dependence upon God, but hopefully 
it'll cut the throat of our covetous hearts. Give us this day our 
daily bread. Not give us into the foreseeable 
future every good and wonderful thing that our little minds can 
configure. I'm not just picking on young 
people, and I'm not just picking on children. I'm not just picking 
on teenagers. All of us, all of us need to 
reflect upon the petition. Are we praying, give us this 
day our daily bread? Are we praying, God, give us 
this day everybody else's daily bread? Give us this day what 
everybody else in my school has, or everybody else in my business 
has, or everybody else in my... Look, if you've got food, if 
you've got shelter, and you've got clothing, be content. A great 
part of the world doesn't have that. We just take it for granted 
that when we flip that little lever, water comes out. Right? And when we turn that water on, 
we can just shower until it's all cold. We're talking a huge 
water heater tank full of water. No reason a family of five can't 
all get a hot shower. We have been conditioned to think 
that we deserve things and that we deserve the best. That's not 
the attitude of Paul. C.S. Lewis has an interesting 
statement, and in saying this, I'm not condemning wealth, because 
Paul doesn't do that as we go on in 1 Timothy 6. If you're 
interested, come back tonight. We'll probably develop that a 
little bit more. Paul does not condemn wealth. He does not say, 
everybody who has money, get rid of it. Shave your head and 
pound a tambourine at the airport and dance around in an orange 
sheet. That's not what he says. He does not say, go join a monastery. Contrary to popular opinion, 
it's not a requirement here to shave your head. We're not Hare 
Krishnas. But you know, that temptation 
is there. C.S. Lewis has a comment, and 
I'm not suggesting that he's a sure guide on all things theological, 
but I thought this was perceptive. He says prosperity knits a man 
to the world. He feels that he is finding his 
place in it, while really it is finding its place in him. Again, I'm a firm believer in 
hard work. Proverbs speak well of it. You 
see a man who excels in his work, he will stand before kings. Go 
to the end, you sluggard. Work hard, prepare, be busy, 
be solid, be on time, think. plan, work, labor, all that stuff, 
but realize there is a whole host of temptations associated 
with riches, just like there's a whole host of temptations associated 
with poverty. But I thought that was perceptive. 
Prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels that he is finding 
his place in it, while really it is finding its place in him. It's from Screwtape Letters. 
We are to have a hope-filled confidence in God's paternal 
care and a contentment that receives from his hand what he gives to 
us. With some particulars, we ought 
to pray for ourselves, for food, for shelter, for clothing, for 
physical well-being. There's nothing wrong with saying, 
Lord, when I go to work today, help me not cut my finger off. 
Keep me from engaging in something that would jeopardize my life. 
In an influenced society, when we have jobs, and we have fridges, 
and we have Costco, and all that sort of thing, we ought to pray 
for wisdom. We ought to pray, God, help me not to forget the 
fact that you are the first cause over these things. Help me not 
to forget the fact, Lord, that I am in absolute dependence upon 
you each and every moment of the day. We ought to pray for 
others. If you know somebody in the congregation 
is looking for work, pray for them. God, provide for them their 
daily bread. not provide for them a job where 
and they can make money and put food on their table. That's why 
we oftentimes bring these petitions and these requests before the 
Lord, because Jesus taught us to pray this way. Give us this 
day our daily bread or provide for your people, keep them from 
poverty so that they don't go out and steal and dishonor the 
Lord. If a brother or sister or somebody 
in the church is successful, we ought to pray, maybe not corporately, 
God, keep them, watch them, help them, give them wisdom, give 
them grace, help them to make wise decisions, not to get knit 
to the world, whatever it may be. God should prosper you, pray 
that. Take the message of 1 Timothy 
chapter 6, pray it in. We ought to pray for those nations 
where, because of oftentimes godless regimes and wicked men, 
people are starving to death. It's not just because the third 
world doesn't have sewage systems. It's not just because the third 
world doesn't have great soil. It's oftentimes because men in 
the third world governments are oppressive wretches. Pray for 
the brethren. Pray for those who don't have 
running water. Pray for the brethren that don't 
have food on a daily basis. And it's something we can fall 
prey to and not even realize. So those are just some suggestions. 
In conclusion, I want to direct our attention to the amazing 
connection between these petitions already alluded to it before. 
It is a petition that is amazing in its connection with the preceding 
ones. God's name, God's kingdom, God's will and God's concern 
for our belly. It's beautiful. It's amazing. displays His glory. Don't you see that in your own 
life as well? Your kids, your parents, they're concerned for 
those great big weighty decisions in your life. They also care 
about the little things. Doesn't that make them awesome? 
That make them wonderful? Wow, they really are concerned 
for me in every area of life. It's the same with God. Yes, 
He's concerned to keep Pluto where it's supposed to be in 
the sun, where it's supposed to be in the moon, where it's 
supposed to be, and this Earth rotating the way it's supposed 
to be. He's concerned with government, and he's concerned with rulers, 
and he's concerned with kings, and he's concerned with elections, 
and presidents, and those sorts of things. But he's concerned 
about you each and every day. I say that doesn't minimize God, 
it maximizes God. It shows him amazing. This is 
what Lloyd-Jones says. 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 as the small dust of 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 breath. 
That's the God of the Bible. That's the God of the universe. 
That's the God whose name we pray. Be hallowed, your kingdom 
come, your will be done. That God is the one we entreat 
to give us this day our daily bread. Secondly, we need to be 
thankful. This petition ought to highlight 
as well the need for thankfulness. When God provides for us, not 
Costco, not Superstore, Not our hands, not our labor, but when 
we are provided for, we ought to express our thankfulness to 
God most high. Deuteronomy 810, when you have 
eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God 
for the good land which he has given you. Isn't that great? Incidentally, this would be one 
of the reasons that Israel would reap cursing from God. Later 
on in Deuteronomy chapter 28, we see that they will not follow 
this direction. Deuteronomy 8, they're told, 
when you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord 
your God for the good land which he has given you. Deuteronomy 
28 begins to tell them in prophetic manner that they're going to 
go into the land, they're going to sin against God, they're going to 
end up in exile. There's an announcement of new covenant blessing in Deuteronomy 
chapter 30. Already in the book of Deuteronomy, 
we have a programmatic recitation or prescription as to what will 
happen in redemptive history. This is interesting. Deuteronomy 
28 at 45. Moreover, all these curses shall come upon you and 
pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you 
did not obey the voice of the Lord your God to keep his commandments 
and his statutes, which he commanded you, and they shall be upon you 
for a sign and a wonder and on your descendants forever, because 
you did not serve the Lord your God with joy. and gladness of 
heart for the abundance of everything. Therefore, you shall serve your 
enemies whom the Lord will send against you in hunger and thirst 
and nakedness and in need of everything. And he will put a 
yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. When God 
gives you a blessing, be happy. Thank him, honor him, praise 
him, rejoice in him. That's what Paul says, every 
creature of God is good. It is received with thanksgiving 
by those who know and believe the truth. Matthew 15, Jesus 
does what before he multiplies the loaves, he gives thanks to 
God. Interestingly enough, in John 
chapter six, the author, John, highlights a particular area 
in just this way. John six, twenty three. However, 
other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they ate 
bread after the Lord had given thanks." Interesting. That's not just some afterthought. 
That's part of the component. Thankfulness on the part of God's 
people. Thirdly, we've covered this just 
to reiterate. We need to be content. We need 
to be content. Again, Manton has something good 
here. He says, God knows what proportion is best for us. All those Puritans, they went 
overboard on everything. God doesn't know what proportion 
is best for me. He says, God knows what proportion is best 
for us. He is a God of judgment, and 
he knows what is most convenient for us, for he is a wise God. He says it is the shepherd that 
must choose the pasture, not the sheep. The sheep will always 
pick the pasture that they find appealing, that they find most 
beneficial. They won't give any thought to 
what they're eating as poison, but it looks good. God's wise. The shepherd decrees. The shepherd 
knows. The shepherd leads us into what 
is most beneficial. If it's one loaf a day, praise 
him. If it's steak and lobster that day, praise him. If it's 
creamy farina, praise him. He knows what's best. We need 
to be a content people. And then finally, It doesn't 
mean super spiritual bread, but it should suggest to us the thought 
of spiritual bread. In John chapter six, Jesus feeds 
the multitudes, and then that serves as a foil upon which Jesus 
preaches about the bread from heaven. I believe all of us should 
think in terms of this fourth petition and pray, God, give 
us this day our daily bread. We ought to think temporally. 
We ought to think physically, not be consumed by it or anxious 
about it or whatever, but we ought to definitely, in our lives 
of prayer, pray to God to provide for those things. But if you're 
here and you don't think about spiritual bread, you don't think 
about the bread that's come down from heaven, you don't think 
about Jesus and salvation and forgiveness and mercy and grace 
and All those blessings that God has purpose to give. That's what I want to call your 
attention to. Jesus says this in John 6. Do not labor for the 
food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting 
life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father 
has set his seal on him. Jesus feeds these multitudes 
and then uses this as a launching pad, if you will, to preach the 
gospel of grace to them. He's not unlike the prophet Isaiah. 
The prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 55 has this to say. Isaiah 55, 
he says, how everyone who thirsts come to the waters and you who 
have no money come by and eat. Yes, come by wine and milk without 
money and without price. He says, why do you spend money 
for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? 
Listen carefully to me and eat what is good and let your soul 
delight itself in abundance. See, don't go home today saying, 
well, I just need to pray to God to give me my physical food. 
If you don't know anything about the spiritual food, just pray 
for physical. But more for spiritual, more 
for Christ, more for forgiveness, more for mercy, more for grace. Listen to the prophet's words. 
Why do you spend your money for that which does not satisfy? 
Did you ever think about that? What do you do as a non-Christian? You spend your money for that 
which does not satisfy. I mean, it's easy to see out 
in the world, right? Not to suggest it doesn't happen 
within the church as well. People spend their money for 
what does not satisfy. They busy themselves. They put 
all their energies into it. They put all their efforts into 
it. What happens? They're rich and they got ulcers. They have beautiful cars and 
they're afraid to put their head on their pillow at night. Why? 
Because they spent their money on that which does not satisfy. What's the prophet saying? He 
says, Listen carefully to me and eat what is good and let 
your soul delight itself in abundance. In other words, believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Come to the Lord of 
glory, the bread from heaven, the one upon which one feeds, 
you will never, ever hunger again. Isn't that beautiful? Take this 
petition for our daily bread, but never forget that spiritual 
bread that came down from heaven to give life to sinners, to give 
life to people. Believe on him and you will be 
saved and take this petition then and praise him and thank 
him and give glory to him. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word and we thank you for its sufficiency 
for our lives. We thank you for these petitions 
that shape our minds and hearts and instruct us on how we ought 
to approach you. Father, we pray that you would 
give us the grace to see, first and foremost, the glory of your 
name and the coming of your kingdom and the carrying out of your 
will. As well, God, help us to present ourselves before you 
and petition that you will give us this day our daily bread. God, provide in our own congregation, 
give us neither poverty nor riches, cause us to be content with the 
blessings that you have given to us. For those who do not know 
Jesus Christ, the bread of life, I pray that you'd open their 
hearts and cause them to believe on him, to know the joy of being 
found in him and having everlasting life. And we pray in Jesus' holy 
name. Amen.