This is a sermon that was given on the first Sunday of the year 2015.
Enough
for the Journey
Matthew 6:11, 33 (NKJV)
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
33 But seek
first the kingdom
of God
Introduction:
Here we are, once again,
starting out another brand new year with all kinds of uncertainties and
possibilities. None of us knows what joyous celebrations or sorrows we will
encounter.
Our resolutions have been made
(if we made any at all), and we are hoping for a great year in spite of any
concerns we might have.
I received a cartoon in my email
this week which showed one man telling another, “My New Years resolution this
year is to do the things I should have been doing last year!”
I suppose that expresses the
sentiments for most of us here.
Today I would like to speak to
you on a topic that relates to the new year that lies before us like a road to
be traveled. As we look down the road in our minds, most of us probably imagine
that the first several days or weeks will follow a certain predictable course
according to schedules and plans we have already made.
But as the “road” stretches on,
we lose our ability to foresee what’s coming ahead or where the road will lead.
There are hills and curves that restrict our sight about what’s ahead.
As we compare life to a journey
down a road with unforeseen hazards, it is comforting to know that God knows
the road ahead and the journey we make. He knows exactly what we will face and
exactly what we will need.
The passage of Scripture that we
read earlier in the service provided some details of another journey thousands
of years ago that was taken by a large group of people whom God had
miraculously delivered from slavery in a foreign country. It was a journey that
would eventually lead them to a land that was promised to their ancestors hundreds
of years earlier.
I want to use the account we
have read, along with some additional passages, to draw some analogies and make
some applications to our lives today as we journey into a year filled with
unknown circumstances.
1. God provided what they
needed for each day.
Not too much; not too little.
See 16:18; also compare Deut. 8:2-4
Cf. Matthew 6:25-32 (NKJV) 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
and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the
air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which
of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 So why
do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:
they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now
if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31
Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall
we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these
things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things.
The principle that Jesus is
sharing in Matthew 6 is illustrated by the historical account in Exodus 16.
God had called His people out of
Egypt and promised to lead
them to the land
of Canaan
God is still able and willing to
provide for His people today.
These admonitions from Jesus in
Matthew 6 were not restricted to just His listeners that day. They were
principles for life.
Trust the Lord for all your
needs in this coming year.
God will not abandon us and He
can and will provide our daily needs.
We pray, “Give us this day our
daily bread,” so let’s trust Him to do it.
2. Trusting God often
involves times of testing.
Ex. 16:4; Deut. 8:2
In these two verses it seems
that the point emphasized is NOT: “I’m going to test these people to see if
they will trust me to provide for them.”
But it IS: “I’m going to provide
for them to see if they will keep on obeying me.”
One sad thing I have observed over
and over during my years of ministry:
·
People are quite willing to pray
and seek the Lord when they are destitute and in need; when their “backs are
against the wall;” or when there is a crisis of some kind.
·
God answers and provides their
needs; often in ways that is totally amazing.
·
Once things are going well and the
crisis is past, then they soon forget all about serving God and keeping the
promises they made.
In these verses in Exodus and
Deut., it appears that God is telling them that He is going to provide for them
in order to test them to see whether they would keep His commandments or not.
The promise in the Word is that
God will provide. The question is, “Will we obey?”
3. God’s provisions are the
byproducts of seeking and doing God’s will.
Notice these three passages:
Philippians 4:19
2 Corinthians 9:8
Matthew 6:33
In all of these verses, the
promise of God’s provision is dependant on the performance of charity and
benevolence to others or on the seeking Kingdom interests before earthly or
material interests.
In other words, the Lord
provides our needs when we are able to get the focus off ourselves and onto
others. He provides our needs when we focus on the spiritual priorities of His
Kingdom over the perceived needs of our lives.
Conclusion:
When God provided manna and
quail for the Israelites, He was just doing what He usually does – taking care
of His children; providing just enough for each day throughout the entire
journey.
When God provided for the
Apostle Paul, He was proving His faithfulness to His servant and always
provided just enough for every day, every trial and every need.
God is able to do the same today
for you and me.
We need to learn to trust Him,
and we need to obey Him.
DAY BY DAY
(v.2)
Every day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour.
All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow’r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid.
“As your days, your strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me He made.
Let’s close our service today by
singing together the hymn:
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead
Us - # 688
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